(******* I originally posted this in the Invasives forum, but it's not getting any feedback, so I thought I'd try it here. - Cindy)
My friends & family think I'm losing it, but I feel like I'm in dire straits here.
The KUDZU is coming! ugh! I had never even heard of kudzu before moving down south last year and while it looks kind of cool when you first see it from the freeway, now that I've learned about it I **don't** want it on my property.
I have 3 acres, the back 2 of which are/were wooded. The prior owner, facing foreclosure & eviction, sold almost an acre of hardwoods before he left, leaving me a gaping hole behind the tree line he left just behind the house. That area is now overrun with brush and some kind of small tree that seems to be sprouting up all over, although I don't know what it is.
A few weeks ago, I saw kudzu at the end of the street, growing its way towards my property which really upsets me. I'm a serious tree lover and love nothing more than sitting in my yard swing, watching my huge oaks & elms, and listening to their leaves rustle in the breeze. I'm desparate to keep the kudzu out, but don't have the health to go out there and physically fight it, nor the fortitude to deal with the copperheads I know are out there. But I know if I don't do something it's going to destroy one of my favorite things in life.
I'm thinking about getting some goats to keep, both for out there and my yard. Is anyone doing this? I'm thinking about getting pygmy goats, but will they do the job? Because of my health, I don't want to have to keep anymore than 2 or 3 goats.
*Any* advice for keeping this kudzu off my property will be appreciated!!!
Thank you,
Cindy
Goats for Kudzu/Brush control?
This would work on the kudzu, brush and the snakes. http://www.flameengineering.com/Red_Dragon_Propane_Torch_K.html
Pygmy goats are the ones that faint, aren't they? That would be fun to have them around. No I don't think they will solve your problem.
Anyone want to bet the small trees are mimosas?
Cindy, call your local extension office and ask to speak with the forestry agent if they have one and/or the agricultural agent. They can advise you on how to be a good steward of your land while keeping the Kudzu at bay.
LOL on the Flame thingy!! I'm sure it would work, but I could just see me out there now - burning things up, having an asthma attack from the floating debris, accidentally setting something wrong on fire while coughing, and burning down the entire area. :( lolol
Actually, although it's a lovely thought to burn the kudzu, I don't believe in burning things off. ;)
Pygmy goats aren't the fainting goats - they're tiny little things that are just adorable, but might not be up to the job I have. (I learned so much about goats this weekend! lol)
Mimosa trees? I'll have to look those up. They have red bark with clingy stuff on it, and frond type leaves with short little brushy white flowers. There are a ton of them out there.
Ardesia, thanks for the suggestion. I think I need to call them about some other stuff, too, so that's a good idea.
Still looking into the goats, tho........
White flowers don't sound like mimosa; maybe it's our local nemesis, tree-of-heaven. If so, you've got trouble; its roots kill off other plants, and eventually you have a solid stand of nothing but tree-of-heaven, aka ailanthus altissima. [And boy, it smells awful when it blooms.] I try hard not to use herbicides, but do make an exception for kudzu, poison oak, and tree-of-heaven, all of which run wild here. If you know where the kudzu is growing, I'd just keep a close eye on it and spray the leading tendrils (?) as you see them; with the growth rate on that beast, you don't want it near your woods. As I said, we try to use natural control methods here whenever they work; unfortunately, they don't work well for kudzu or tree-of-heaven.
How would you convince the goats to eat only the plants you want to eliminate?
There isn't anything back there that I want, except for the old trees, so that wouldn't be a problem.
I've looked at the plant files for all the trees that have been suggested here, but nothing is fitting. I'm going to take pics of it later today and post them to see if someone recognizes them.
The kudzu is coming *through* the woods. All our properties on this side of the street are backed by woods, and it's only one house away from me.
A couple thoughts: if you can get photos of the infesting trees, try posting them on the "Invasive Plants" forum: lots of folks there who could undoubtedly ID and suggest control methods. As I'm sure you already know, if the kudzu is coming through the woods, the old trees are at risk: the stuff just loves to climb trees and suffocate them. I get so frustrated driving around in this area: the roadsides are just full of kudzu, tree-of-heaven, and mimosa, with everything else being killed off by them. Natural beauty is what this area has to offer, and it's being destroyed by invasives; and few folks seem to care. Not knowing what the properties look like, this may not be practical, but if you could cut off the kudzu vines and spray the ends toward the root with RoundUp or BrushBGone, you might be able to keep it at bay. That's my basic strategy with tree-of-heaven, which our neighbor has planted en masse to define their property line. I'll never be rid of it, but if I go after seedlings and root suckers as soon as they appear, I can at least try to protect the stuff I've planted.
Yes Pigmy goats are wonderful for clearing out kudzu, I have used them before . Make sure there are no bush or trees you want to keep or remove them after the kudzu is gone.
They were great. Just don't let a neighbor borrow them said she knew about goats and fed them dog food. Rest of the story is their stomach blew up and they died. I don't know why she did that but she did.
Lavina
Ok, here are a couple of pics of the tree I'm trying to identify. The first is the tree in its entirety, also showing some of the area behind it that I need cleared. The second pic (in the next post) shows a close up of the branch, bark, leaves, and what looks to be seed pods at this point. (I hope these show ok - my camera battery was low when I took these)
Close up of the branch. I'm thinking you Carolinas people will know what this is, but if not, I'll post it in the Invasives or Plant ID forums. Thanks!!
LOL you are not from the country. That is Poke Berrys better know as Poke salad in the spring and its good when its cooked right and with cornbread and onion.
I don't think goats will even eat that. Its one of the few things they leave alone.
Lavina
This message was edited Aug 28, 2007 6:56 PM
That's not a tree and I have one of those. Can't remember the name, it came with some other bulbs as a free gift. I haven't seen it spread anywhere in a couple of years. Those little balls are fruit that make a purpleish stain.
Definitely Poke Weed, Phytolacca americana, and Core, count your blessings if you only have one. It is often eaten in the early spring but later in the season all parts of it become poisonous which is probably why goats won't eat it. It has a strong but shallow root system and pulls out pretty easily; I would yank them ASAP before all those seeds drop.
Don't let your kids near those berries Corey.
I didn't know that was Poke Weed either, Newbie!! I've seen it often since we moved here last September from CT, and I never knew what it was. I'm so sorry about your kudzu dilemma. We see it along the roadsides, and crawling over old houses and trees, it's almost like something out of a bad sci-fi movie.
Ever heard the song 'Polk Salad Annie' by Elvis?? Certain times of the year polk is poisonous. I know when I was pulling some out of my back yard, I got a horrible rash. I could never imagine eating the stuff.
One sheep could eat an acres worth of Kudzu in a day. That's what Pa says LOL! I know I have the name of a chemical that will kill the stuff. I'll dig around and find it.
LOL Everyone is great here!! :) Nope, I've never even heard of Poke Weed before, much less seen it. It must not have grown in the part of upstate NY I grew up in. And I've never heard that song, either, but I'm old enough to have. ;)
I looked Poke Weed up online and it's toxic, even deadly, to all mammals, except for the young shoots that first come up in the spring, making LavinaMae's Poke Salad. But apparently it's a feast for birds. It also has some medicinal purposes, but I'm not proficient or brave enough to try any of that stuff.
I'm going to start looking for a pair of pigmy goats, so if they eat the brush down to the ground, then I can get the Poke Weed pulled. It is **everywhere** back there!
Thanks for all your help, everyone!!! :)
So that's where poke salad comes from? Grew up with the song, but never knew what the plant looks like! Sounds like you'd need to grow up in the country to know when it's safe to pick and eat it!
My grandmother said eat 3 messes of it a year and it would ward off arthritis. She died at 103 from complecations of falling on the ice and her bones would not heal so she gave up and starved herself to death.
She was a Cherokee Indian.
Lavina
LavinaMae,
That was very interesting about your Grandmother. Wow---103. My Mom was number 10 of 10 and she died 7 years ago and all her siblings have now passed away. Her sister Minnie died 2 weeks before she would have turned 100.
Your name caught my attention so I decided to read your comments. My sister's middle name is Lavina ,and I have never met anyone else with that name. It was a relative's name.
Have a nice day. Also my brother Bill lives in Raleigh and he told me he has had a hot summer too. I will send you a D mail with his street name. Maybe you live close to him.
Betty
Betty
Mine was also a relative's name been passed down quite a few times. Grand mother Martha Lavina Brooks,great grandmother Dijah Lavina Cheatwood, great great grand mother Jernadijah Lavina Parker.
And I am Lavina Mae Brooks originally from Tallapoosa, Georgia (Harelson County).
I have threatened my kids and told them they were not to name any of their kids Lavina, its been a tough name .
Your brother is right its been hot with high humidity which makes it worse.
Lavina
I didn't know that was poisonous. I did happen to pull that out a couple of week ago. It just didn't look right with what else I had growing. They really shouldn't be throwing that in as a free gift. LOL.I recieved a little bag with maybe 7 different plants in it and that was one of them.
uhh.... Were they trying to send you a "message"? lololol You're right, that *is* kind of irresponsible.
Yes, it's very poisonous, from touching it to eating it to inhaling it. I have severe asthma & COPD, so I don't dare mess with it.
http://www.henriettesherbal.com/eclectic/kings/phytolacca.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pokeweed
I've learned a lot on this thread, very interesting!!
Lavina, I love your name, and you have some interesting family names too. There's nothing like the old names, I think they're so charming. I go by my middle name, Althea, which has been in the family for a few generations too. I was so upset when my sister, the only one of us to have kids, didn't use it with any of her girls.
I remember a Poke Salad Annie song, but I'm thinking it was someone else besides Elvis? Or maybe I'm thinking of a remake of his version?
Elvis did it and I think Don Williams also did Poke Salad Annie.
If gotten in the spring and cooked right its delicious.
Lavina-who has eaten it all her life.
Lavina, I've grown up around poke, but I hate that junk so much you couldn't pay me to eat it, it's been a problem in every place I've tried to garden. You really must be careful when picking and cooking the greens (I swear people from the mountains tell outsiders it's edible just to be mean)...someone said you had to be from the country...I agree, or have someone from the country gather and cook it for you--it is deadly if improperly prepared.
The roots may be shallow in SC, but they get HUGE here, and deep, too. I have dug some tubers that were as large as my torso, very hard to dig. Kill it, fast as you can, and if you can't dig all the roots sometimes I just go at it with a machete---never kills it but keeps the berries from going to seed.
I love the idea of using goats to clear away the kutzu.If you are getting pygmies you must milk them and learn how to make cheese and other things.There are people who have goat herds and contracts to have their goats clear the sides of highways.
One of my dreams is to have a few Nigerian Pygmies and to learn how to make cheese.We have a farm in the NC mountains and if you want to raise goats you need something to protect them from wild animals.Donkeys are very good for that because they are very territorial.
We have plenty of poke weed but are lucky not to have any Kutzu as we are at 3000 ft.
Lavina I was on a hike with a Cherokee Indian who pointed out many edible and medicinal plants and poke weed was high on the list.
Nancy
Downscale
Goat Milk
Goat cheese
Goat soap
Goat burgers
fibers for spinning wheel to make thread
etc
Lavina
"Dream on" she says to herself.
Dreaming is good. :-)))))
Newbie: my family is from Saugerties/Palenville NY.
I remember reading the best book... it was about Florida in its early days (when the herding of cattle across the state was just beginning and Miami was a swamp). It was hard times then, and the pioneers - having to live a rather nomadic life with bringing the cattle all the way down state, were pretty much starving - not knowing how to deal with the harsh conditions; the flies, the heat, the cattle rustlers, and the storms. The indians tried to help but mostly were feared/rebuffed. Anyway, more than once the author had the characters living on nothing more than pokeweed stew.
Welcome missingrosie
You are in a great place if you love plants.
Also check the roundup thread as Sept. 8th we are meeting in Garner at Lake Benson Park to do a feasting and plant swap.
Lavina
Hi Lavina
Thank you for the invite. I have to be at a conference on Sept 8 - to keep my license I have to get so many education credits and it is hard to do (getting harder too) with short staffing in the hospital. Found a conference in Richmond where I can gather a bunch of credits while getting smarter!
I'm totally paranoid, and pulled out all the datura and poke salat that I could find before turning my cows loose. Not sure it made any difference, in the fall I found that there are daturas growing everywhere, but the cows don't eat it. I worry because we have a baby, and I don't know when he will be old enough to learn that it's a bad thing.I "think" I've pulled the poke in time, but I don't know. I was told it could kill them if they ate it. They did a great job on the kudzu, too good, maybe. I was counting on it as part of their "feed". It's still in the tops of the trees, but now at least I can get to the roots to cut them. The cows will take care of it if it tries to regrow, but they insist that they can't climb up after it *G*. I looked at the property in December, and didn't really know what was in the trees (tho I had my suspicions), until spring. The former owners had told me they didn't know what it was when I asked....
There were lots of things they "forgot" to tell me.
Margo
I was raised on a farm and the animals didn't bother Poke weed or daturas. Dad raised cows and hogs both. I think the animals know what not to eat.
I forgot to mention you can make pick;es out of the stalk of Poke weed and they are very good.
Lavina
That's a new on for me, Pickled Poke. LOL
when was little we made face paint wfen we played indian out of the berries... we got in trouble every tme, but it was worth it! the stains stayed for about 2 days
This message was edited Sep 3, 2007 11:23 PM
Alice
Try saying that fast "pickled poke picked poke........
Heck, I can't speak well without the alliteration. LOL