permaculture

[Robyn Francis <erda@nor.com.au>]

Hi Dieter
Bamboo culms for construction and durability are best harvested at 3-5 years
of age. The first growth year of a culm it achieves its full height, the
second year puts out its branches & leaves and starts to photosynthesise,
third year the stems harden. Bamboo harvested in the first two years is full
of sugars and starch so doesn't last long and is more susceptible to the
powder borer/beetle.
Bamboo's are best harvested with the waning moon in the driest time of year
after the growing season - for running (temperate) varieties this is during
Autumn-early winter, for clumping (tropical) its late winter-spring.
For most running bamboos you can tell which culms are over 3 years as the
lowest branch/es have died off.
I mark the culms on my large clumping bamboos.
Robyn Francis


On 7/10/10 8:55 AM, "Dieter Brand" <diebrand@yahoo.com> wrote:

> I have different types of bamboo.  One type is edible.  I can harvest almost
> half of all shoots (around 100) each year for eating.  It¹s a matter of
> experience to know when exactly to harvest them.  If you let the shoots grow
> for too long they will get hard.  The non-edible types I use for poles and
> other things in the garden.  They grow new holms each year between March and
> June.  I always cut all the holms of the previous year when most of the new
> holms have started to appear.  If I cut before the new holms start to grow I
> would weaken the plant, if I cut after all the new holms have grown the old
> holms would impede the growth of the new holms.  Under normal conditions
> bamboo holms are supposed to reach their maximum size four years after
> planting, but I find that even after 10 years they still get a bit taller 
> each
> year.  If you just cut a few holms, I guess you could cut anytime without
> weakening the plant too much.  On the other hand, I don¹t
 find there is any
> point in not cutting all the holms of the previous year once the new once 
> have
> started to appear because the new once are always more numerous and taller
> than the previous once.

Dieter Brand
Portugal

PS: I don¹t use the clump-type
> bamboo.  I had one but gave it up.  Now I only have those that spread.


---
> On Wed, 10/6/10, mIEKAL aND <qazingulaza@gmail.com> wrote:

> From: mIEKAL aND
> <qazingulaza@gmail.com>
> Subject: [permaculture] when to harvest bamboo
> To:
> "permaculture" <permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org>
> Date: Wednesday, October 6,
> 2010, 1:43 PM
> A small clump of bamboo
> (Phyllostachys aureosulcata) I
> planted on the
> south side of one of our buildings more than 15 years ago
>
> is finally
> putting out usable wood.  The first 10 years it was
> never more
> than 3
> feet high & the thickness of a pencil, but gradually
> spreading
>
> everywhere in a small courtyard.  3 years ago we got a
> stretch of 35
> below
> & I assumed it completely died back but after 2
> years with zero
> above
> ground activity this year it grew 10 - 15 feet high
> & a few
> pieces are
> almost an inch thick.  Is it best to
> harvest in the fall
> while it is still
> green or should I wait until the
> spring?  Also is
> there any problem with
> harvest all the growth or should a
> bit of it be
> left behind.
>
>
> ~mIEKAL
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