How and When to Harvest Bamboo?

Timing plays a crucial role when harvesting bamboo. As a matter of fact, knowing when to harvest bamboo has been one of the most important and traditional bamboo preservation methods in areas with smaller resources.

Harvesting Bamboo

Some say harvesting bamboo according to the right season or moon phase is hocus-pocus, but it is NOT! Studies show that when bamboo is not harvested correctly (and left untreated) it will deteriorate much faster and is more attractive to borers. Therefore, good harvesting practices will enhance the resistance of the bamboo culms and will retain their strength.

To understand why timing is so important, we just have to look at the composition of bamboo. Bamboo possesses large amounts of starch (sugars) which are the principle nutrients for parasites, borers and fungi. When carbohydrates are reduced, the bamboo culm will be more naturally resistant to those biological degrading organisms.

Season

Sugar content in almost all plants varies with seasons. Dry season is the period of dormancy. During this period, the bamboo plant is acquiring and conserving nutrients for the next season of growth. Starch content and moisture content is lower, which reduces the chances of borer attacks, and the possibility of subsequent splitting and cracking.

During rainy season, starch and moisture content in the bamboo culms is higher. This is also the period when new shoots emerge and felling operations could damage or destroy the shoots. That's why it is not recommended to harvest bamboo during rainy season.

Maturity

Mature Bamboo Culms

Sugar content in bamboos also varies with age. The starch content in bamboo is lowest during the first year and highest between year 1-3. Obviously we don't want to harvest immature bamboos because they didn't complete the process of lignification, they are less strong and usually collapse on drying. Bamboo in considered mature at 4-5 years.

Mature bamboo culms are recognized by the formation of white spots on the culm and lichens (fungi) at the nodes. Experienced bamboo growers can even recognize mature bamboo by the sound in the stem when struck with a stone or the back of a machete.

If bamboo stems are covered with fungi and mosses in their entirety, and nodes appear whitish-gray or even dry, it is a sign that the culms are over-mature.

Moon Phase

Bamboo Deterioration

This is a controversial topic, and many scientists still argue over the truth behind this "peasant knowledge". However detailed studies in Colombia show remarkable differences with untreated bamboo, when harvested at specific hours and moon phases. The starch content is lowest between waning gibbous and last quarter (between the 6th and 8th day after full moon) due to the higher gravitation of the moon.

On the basis of photosynthesis, in the course of the morning, bamboo starts transporting starch from the roots into the leaves. During the height of the day this process is at its peak making this the least ideal time of day to harvest. Therefore the best time to harvest bamboo, is before sunrise (between 12pm and 6am), when most of the starch is still in the roots.

Bamboo harvested in this manner has 3 advantages: they are less attractive to insect, are less heavy to transport and will dry faster.

Felling and Handling

Guadua Bamboo Rhizome

Cut the bamboo just above the first or second node above ground level, with a machete or saw. This way, there is no aceptacle in which rainwater can collect. Stagnant rainwater in the culm may cause rot and could weaken the bamboo plant system.

Try to avoid damage or exposure of the rhizome while harvesting. This could cause serious damage and affect the future health of the bamboo clump.

Don't drag bamboo culms along the ground, this will cause damage to the outer layer which results in stains and blemishes.

Don't throw bamboo culms on hard ground, such stress can induce cracks along the length of the culm.

It speaks for itself that only healthy culms should be selected, good products cannot be made from diseased and rotten culms.

Post-Harvesting Transpiration

Felling Bamboo

Starch content in bamboo can also be reduced by keeping felled culms upright with the branches and leaves attached for approximately 4 weeks. They can lean against another bamboo "tree" and remain at the plantation, but make sure the felled culm does not have direct contact with the soil. Putting a stone under the felled culm should do the trick.

Parenchyma cells in plants continue to live for some time, even after felling. During this period, the stored food materials are utilized and, thus, the starch content in bamboo is lowered. This method also improves the drying process of the bamboo culm and results in a nice uniform color of the dried culm.

Sources: Oscar Hidalgo: Manual de Construcción con Bambú, Agronet