LDEI Ann Arbor: Kudzu Kickoff

KUDZU   KICKOFF!     Join Sandy Lach Arlinghaus, from her home in Meridian Mississippi, as she   leads a zoom group in discussing the possibilities for using kudzu as a   food.      Kudzu is a vine, sometimes known as 'the vine that ate the South', that is   an invasive plant with a nasty cascading habit that smothers, and kills, all   that it covers. There are about 7.5   million acres with kudzu growth. It is   a dark leafy green that grows about one foot per day during peak growing   season and has root balls of up to 400 pounds. The mere rate of growth disturbs the soil   and causes release of carbon sequestered in the soil, making kudzu a net   emitter of carbon (contrary to intuition about plants in general).      What we have is an edible crop, growing wild, that is relatively unused. Most efforts with kudzu are to kill   it. There is some folk art interest in   making baskets from vines and such, but only a small amount in using it for   human food. In fact, the mere mention   of that idea appears to be disgusting to some. So, what can we do to take advantage of   this freely growing, sustainable (indeed!) crop; it is a leafy green and   nutritious. Perhaps the panache that   can be leveraged by a world-class leader, LDEI, can make this currently   undesired crop one that foodies will seek out as 'trendy' and even pay money to procure. The LDEI imprimatur could turn a loser into a winner and enlarge our   Green Tables, locally and globally.      Join us aa we talk about the research we have already done and add your   thoughts about issues involving harvesting wild urban greens, cooking them,   presenting them, pairing them, and generally share you experiences. Our small local focus group would   appreciate your wisdom in order to enlarge our base of knowledge as we move   forward to developing a pilot project in Meridian to expand more broadly  elsewhere over time. To register, email sarhaus@umich.edu