Bamboo. Cultivation and uses | Permaculture in Galicia
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Bamboo
Bamboo considered the "vegetable steel", is one of the most interesting and versatile plants in the world. Its flexible, solid, and durable trunks can serve us for many uses in our garden, from acting as a tutor for our crops to becoming makeshift handles for our utensils and tools. Posts, crossbars, trellises ... with a little imagination, its uses are practically unlimited.
It is estimated that there are more than 1,300 species of bamboo worldwide. In Asia, Africa, America, and Oceania it is very common to find it growing wild.
It can adapt to a wide variety of climates, from tropical to temperate zones, where there are species that can withstand frosts and temperatures down to -9 ºC (15,8 ºF).
Bamboo flourishes between 30 and 120 years, so its main propagation method is asexual, through its rhizomes.
It requires sandy or loamy-sandy soils, well-drained and aerated, along with abundant irrigation, mainly during its juvenile growth stage, which is the phase with the highest vegetative growth.
It is one of the fastest-growing plants in the world. There are bamboo species in Latin America that can grow up to 15 cm. per day. And the Phylostaques Edulis species, native to Japan, can grow up to 1.2 meters (3 feet and 1,2 inches) per day. Some of them are capable of reaching up to 40 meters (131 ft) in height.
Its stems are thick and cylindrical, formed by sections called internodes, separated by partitions called knots.
Under ground, the bamboo has roots and rhizomes, which in some varieties can reach up to eight meters in length, from which the new shoots will sprout.
Due to its ease of spreading on the ground, it is necessary that we delimit the cultivation area, using some type of underground barrier so that it cannot spread to undesired areas.
Its cylindrical stems are deep green during its juvenile stage, which will turn more opaque yellowish-brownish in its mature stage, that is, after 1 or 2 years. It is at that moment when the harvest of the rods is carried out.
An additional factor that makes bamboo a very interesting species is the fixation of atmospheric CO2. In studies carried out, a bamboo plot produces around 107 grams of leaf litter per m2 per month. These data show that bamboo plantations or crops have a high capacity for the production of biomass and organic matter, which leads to an uptake of atmospheric CO2 and the consequent production of oxygen, contributing significantly to the reduction of greenhouse gases.
Due to its hardness, it can also be used as a wind barrier, considerably reducing its strength and incidence. In addition, its roots act to protect soil erosion and its structure, being able to store 30,000 liters of water per hectare per year, which allows it to maintain large areas of soil with good humidity conditions, even during long periods of drought, thanks to the permeability of the soil.
We see that the raw material that bamboo offers will be very useful as a resource for trellis, construction, crafts ...
As it is a great retainer of soil moisture, biomass producer, its ornamental value, and as a wind barrier, we cannot forget to include bamboo in our organic garden or food forest.
Music:
"Bomber (Sting)" by Riot
"The Road Home" by Joseph Beg (Epidemic Sound)
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