I've seen kudzu upclose in only one location, but it had made a jungled mass of greenery covering some shrubs and trees. I've certainly seen it growing up all kinds of structures in other places though. One thing that's good about it -- it's a legume so it really enriches the soil! Kudzu has some other beneficial uses, too, including the animal fodder you mention. From Wikipedia: Animal feed Kudzu can be used by grazing animals as it is high in quality as a forage and greatly enjoyed by livestock. It can be enjoyed up until frost and even slightly after. Kudzu hay typically has a 1518% crude protein content and over 60% total digestible nutrient value. The quality of it decreases, however, as vine content increases relative to the leaf content. Kudzu also has low forage yields despite its great deal of growth, yielding around two to four tons of dry matter per acre annually. It is also difficult to bale due to its vining growth and its slowness in shedding water. This makes it necessary to place kudzu hay under sheltered protection after being baled. Kudzu is readily consumed by all types of grazing animals, yet frequent grazing over 3 to 4 years can ruin stands. Thus kudzu only serves well as a grazing crop on a temporary basis. Medicine The Harvard Medical School is studying kudzu as a possible way to treat alcoholic cravings, by turning an extracted compound from the herb into a medical drug. The mechanism for this is not yet established, but it may have to do with both alcohol metabolism and the reward circuits in the brain. Kudzu also contains a number of useful isoflavones, including daidzein (an anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial agent), daidzin (a cancer preventive) and genistein (an antileukemic agent). Kudzu is a unique source of the isoflavone puerarin. Kudzu root compounds can affect neurotransmitters (including serotonin, GABA, and glutamate) and it has shown value in treating migraine and cluster headache. It is recommended for allergies and diarrhea. Research in mice models suggests that Kudzu is beneficial for control of some post-menopausal symptoms such as hypertension and diabetes type II. In traditional Chinese medicine, where it is known as gé gēn (Chinese: 葛根), kudzu is considered one of the 50 fundamental herbs. It is used to treat tinnitus, vertigo, and Wei syndrome (superficial heat close to the surface). Starch The roots contain starch, which has traditionally been used as a food ingredient in East Asia. Other uses In the Southern United States, where the plant has been introduced with devastating environmental consequences,[9] kudzu is used to make soaps, lotions, jelly, and compost. It has even been suggested that kudzu may become a valuable asset for the production of cellulosic ethanol. Control For successful long-term control of kudzu, it is not necessary to destroy the entire root system, which can be quite large and deep. It is only necessary to use some method to kill or remove the kudzu root crown and all rooting runners. The root crown is a fibrous knob of tissue that sits on top of the root (rhizome). Crowns form from vine nodes that root to the ground, and range from pea-size to basketball-size. The older the crown, the deeper they tend to be found in the ground because they are covered by sediment and plant debris over time. Nodes and crowns are the source of all kudzu vines, and roots cannot produce vines. If any portion of a root crown remains after attempted removal, the kudzu plant grows back. Small kudzu crown severed from root using flexible pruning saw. Mechanical methods of control involve cutting off crowns from roots, usually just below ground level. This immediately kills the plant. Cutting off vines is not sufficient for an immediate kill. It is necessary to destroy all removed crown material: Buried crowns can regenerate into healthy kudzu. Transporting crowns in soil removed from a kudzu infestation is one common way that kudzu "miraculously" spreads and shows up in unexpected locations. Close mowing every week, regular heavy grazing for many successive years, or repeated cultivation may be effective, as this serves to deplete root reserves. A terribly invasive vine but not quite as difficult to get rid of as bindweed!

I was tired last night. Lasagna is just deep sheet mulching. And deep mulches, if they are light impenetrable, will kill the sod beneath them no matter what order you layer them. The most impenetrable layers---your paper layers do not need to be on the bottom to kill the sod. The problem arises, not from your sod, but when your top layers are fertile and seeds in those materials start sprouting. I don't get a single weed when I use (unshredded) newspaper as an upper layer, weighed down and covered with something fairly inert---straw, seaweed, leaves. I only use a mulch over the newspaper to hide it and keep it in place. About too much of a good thing---it depends on the size of your beds, of course, and maybe your climate, but in Maine I have never been able to overapply soil amendments. I've deep mulched these most recent beds annually for 20 years. Last year I got pretty enthused gathering compostables and turned an area of lawn into a giant compost pile---not because I have any future plan for that space, but just because I had access to tons of rough compost materials from the Brewer dump. The pile consisted of stuffed leaf bags emptied shoulder to shoulder, over 40 pumpkins, about 7 contractor bags of seaweed, several bags of pine needles, three or four bales of straw. It was almost three feet deep in material. It shrank considerably over the winter and grew pumpkins. I intend to keep piling stuff up on this 15 x 20' area (or another) whether I ever use it or not. My topsoil was robbed from me during construction and replaced with gravel. I am opposed to buying topsoil since I now understand where topsoil comes from, so I am trying to undo the damage to this formerly untouched land by reclaiming it over time by creating large deeply mulched areas. I don't rob my compost bins for these reclaimed areas. Oh...I engaged in highjack, didn't I?

I have the same problem. We have had a dry spell and my careful sheet mulching is drying out and flying around the yard. Not a nice thing. I hate to water it with city water, because of all the chlorine they use, and dry means no rain for the barrel. And of course, my personal bane of cats. What is it with my garden and cats?!?!?!?! I don't know about the seeding... Is your weed barier right under the straw? Or do you have a thin layer of compost on top of the cardboard/newspaper? I made the mistake of having newspaper on the top, except for the rice straw covering. It is a terrible mess. Cats digging in it, birds scratching it, drying out and flapping around the yard.... I am just praying for rain and trying to keep it in place long enough to compact enough it won't fly away. Next time I will definitely save enough compost to put at least an inch over the whole thing, hopefully three or four. Sooo..... My humble and completely untested opinion: If you have a layer under the straw and above the weed barier, I would take off some or most of the straw, broadcast the seed, and replace the straw a bit thinner. If you have no layer between the weed barier and the straw, I would thin the straw, broadcast the seed, and accept a lower germination. I think the roots, being stronger than shoots, could force through the barrier (after all, some plants can break rocks in half!) And last, I would mix together all of my old (over two years) vegetable and flower seed packets and add them to the cover crop mix. Unplanned polyculture. It may give you some ideas for interplanting in the future! And you may even get some produce! Eric in Japan

prepped the soil for these garden beds ==>>> where are you.. whats the base soil ... remove all fabric ... it doesnt matter what kind ... most seed seed is air borne.. and minutes after you put it down.. seeds accumulating on top ... and sooner or later.. they will be growing down thru it.. and then it will be impossible to remove .. trust us on this .... how did you amend the soil.. what did you put into the soil ... whats been the ambient weather since spring.. e.g. here in MI ... weve had 6 weeks of drought ... and.. as a newb ... do understand.. your garden is not going to look like a disney garden.. some years are good.. some are bad ... and we just roll with it ... also ... your plants can be subject to all kinds of stresses .. until they are FULLY ESTABLISHED ... and it depends what kind of plant on how long it takes .... your shrub may not be fully established until next year ... oh.. your a renter ... leave the fabric there.. and just move.. easiest way to get rid of bindweed ... lol .. sorry ken