Bamboo for Homestead Use

[HomesteaderWife]

Husband's Grandfather planted a few shoots years ago and they took off. Make great bean poles/fishing poles. Great decorative "fence". Multiple folks have come and bought trailer loads from us and it regrows like crazy.

 

[HornyToadAcres]

I just planted 3 varieties of bamboo on our homestead.
You don't have to tell me it is too close together, I know!
We have a slab of caliche that is at various depths/thickness
and it happened to be only 8 inches down and very solid
where I wanted to plant. So hubby took the backhoe and
dug/hammered out a trench for me and filled it back up
with dirt. Our soil is mostly very fine clay so I put used
bunny hay/pellets in the holes where I planted. I'm keeping
a careful eye on the micro irrigation and turning it off
when the water pools.

Fingers crossed!!!!!

 

[wyoDreamer]

@HornyToadAcres do you have a specific use planned for your bamboo?

 

[HornyToadAcres]

@HornyToadAcres do you have a specific use planned for your bamboo?

Yes! I hope to be able to eventually sell divisions. The place I purchased from thought I might possibly be able to get divisions from the clumping variety as early as fall just depending on how it goes. The two runner varieties will probably take until next spring.

I also think the chickens and rabbits will enjoy it (I read rabbits can eat some, just not a lot). I had to put my chickens up after they found it as they were enjoying my new plants a little too much. We will enjoy the additional greenery for sure. And we will definitely try eating some shoots. If it does well, I have areas that could use windbreaks. And eventually I suspect we will find many uses for the poles.

If I do not have success selling locally, I will try selling it online. When my son asked me why, I showed him the nine small plants I had purchased and asked him how much he thought I had paid. He said $15? I said, try $400 and it was a good deal.

 

[Mini Horses]

I'd have guessed more than your son but, not what you paid! Wow! Obviously I haven't been looking to buy. I hope they do well for you.

 

[farmerjan]

Don't know that much about bamboo, but the one kind here in Va is the "runner" kind I guess as it spreads and it a real nuscience.... grows along roadsides, gets real tall and then falls over into the roads and our highway dept cusses it. It will take over..... not liked around here.

 

[HornyToadAcres]

I'd have guessed more than your son but, not what you paid! Wow! Obviously I haven't been looking to buy. I hope they do well for you.

It wasn't an impulse but it was definitely a splurge. My mom has sent me a birthday gift. I probably should have stuck to just one variety. I will definitely update on how they do.

 

[HornyToadAcres]

Don't know that much about bamboo, but the one kind here in Va is the "runner" kind I guess as it spreads and it a real nuscience.... grows along roadsides, gets real tall and then falls over into the roads and our highway dept cusses it. It will take over..... not liked around here.

Yes, running bamboo can definitely be a nuisance where it gets out of hand. Especially in milder climates. Our invasive plant here is mesquite. We have to beat it back constantly from surrounding acres. The seeds can sprout even on top of the chipbase that covers most of our property.

I remember buying a mimosa for one of my little oasis and was told, factually, that it can be invasive. It lasted 3 years and did no invading here. I realize now that it didn't have enough soil under it.

 

[farmerjan]

@HornyToadAcres ; Thank you for spelling nuisance... I knew something looked off but couldn't figure out why I didn't like the way it looked....!!!!
We have enough cold that the real warm weather plants struggle... but this bamboo seems to not mind the cold....
I have heard that mesquite can be a problem. Here, the real big problem is Russian Autumn Olive and Multiflora Rose.... both non-native... both really take over in a heartbeat.....Have to keep the edges of the hayfields bush hogged or in 2 years they are 10 feet out into the field.... take over pastures in a heartbeat.

 

[HornyToadAcres]

@HornyToadAcres ; Thank you for spelling nuisance... I knew something looked off but couldn't figure out why I didn't like the way it looked....!!!!
We have enough cold that the real warm weather plants struggle... but this bamboo seems to not mind the cold....
I have heard that mesquite can be a problem. Here, the real big problem is Russian Autumn Olive and Multiflora Rose.... both non-native... both really take over in a heartbeat.....Have to keep the edges of the hayfields bush hogged or in 2 years they are 10 feet out into the field.... take over pastures in a heartbeat.

I have had old-timers here tell me that there was no mesquite 50 years ago. Now it is everywhere the land is not being actively used for something else. Non-native species can definitely be an issue. And yes, nuisance!!! I try to roll with it. The scariest invader I ever saw was the kudzoo (sp?) in lower Alabama when we lived there. It would just grow over everything. Eerie.

It's a shame something called Multiflora Rose has to be a problem! Like the mimosa.

And yes, there are many varieties of bamboo and some can stand temperate zones. My zone here is 7a, 7b, or 8a depending on what map you consult. So the sub tropical species probably would be hurt by the spurts of cold weather and 2-3 snowfalls we normally get. And the wind. Always the wind. It is super flat here and rarely is there no wind at all.

Actually the weather is quite nice here, often beautiful. Unless it is trying to kill ya. And it can go from one extreme to the other in 10 minutes. I have seen differences of 50-60 degrees in a 24 hour period. I experienced that a little in north central FL but it is more extreme here. Or maybe I am just a lot older.