On the one hand, it is a nitrogen-fixing legume (related to the pea) that pulls nitrogen out of the air and fertilizes the soil. It’s great at preventing erosion, cows and goats love to eat it, and much of the plant is also edible for humans.
But anyone who’s driven up IH59 thru Alabama, Georgia, and Tennessee will recall mile after mile of kudzu, choking every plant in its path.
WLBOTT Outpost Near Chattanooga, Tenn.
Kudzu – the Nuts and Bolts
Kudzu, also called Japanese arrowroot or Chinese arrowroot, is a group of climbing, coiling, and trailing deciduous perennial vines native to much of East Asia, Southeast Asia, and some Pacific islands. It is invasive in many parts of the world, primarily North America.
The vine densely climbs over other plants and trees and grows so rapidly that it smothers and kills them by blocking most of the sunlight and taking root space.
Dairy cows grazing on kudzu in Columbia County, Georgia, c. 1950s (Wikipedia)
Kudzu is an infamous weed in the United States, where it can be found in 32 states. It is common along roadsides and other disturbed areas throughout most of the southeast, as far north as rural areas of Pulaski County, Illinois, and along the East Coast in sparser populations as north as the New York City Metropolitan Area and Boston, Massachusetts.
Kudzu was introduced from Japan into the United States at the Japanese pavilion in the 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. It was also shown at the Chicago World’s Fair. It remained a garden plant until the Dust Bowl era (1930s–1940s), when the vine was marketed as a way for farmers to stop soil erosion. The new Soil Conservation Service grew seventy million kudzu seedlings and paid $8 an acre (equivalent to $180 in 2024) to anyone who would sow the vine.
Destroying the full underground system, which can be extremely large and deep, is not necessary for successful long-term control of kudzu. Killing or removing the kudzu root crown and all rooting runners is sufficient. The root crown is a fibrous knob of tissue that sits on top of the roots. Crowns form from multiple vine nodes that root to the ground, and range from pea- to basketball-sized. These crowns and attached tuberous roots can weigh 400 or 500 pounds (180 to 225 kilograms) and extend up to twenty feet (six meters) into the ground.
Several of our Elders showing their prize kudzu crown roots.
Helium .vs. Kudzu
Five years ago, while experimenting for his sixth-grade science fair project in his hometown of Valdosta, Jacob [Schindler] discovered the inert gas [helium] was somehow poison to the vine—and, in the process, may have stumbled upon a way to rid the South of one of the most hated agricultural scourges since the boll weevil.
In later years, Julie [Jacob’s mother] would become very supportive of Jacob’s science endeavors, but at first, she was skeptical. “Jacob, are you friggin’ insane?” she asked. “And how, pray tell, are you going to reclaim Mars?”
“I want to plant kudzu.”
“Okay,” Julie said. “What’s kudzu?” … By 2005, though—when Jacob first visited kudzu stands around Valdosta, potting small samples of the plants in sealable containers—the vine had been out of control around the South for decades. Using buried IV tubes, he experimented with gassing the roots with nitrous oxide, oxygen, carbon dioxide, and helium. All the plants eventually died, but the one fumigated with helium died almost immediately, after only one treatment.
A Lowndes High School student has received more national attention for his work to eradicate the Southern bane of kudzu.
The son of Eric and Dr. Julie Schindler, Jacob’s work began several years ago as a sixth-grade science project. Jacob became interested in the idea of agriculturally reclaiming the Earth’s deserts and establishing plant-life on Mars. Given its durability, he believed kudzu might be the plant for the job. Kudzu is a plant indigenous to Japan. In the mid 20th century, kudzu was promoted to farmers throughout the American South as a measure to prevent soil erosion. Kudzu was planted throughout the South, but the region’s heat, humidity, rainfall and mild winters created conditions for kudzu to grow out of control.
Jacob received a patent for his helium/kudzu technique:
Kudzu Culture (https://kudzuculture.net/) is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization with a mission to “connects people with kudzu to grow a regenerative kudzu economy in the Southeastern United States.”
Spring is Ringing!
Whewee, it’s been challenging to stay optimistic and motivated amidst witnessing ecological collapse due to Anthropocentrism and the further unmasking of the technofascist state in the US… Alas, here we are! And we are still little animals in our habitats.
These days it feels as though simple actions such as growing our own food, removing invasive species to foster growth of resilient native species, wild foraging for food, material and medicine, and tending to our immediate surroundings (including human and non-human species) can be radical acts.
Kudzu Culture was also featured in Gravy, the journal and podcast of the Southern Food Alliance (https://www.southernfoodways.org).
Primordial fears are top of mind as I scale a steep, unmarked drive in rural western North Carolina. Dead leaves crunch underfoot as I realize I’ve steeled myself to meet a forest of green monsters, lithe and writhing with cottonmouths, a vision of kudzu in late summer. But now, in mid-December, all that surrounds me are dormant vines braided into a loose net over the hillside.
By the time Lauren Bacchus, the executive director of a local nonprofit called Kudzu Culture, joins me, I am no longer nervous.
“You know,” I say, gesturing wildly, “this is…” She finishes my thought before I do.
“Not scary?”
“Yeah,” I say. “Not scary at all.”
Bacchus—or LB, as she prefers to be called—has had this conversation many times before. A thirty-four-year-old North Carolina native, she’s studied the attributes of this objectively useful plant. She begins to rattle them off for me. Erosion control, of course: the reason the Civilian Conservation Corps aggressively planted kudzu throughout the South in the 1930s. The roots have nitrogen-fixing qualities that replenish overused soil. Fibers from the spindly vines can be cured into hay, fed to cattle, or woven into textiles.
LB displays a fabric piece that was made with kudzu vines inside her home.
Maddy Alewine
Kudzu Culture began in 2011 as a loosely organized group of neighbors and friends with the mission, as they playfully put it, of “eating the vine that ate the South.” Initially led by Zev Friedman and Justin Holt, two western North Carolina-based permaculture educators, the pair were drawn together by their shared interest in designing ecologically diverse and resilient communities. Friedman and Holt would host biannual, three-day events called Kudzu Camps, where they invited community members to learn the intricacies of processing the different parts of the plant.
WLBOTT: G, let’s say there was an effort to provide employment by manually cutting down kudzu with machetes. How long would it take one person to clear one acre of kudzu?
Elder G: Short answer: it varies wildly. Here’s a practical range for one person with a machete clearing 1 acre (43,560 sq ft), assuming no herbicides or machines and that you’re just cutting and piling vines (not hauling them off-site).
How long it takes (by infestation level)
Light cover (new patch, knee-high mats, few tangles): ~1,000–2,000 sq ft/hour → 22–44 hours/acre (3–6 workdays).
Tree canopies: if kudzu is 20–60 ft up trees, just “machete only” means cutting at bases and dragging—very slow.
Cut-and-carry: hauling to piles can double labor vs. “cut and leave.”
Weather/season: summer heat limits hours/day; winter cuts are easier but you’ll still need warm-season follow-ups.
Control reality (important!)
A single cut doesn’t “clear” kudzu for long. Expect regrowth in 2–4 weeks during the season. To actually suppress an acre with hand tools, plan on:
Initial knockdown (per the ranges above), plus
Follow-ups every 3–4 weeks through 2–3 growing seasons. Cumulative follow-up labor commonly adds +150–400 hours/acre over the first two years.
WLBOTT: How about goats?
Elder G: Short answer: yes—goats are a strong option for kudzu, especially on steep, tangled ground. They’ll knock it down fast and, with repeat visits, can starve the roots over a few seasons.
What goats can (and can’t) do
Effective with repetition: Universities consistently note you need repeated grazing over multiple growing seasons to deplete the kudzu root starch. Expect 2–4 years for durable control, not one-and-done.
Great where machines struggle: Goats reach places you can’t spray or mow safely.
But protect desirable trees: Goats will browse tree seedlings and even bark; plan guards around trees you care about.
How many goats / how long per acre?
For fast knockdown of heavy kudzu, targeted-grazing trials and service guidelines point to ~30–60 goats per acre for a short, intensive hit (often ~3–7 days to defoliate). Examples: research tested 16 vs. 32–48 goats/acre; a service guideline says ~60 goats ≈ 1 acre in ~3 days.
For slower/cheaper rotations, consumer guides and NRCS notes suggest ~8–12 goats/acre can clear an acre in about a month, but you’ll need multiple returns in the season.
What it tends to cost
Public estimates: ~$400–$1,000 per acre (varies with density, fencing, travel).
Real quotes vary a lot: e.g., one company lists $1,500+ starting for 1+ acre jobs, another shows ~$1,200 setup + $150/day with 8–10 goats.
Setup & management checklist
Temporary electric net fencing, water, shade/shelter, and a herder checking daily; some outfits bring guard dogs. (Standard targeted-grazing practices.)
Tree/plant protection: Wrap trunks you want to keep, and flag any goat-toxic ornamentals for exclusion.
Follow-ups: Plan re-grazing every 3–4 weeks through the growing season to keep shoots eaten down, year after year.
Best results = combo approach: After goats weaken the patch, use spot cut-stump or foliar herbicide on regrowth for a faster finish.
WLBOTT Business Proposal: Twine & Dine
We will bring the goats to you.
View from the bus….
We offer a discount if you allow the WLBOTT Elders to dine with the goats.
