Nikki Sue Nikon's Kudzu Challenge!

[fstopMike]

In Georgia, the legend says
That you must close your windows
At night to keep it out of the house
The glass is tinged with green, even so,
As the tendrils crawl over the fields...

Kudzu
James Dickey


Link to the whole poem: http://www.breakoutofthebox.com/kudzu.htm



I've been learning so much lately here at DPS, I thought maybe it's time I contributed a little myself and teach you something about the nemesis of the South--Kudzu.

Kudzu was introduced in the United States in 1876 at the Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition by the Japanese. It was initially used as an ornamental plant in Gardens and as forage.

Kudzu was spread through much of the South through the efforts of Franklin D Roosevelt's Civilian Conservation Corp during the depression as an aid to prevent erosion. Talk about a government program run amok. Will we ever learn?



The trees covered here will die as the Kudzu smothers them and blocks out all light. Under ideal conditions, Kudzu can grow up to a foot a day and 60 feet or more in a growing season. Vines can extend up to 100 feet in length with stems as large as 4 inches in diameter. Kudzu taproots can grow as large as 7 inches or more in width, 6 feet or more in length, and weigh as much as 400 pounds . As many as 30 vines can grow from a single root crown. Kudzu grows best in areas where sunlight is abundant, summertime temperatures are over 80 degrees, and rainfall is greater than 40 inches per year.



I felt Niike Sue Nikon tremble with fear as we snuggled up to all these Kudzu tentacles to get a picture! Of course, realizing the danger of being lost forever, I quickly slipped her camera strap around my neck.

I've heard it said that concrete blocks make excellent mulch for Kudzu. Dr James H Miller of the US Forest Service conducted research on Kudzu for eighteen years. He experimented with many herbicides in an effort to find one that will eradicate the plant.. He found one herbicide that actually promoted growth of Kudzu, while most others had little effect, so it will continue to be with us for a while.



Fortunately, Kudzu cannot tolerate cold and will die off at the first hint of frost, only to continue its relentless advance when the summer's warmth returns the next year.

So here's Nikki Sue's challenge. All you Southerners in sight of Kudzu...and that's everybody, It's time to go out and photograph Kudzu. Show her your photos of the ravenous Kudzu plant gobbling up telephone poles, roadside signs, shacks, houses, cars, and slow moving humans! Just add them to the thread. We'd love to see them!

[timsville]

wow that was quite an interesting post Mike. really enjoyed the story. Those things could take over the world!!!!!!

[shutternut]

Thanks for sharing,

I live in south Florida so I don't see this stuff until I start heading farther north, but I remember when I was little I used to think that all the kudzu covered trees resembled giants on the sides of the roads whenever we went on road trips up north... thanks for the trip down memory lane!

[pjflan7]

If you live in Tennessee and Georgia, then it has taken over the world already! I was raised on Lookout Mtn Tn and the stuff was everywhere. It is insidious stuff and it grows faster than you can cut it and people tend to avoid it due to snakes and such and so it keeps growing and killing everything in its path. Great shots Mike.....they are very true to reality all over the south

[jakethepig]

What a very interesting lesson Mike, I enjoyed it so much, and you and Nikki Sue Nikon did such a wonderful job in providing the images to accompany the lesson. I enjoyed the lesson so much along with the great captures. Now I know why this site is called Digital Photography School and you don't only learn about photography as your good self, Lindy and Vinam have shown us and to great effect too.
Thank you for a great lesson Mike.

Jake.

[fstopMike]

Originally Posted by timsville

wow that was quite an interesting post Mike. really enjoyed the story. Those things could take over the world!!!!!!

A very prolific vine and a member of the pea family. Fortunately, it can't tolerate cold and won't grow in places where the ground is cold enough in the winter to kill the roots. Unfortunately, our ground never freezes so it remains dormant in the winter, only to continue on from where it left off when the weather warms.

Originally Posted by shutternut

Thanks for sharing,

I live in south Florida so I don't see this stuff until I start heading farther north, but I remember when I was little I used to think that all the kudzu covered trees resembled giants on the sides of the roads whenever we went on road trips up north... thanks for the trip down memory lane!

You're welcome, and thanks for looking. I have lots of family in Miami and we used to go there every summer when I was a kid. I don't know why it doesn't grow that far down into Florida.

[mechanic1300]

Another enjoyable lesson from Nikki sue. As much as i love seeing overseas shots of landscape, this too is most interesting. We here in Oz also have weeds that take over the countryside and creeks but most people never see those things. This was a very interesting subject you posted. And although it is a blight on the landscape there is a sort of strange uniqueness about it. Thanks for posting

[PrimeTime]

Thank's for the kudzu lesson mike. It is deff. some nasty stuff. I've seen it in a few places in northern WV.

[Sheriliz]

Cool shots, I never knew where the stuff came from. I love the information shared here. Thanks!

[fstopMike]

Originally Posted by pjflan7

If you live in Tennessee and Georgia, then it has taken over the world already! I was raised on Lookout Mtn Tn and teh stuff was everywhere. It is insidious stuff and it grows faster than you can cut it and people tend to avoid it due to snakes and such and so it keeps growing and killing everything in its path. Great shots Mike.....they are very true to reality all over the south

It's so common, we in the South hardly give it a second glance, but it is for real and it is pervasive.

Originally Posted by jakethepig

What a very interesting lesson Mike, I enjoyed it so much, and you and Nikki Sue Nikon did such a wonderful job in providing the images to accompany the lesson. I enjoyed the lesson so much along with the great captures. Now I know why this site is called Digital Photography School and you don't only learn about photography as your good self, Lindy and Vinam have shown us and to great effect too.
Thank you for a great lesson Mike.

Jake.

Lindy has been my inspiration to look at things we take for granted and look at them in a different way. I was wondering about blooms, because I've never really paid attention to them. They bloom in July, but the blooms hide under the leaves, so I've never noticed them.