Crazy Kudzu

Crazy kudzu is everywhere. This is our number one observation over the last month. Crazy kudzu dominates North Carolina and southern Virginia.

I first heard of kudzu in the 1960s. It was already a problem, an invasive species intentionally imported from Japan as decoration in 1876. It spread as food for animals and erosion control. I guess you can say that the intentions were good, but the results are pretty horrifying. The nicknames are “the-vine-that-ate-the-south” and also “foot-a-night-vine”.

We’re from the government, and we’re here to help

The U.S. government addressed the issue starting at the time of the Dust Bowl by offering cheap starter plants to help farmers. The Soil Conservation Service actually paid farmers to plant kudzu (that is crazy) in their fields. Kudzu, however, preferred to grow next to roads where sunlight was abundant. In 1953, the Department of Agriculture removed kudzu from its list of recommended plants. It was too late! Kudzu was wild and a nuisance. In 1970, it was reclassified as a weed. In 1997, the USDA called kudzu a noxious weed.

Until our trip through North Carolina and southern Virginia, we didn’t see much kudzu. Here it is everywhere. It covers entire valleys, climbs up, and covers trees and telephone poles. Kudzu makes fences disappear and climbs up the sides of houses. It really is crazy kudzu. I don’t know why we didn’t notice kudzu further south; perhaps it was that we just didn’t notice. Another name for kudzu in the south is “death-vine” because when it runs wild, it kills every other plant.

Goats

The only non-toxic methods to reclaim land destroyed by kudzu are goats or digging it up. Every farmer knows that goats will eat anything and everything, kudzu included. Goats, however, quit eating at the surface of the ground, and the kudzu will quickly come back. The only way to really kill it is to dig up the root.

Crazy kudzu is not the only or biggest problem.

Asian privet had invaded some 3.2 million acres—14 times kudzu’s territory. The big difference is that you can see kudzu right next to the road, where it gets attention.

The furthest north southern state

Virginia is known as the farthest northern southern state, which applies to the southern Virginia area where we have been staying. The northeast part of Virginia is usually considered the furthest north of the southern states. We have no doubt that we are still in the south. My evaluation is that this area of Virginia is way more southern than Raleigh, North Carolina, which is two hours away. In fact, we feel more southern influence here than we did anywhere in North Carolina or even Tennessee.

Still hot and muggy

As is typical anywhere in the south, it has continued to be hot with only a few breaks in the weather. September is just around the corner. We departed the Piedmont area and are back at the edge of the Blue Ridge Mountains. This has given us a few days of relief. The afternoon thunderstorms (nearly every day) also provide some relief from the heat. Our elevation change is only about five hundred feet, and this makes a difference.

We turned north at Raleigh, getting out a week before they had record heat. Then, on the most southern roads of Virginia, we worked our way along the border to the west. All the cities we crossed in the last two weeks were small ones, and they all had deep roots in the pre- and post-Civil War South. Had we been here two hundred years ago, we would have had canoes on the Dan River as we crossed the area. It would have been a lot easier than hiking in the dense forest.

Tobacco

The area became a major producer of tobacco products, which dominated the farms until just recently, and we still see fields of tobacco growing in the surrounding farms. I find it interesting that we passed through the tobacco area last week and are now in an area mostly known for wood. Not lumber but rather hardwoods. The city just south of our camp is Bassett, and the number one industry in Bassett is furniture. Sadly, manufacturing in Bassett moved to Southeast Asia about 15 years ago, and the town still seems a little in shock.

Neighborhood

We have been hiding inside the RV with our air conditioner running nearly non-stop for the last week. We also stay inside during the thunderstorms. Today provided a break in the heat, with the weather here being influenced by the hurricane in southern Florida. It is much cooler than yesterday. Overall, the campground is nice, and I have been using the time to backfill our campsite reviews. I didn’t anticipate how popular the campsite reviews would be. So far, we have eighty-eight campsites in the review section. Here is a link to our review map. Campsite Reviews

Our campground was nearly empty until Thursday and filled quickly for the weekend. We are a little different than most of our camper neighbors. We still get out first thing in the morning and then again at about sunset. But our neighbors are here to be outside all day and into the night. They have more of a weekend-vacation feel. We still get surprised by the neighbors. Last night at about 9:30, we were surprised by a trombone.

Please subscribe and join us on our journey

We will add you to our email list and send you updates once a week. Here is a link. Subscribe

About our links

As you know, our blog income is zero – this allows us to be independent and just tell the truth.  We do not get income or commissions. No, we don’t make paid endorsements.  We don’t make recommendations, but instead, we will tell you what we like (or dislike). The links are only provided as a quick reference to help our readers.

Links

Kudzu: The Invasive Vine that Ate the South

A Faster Way to Get Rid of Kudzu

About Comments

We love seeing your comments, but they are not automatic. I get about 20 spam comments every day, so I don’t allow automatic comments. I read and personally publish every comment to protect the blog and keep it on topic and real. So what this means for you is that you will not see your comment right after you hit submit. Sorry for the delay in publishing your comments. Please know that we love hearing from you.