Seven or eight I lost a whole section of pine trees to pine bark beetles. That left me a view of my neighbors house that I didnt like. So I planted bamboo. It filled in and made a nice screen in about 4 years. Bamboo is an excellent survival plant and I would encourage everyone to try and get a small grove growing if you have room. Many vireites are cold hardy to 0 fereinheit. The benefits are many as bamboo can be made into fishing poles, make excellent garden stakes, and could be used to build animal cages. Bamboo sends up shoots only once a year, the shoots are ediatable and dont taste bad. Goats like the leaves an my neighbors goats keep my bamboo from creepinto his property. My bamboo sends up shoots in May and I figure I could survive the whole month just eating them, give me a little time for the garden to start producing.
Bamboo can also be used to make drinking vessels, (larger bamboo can make) bowls, candle holders, build crude shelters, build animal pens, make decking, be laid for courduroy roadways, build a bridge, dang near anything you could use wood for, including carving forks, knives, spoons etc. Not to mention, knife handles, bo staves, spears, and clubs can be made from bamboo. http://blog.builddirect.com/bamboo-zled-more-uses-for-bamboo-natures-favourite-trend/ http://blog.builddirect.com/greenbuilding/19_uses_bamboo/
LOL, I love it when other people reenforce things I have thought of or actually done. Yup, I got a stand of Black Bamboo.
Bamboo can be a bamboon..... Bamboo can be a bamboon.....but it can also be a bambane. As has been stated in several previous posts...bamboo is a very useful resource being capable of being used to make just about anything from chopsticks to scaffolding, to bridges, to housing. However, some species are highly invasive (running bamboo) and can cause problems in blocking irrigation pipes, lifting and cracking foundations and driveways; it can occcupy space that you might prefer to be used for food produtionton and it can be expensive and hard work to eradicate. Clumping bamboo may be a better bet as it tends to be less invasive. You may have to plant several types of bamboo as each variety tends to have a distinct height and diameter growth habit. Oh.....and any SVN vet can attest....they make great punji stakes, and their flexibility make them good for swinging boobytraps and trapping sets.
Try a local nursery / bamboo stockist Try a local nursery / bamboo stockist....it should stock varieties suitable to local climatic conditions. The internet should find you a local supplier. Mountain Bamboos, Clumping bamboos There are plenty of youtube video clips on growing bamboo. Some may have suggestions for cultivating bamboo in climatic regions similar to your own. Bamboo seems to have a wide range of growing conditions ranging from tropical to alpine....it will probably not do well in tundra where the permafrost may inhibit root development, but it is pretty hardy stuff.
The best way would be find someone who has some and ask to dig some up, most people dont like it anyway. Purchasing bamboo on the internet is expensive and not alaways successful, local nursurys rarley stock bambooo. I have 14 different varietys, the biggest gets 5" in diameter and some thats a foot high and is for orinmental use. Most cold hardy bamboos will be runing bamboo, to control it simlpy mow over new shoots, or cut the new shoots for food where you dont want it to grow. Its awesome to watch it grow as it will reach its full height in 30 to 40 days.
You know Larry...I've seen and tried Bass fishing with a bamboo jigging pole...It is indeed a rush when a 1lb.Bass nail's the lure tied 3'' from the tip of the pole on an 80# test line...You think Godzilla has just hit it...ccc
Hahaha...Ahh...Man the noodles are up farther Nawth... I for one would never noodle a gator hole... Ya may come up missing something....
Yes on the Bamboo. I just planted 6 different types of bamboo. All of them the larger timber Bamboo, and all of them produce shoots that are edible. They are of the "Phyllostachys genus" these are pretty much all cold hardy, some down to -20 degrees. if anyone is interested in the genus i bought here are their names: 1: Phyllostachys Aureoculta (yellow groove) 2h. Nigra ( black Bamboo) 3h. Vivax ( green Stripe) 4h. Rubrumarginata ( red Margin) 5h. nigra ( Shimdake) 6h: Nigra (henon) These are all very cold hardy, and produce tasty shoots, some tastier than others as I have been told. I just put mine in the ground, so it will be a time before they produce shoots to eat. And as other ppl have said in other replies. Bamboo is very strong and usefull.
After losing a nice bass to a broken pole I started using a bit more line and running the end half way down the pole. That way if another broke the end off I would still have the critter.
I have Henon and Black as well as many varieties I cant idenfy. I also have some small varieties including sasa which has a large leaf that the edges turn brown in the winter which is neat looking. Just wondering did you purchase these or were you luckey enoght to get them from someone already growing them?