Safe and Ecological Preservation of Bamboo

I am designing a house to suite the emerging middle class in Ghana, looking to understand more about bamboo preservation techniques that offer excellent protection against rot and insects.

From what I’ve read thusfar, it seems that chemical treatments will be most effective, and I am searching for a solution that will be environmentally safe, to both nature and the inhabitants. Any recommendations, especially with regards to being situated in southern Ghana (a hot and humid climate with two distinct rainy seasons each year)?

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⭐ Best Answer:

One of the most effective ways to cure bamboo is by mixing boric acid with borax (you can buy this as a pre-mixed solution under the name: Timbor) in a ratio of 1:1.5 with a concentration of 5%. In other words mix 2kg of boric acid with 3kg of borax in 100 liters of water. Perforate the diaphragms (in case of round poles) and submerge them in the water-boron mix for 4-5 days. The vertical soak diffusion is an alternative method for submerging bamboo in tanks.

Boron is basically a salt, it protects the bamboo from fungus and insect attacks. It is however a non-fixing preservative, which means the boron will leach out in direct contact with rain. This you will have to keep in mind when designing the house.

In regards to its toxicity, boric acid naturally occurs in the environment. It can be found in soil, water, and plants. Boric acid dissolves in water and can move with water through the soil. Under certain soil conditions it can reach ground water. However, its mobility in soil depends on pH and the presence of some metals. Boric acid can also be taken up from the soil by plants. It moves through plants into their leaves. Once there, it generally becomes stuck and does not move into the fruit. Plants need boron, a major component of boric acid, to grow. However, too much boron can be toxic to plants affecting their growth. Citrus, stone fruits, and nut trees are most sensitive to boron.

Boric acid does not emit vapors into the atmosphere. Particles that get into the air do not break down. They settle to the ground or are removed by rain.

Boric acid is practically non-toxic to birds. It is slightly toxic to practically non-toxic to freshwater fish. Boric acid is practically non-toxic to frogs and toads and aquatic life, such as waterfleas. The U.S. EPA concluded that boric acid is relatively nontoxic to bees.

Source: National Pesticide Information Center

Curing Bamboo Immediately after Harvest

What's the notion of this harvesting technique? Cut green culms and place them in a 5 gal. bucket with 3 gals. of a 10 % solution of Timbor (a borax / boric acid solution) in water. This happens in the grove for a month.

Shouldn't the boric solution be drawn up the culm by capillary action yielding a cured culm in a month? After a month remove the culms to finish drying vertically in a shady spot for another month. What do you think?

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⭐ Best Answer:

What you’re describing is a soak-and-draw treatment, it’s basically using the fresh culm’s own capillary action to pull the borax/boric acid solution up and replace the sugars that bugs love. A month standing in the bucket is usually more than enough (even 1–2 weeks should do it), then drying vertically in the shade is the right call to avoid cracks.

Just keep in mind uptake isn’t always even, especially on thicker culms, and older poles (3–5 yrs) will be more durable. For max protection, full soak or sap displacement works better, but this setup can give you serviceable, bug-resistant bamboo (especially for small- to medium-diameter poles).

Nisus Tim-BOR Professional Insecticidal Dust, Water-Soluble Borate Powder, Wood Preservative and Fungicide for Termites, Carpenter Ants, Wood Decay, 1.5 lbs

Growing Bamboo on Denuded Poor Quality Land

I have read that bamboo can be grown on denuded land of poor quality. Surely this would affect the quality of the crop for sale (furniture or flooring). What is the optimum type of soil? I also wonder why bamboo has not taken off in the rest of the Caribbean? Any ideas?

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⭐ Best Answer:

Bamboo can grow on almost any type of soil but that doesn't mean it will grow vigorously. Generally speaking loamy and sandy loam soils are best in terms of soil texture as the rhizomes can spread well opposed to clay soils. 

Growing bamboo commercially, requires resources, experience and skill. Furthermore, you will need a business strategy to sell all of the bamboo once it is ready for harvest. This is usually a problem as there are not many local manufacturers that use bamboo in value added products.

How Much Water is Needed to Grow Bamboo?

I live in Hawaii on one of the drier islands and wondered what amount of water would be needed per acre to grow Guadua bamboo and typically speaking other species such as Gigantochloa atter, Phyllostachys pubescens, Dendrocalamus asper, Dendrocalamus giganteus and Bambusa oldhamii?

We are planning to start a bamboo plantation and would appreciate any helpful advise, comments, and or information offered. Our project total space is 100 acres. For example, how much water would be needed to irrigate 1 acre of Bambusa oldhamii planted at 12'x12' spacing or 302 plants per acre per year?

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⭐ Best Answer:

Guadua bamboo requires an annual precipitation of about 2000-2500 mm. I do not have exact precipitation values for the other species mentioned. As a general rule though, the most important fact about watering bamboo is not so much the volume but that it happens frequently throughout the year because unlike regular trees, bamboo doesn't like a marked dry season.

Can Bamboo Plantations Produce Quality Timber?

I am a Kenyan and I have just come across a farm selling bamboo seedlings that produce solid bamboo trees. I have searched for more information and it has led me to your website which has inspired me more. In the next 1 or 2 months I plan to plant 150 seedlings of bamboo. I plan to produce poles for fencing and building purposes.

The bamboo concept is new in Kenya and I believe it will bring a lot of change in this country if it is embraced. According to the research I have done, I have learnt that bamboo can give me good returns.

I am however skeptical about the ability of bamboos to produce quality poles and timber. Kindly advise me on the ability of bamboos to produce quality poles. How many shoots can form a clump if planted in an ideal climate?

I will appreciate your input as I begin the journey of transforming our country. Kindly give me more information of how bamboo trees are used in your country.

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⭐ Best Answer:

Bamboo has the same uses as timber, it can be chipped and made into paper and boards. The fibres can be used and if one goes to woolworths one can see the socks, towels and other garments made from bamboo. It produces more cotton per hectare than regular cotton using less pesticides and weedicides, it uses less water than forestry and writings in china say that where it is planted the streams start flowing again!

A lot of scaffolding going up many storeys in the East are from bamboo. Houses can also be made from bamboo and furniture. Once planted bamboo can supply a yearly income since after 5 years culms or stems can be harvested yearly. I have planted a hectare to prove to myself that the yield is higher than I can achieve using forestry having heard that it can produce 200 ton annually.

Edible Bamboo Leaves for Cattle

I have been visiting bamboo fields in China and India and happened to learn during my trip that only some (maybe only one) species of bamboo have edible leaves for cattle. Usually only the bacteria in Panda's tomach are strong enough to process bamboo leaves and moreover the bamboo leave fibers can hurt cattle stomachs. Seeing many time on websites that bamboo can be a perennial grass field for cattle grazing I think it would be very useful to determine which bamboo species have edible leaves (without prior processing like cooking).

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⭐ Best Answer:

I think it is rather the contrary (although this is not my field of expertise). Maybe some bamboo species pose a digestive problem to particular animals, but here in Colombia horses, cows and buffaloes love to eat the leaves of Guadua angustifolia (as you can see in the picture below). As a matter of fact, we need to fence of all our bamboo plantations as cattle could cause severe damage to young bamboo plants.

I also found an article about using bamboo leaves for chicken fodder, where they talk about feeding the chickens with leaves of different Bambusa species.

The USDA has also published a study about the nutritive quality of bamboo browse for livestock. Here they list several temperate bamboo species that are available in the USA.

Buffaloes eating Guadua bamboo leaves

Using Bamboo as a Water Container

Can bamboo be used as a water container? If it can, will it reduce the bamboo's lifetime? It will be really helpful if you can answer my question.

Comments

Stéphane Schröder

Yes of course, in fact bamboo culms naturally contain water in the internodes. When submerging bamboo in salt water for a few weeks it will actually preserve the bamboo fiber. Here is an example of a bamboo water container...

View fullsize

Source: Lee Beatrous

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Arunesh Dutta

I want to know the suitable bamboo variety that can be used for making bamboo bottles, also to mention I am from Raipur(CG) India so guidance of variety related to my city and state will be of added benefit.

Bamboo's Culm Sheath Usage

Floral Art with Bamboo Culm Sheaths

I am a dried floral artist living in NE Florida and enjoy the culm sheaths of bamboo for use in my floral designs. It took me quite a bit of research to finally find a picture of 'culm sheaths' that were labeled as such and this was on your site.

My question is: As a very big business growing and selling bamboo (culms), do you use the 'sheaths' as a product in any capacity? It has a 'balsa wood' quality and I just would love to know if you consider it a 'waste' product?

Attached is a picture of the way I use this part of the bamboo plant.

Comments

Stéphane Schröder

Thank you for your post and image. I'm aware of the many handicrafts made from bamboo culm sheaths, but we consider the sheaths as "waste".

Culm sheaths naturally fall from the bamboo culm at a certain point of maturity. With some bamboo species the sheaths fall faster than with other species. Since it is organic material it does serve as a natural fertilizer in the plantation, so the sheaths do have a final use for us after all.

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Michelle

I am interested in finding out how to "preserve" or "cure" bamboo SHEATHS to cut and use for artwork. I cannot find any sources to help me with this. Any ideas? Maybe curing is not necessary for long life after being glued to paper?

Where to Buy Guadua Angustifolia Seeds?

Can you tell me where I can buy Guadua angustifolia seeds? I have searched the internet but have found nothing for this bamboo in seed form. I hope to grow more varieties of bamboo in the future and your site will be a big help, hope to hear from you soon.

Comments

Stéphane Schröder

Unfortunately most bamboo seeds and especially Guadua seeds are very difficult to obtain, because Guadua angustifolia usually flowers once every 60-120 years. For this reason, generally speaking, bamboo is not propagated trough seeds (unless you are very lucky to get some). 

An additional problem with bamboo seeds is that they are not all equally vigorous and a large percentage might not germinate at all. Also, the shelf life of bamboo seeds is about 3 months after which they rapidly start to lose germination power. 

By any means, Guadua angustifolia is a tropical bamboo species which does not grow in Europe. Freezing temperatures will probably kill the plant during the winter.

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Carole Hawke

I took your advise and searched the net for giant clumping bamboo seeds, there are many sites available for buying seeds but I remembered that you said bamboo seeds start to lose germination ability once the seed is 3 months old. 

Most sites have seeds for sale that are 3-5 months old, so by the time I get them my success rate of germination is significantly reduced or do all bamboo seeds need to be less than 3 months old, are some seeds more hardy than others?

I am still looking for my guadua seeds, alas no luck as yet.

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Stéphane Schröder

Bamboo seeds should preferably be planted immediately after harvesting, although there are experimental techniques to extend the shelf life of bamboo seeds by storing them under low temperatures. 

Because seed setting is such a unique event and good information is scares, I highly doubt whether most of these seed suppliers are reliable (especially the ones who have the same species on sale for years). Usually bamboo seeds on sale are quite cheap so you're not gonna lose an arm and a leg over it. For the average hobbyist it might be an exciting way to experiment, but professional growers however, require certified, high quality and vigorous bamboo planting materials.

Buying bamboo plants from a nursery requires a higher investment but the returns will also be far greater, because even when seeds germinate, a high percentage of them might die in the early stages of development.

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Robert

Hello, same here. I've been looking around for Guadua seeds online with negative results. I am located in South Florida. I would like to start planting bamboo and I was told Guadua bamboo is what I should plant for the most profit. Considering that I can not find the Guadua seeds anywhere, what type of bamboo would you recommend? I have 2 to 3 acres to work with.

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Stéphane Schröder

Moso might be a good alternative as it is the most popular timber bamboo used in China. Keep in mind though that the USDA prohibits the import of all live bamboo planting materials (plants and seeds). 

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Dax Fernandes

The seeds to be obtained is hard but what about the saplings, are they easily available? And also could you let me know a few places where I can get this bamboo variety as I require it.

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Daniel R

Hello. If bamboo seeds are not a good method to start Guadua Angustifolia plants, how can you start these plants? Do you purchase roots, divide them and plant them?

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Matt

Hello. I live in Costa RIca. The Guadua variety is a rhizome spreading bamboo, and NOT a clumping bamboo. It has vicious thorns. It gets 95 ft tall, and spreads out over time. My twenty year old stands are now 15 to 20 meters wide (50-60 ft.) from where originally planted. We have a rainy season from May to December, and then a very dry summer from December to March. This allows this super large grass variety to rapidly grow during Oct-Dec, as it can grow 8" PER DAY here... then it goes into another stage of growth. I would NOT plant this in FL unless I had permission from the Agricultural Department. And for very good reason. It requires maintenance, or you will regret planting it. It has a secret as well to successful propagation.

To successfully propagate, you must take the freshly cut culm, and cut sections containing 2-3 nodes... these will have growth "buds" on them. You must cut a hole in the bamboo between the nodes, on the top side of the bamboo. Then you must fill the bamboo half full with water, and plant in the ground shallow like, with the top holes exposed... This will soften the growth bud and provide the needed water for it to sprout. 

Do not plant near fences. Be very careful of the thorns, and maintain the area below the bamboo by cutting these thorny branches. Create a space to walk through the area, and open up the area by selectively harvesting. It is a super material, but requires commitment long term. You will not easily get rid of it!!

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Abror

I live in 4 season country in summer it gets hot up to maximum 40 celsius average 32-35 celsius and in winter down to -2 -5. Do you think I can grow guadua bamboo? If not what type of bamboo do you recommend?

I was looking to grow 10 of these is there any way I can get guadua bamboo maybe cuttings or anything.

Building Walls with Crushed Bamboo

Informative video on how to build walls with crushed bamboo mats and natural plasters (adobe). Preservation of the bamboo matting is of course required before using them in construction.

Comments

Victor Merino

Very well done, by any chance do you guys know the name of that blue substance and what is the purpose of using it? Thanks I really love this website!

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Stéphane Schröder

Thanks Victor, I'm going to write a whole page on building with bamboo and adobe soon. The blue liquid is some kind of filler/glue, also used when applying stucco to a concrete wall. More to come soon...

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AnoJack Vicajee Bertolinymous

Extremely interesting! Do you have any experience for building very cheap housing for the poor? What would be the construction time for a simple one/two room house-shelter type-mass produced?

As an architect I believe your information, and preservation could revolutionize mass, and cheap housing. Do you have any information concerning this aspect for the use of bamboo?

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Josh The Traveler

Great video... a little spotty the last 20 seconds or so.

Some Questions: What species of Bamboo are they using in this video? The wall thickness seems too low for it to be Guadua.

The women are seen chopping something about 1/2 way through the video. What is it? Is it the fiber scrapped from the inside of the culm? Is that what is used as a fibrous binder in the "plaster" applied to the wall.

In the video, one gets the idea that the man split & scraped the culm and it is IMMEDIATELY installed as a new wall. Is this the case or do these in fact need to be dried 1st?

Thank you again for all the help this website has given me.

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Stéphane Schröder

It is probably some sort of Guadua, although not of superior quality (black stain). As with any bamboo culm, the further you go toward the tip of the culm the less diameter and wall thickness. So this is a piece from the top middle section of the culm.

The bamboo mats should always be treated first before using in construction (and preferably dried as well). See this article for more information about the process of making crushed bamboo mats.

I'm not sure what type of adobe they are using but it might very well be that those woman are loosening the soil by chopping the existing roots.

The inner fibers of Guadua are very long and tough, unless they are split into hair like particles, I don't think they are a very good alternative to use as a binder.

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Benny

What is that man covering the wall with. Is it paint or something else? Then covering the wall with what? Is it cement with mud?

Great video and this whole way of living appeals to me very much.

What is the Fastest Growing Timber Bamboo Species?

I love the size of the large timber bamboos, like Moso, but I have heard that these are slow to create large groves. I got lots of land for these to spread on. I would like a quick, large grove with thick canes. So what are the quicker types of large running timber bamboo? I am located in Central Florida, USDA Zone 9a.

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⭐ Best Answer:

Phyllostachys vivax is by far the fastest of cold hardy timber bamboos in my garden 9a/9b zone...

Minimum Area for a Profitable Bamboo Plantation

What is the minimum area to at least have a profit for bamboo, especially if you only grow for poles? When can you expect income for pole production, in a small scale level? Yes, there is money in bamboo, but it is the flooring and other stuff already, which for sure small farmers can't afford to set up such facilities. So, again what is the minimum area? Thanks. This site is very helpful.

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⭐ Best Answer:

Let's assume a revenue of $1 per linear foot of pole, selling untreated poles directly to a buyer (there's the key: find a buyer). There are 43500 sq ft in an acre. Assume an average total of one linear foot of pole per square foot of land. At $1/linft, that's $43k/year. Let's assume $0.10/linear-foot, and 4 square feet per linear foot: that's $1k in revenue.

So there you have it: upper and lower bounds. You can imagine that for ever 4 square feet, a 4-year culm will produce a 20 foot cane. Harvesting every 4 square foot patch on a 4-year rotation would mean 2700 canes harvested per year. If those canes are 20' long and sell for $0.10/foot, then you've got 20 * .1 * 2700 = $5400/acre/year, not even trying very hard! Just wait twenty years till you've got an acre of 60' tall, 6" diameter moso!

The simplest added-value projects in the US would be selling potted culms ($5-$30/gal plant) or making woven mats or privacy/garden screens ($1-$5/sqft). Other ideas: Selling edible bamboo shoots to a local co-op / health food store, raising a pig or ducks in the understory, or making bamboo bike frames ($100-$2k/frame) and trailers. Looks like you need reliable buyers, and multiple products, to make more than a thousand dollars per year.

Affordable Bamboo Housing

In his book, Oscar Hidalgo referred to bamboo as "The Gift of the Gods". Simon Velez titled his book "Grow Your Own House". Both titles invite dreams of affordable bamboo housing. Yet the reality is a disappointment. Why?

Green Gold Miracle

Bamboo has been called “Green Gold.” For a few that may be a reality. Modern day bamboo growers have discovered the “secret” the Alchemists of old never found. Through the process of immunisation, growers have discovered how to turn “green gold” into “yellow gold.”

Bamboo is The Solution

Bamboo is not the problem. Bamboo is the solution. A growing number of bamboo enthusiasts are frustrated at the high prices of materials and construction. Our frustrations are justified. After all, we see beautiful bamboo constructions at famous resorts. We appreciate the beauty and desire the same for our homes. We remember the promise held out by Hidalgo and Velez.

Why are “the Promise” and “the Reality” Opposites?

One possible reason could be that today there is a temporary lack of qualified bamboo specialists in the Western world. The demand for high quality bamboo construction out paces the supply of experienced construction personnel. We need more young bamboo structural engineers, bamboo architects and skilled workers.

This Will Change

We are on the verge of an exciting frontier. As more young professionals take up the challenge, the affordability issue will resolve itself as it has in Asia. Belgium, Germany, Italy and Colombia are doing serious research on quality construction techniques for the growing bamboo industry. Courses are being taught at schools dealing with environmental and sustainability issues surrounding bamboo. Construction skills are growing among young people with vision. We are on the frontier of an exciting beginning.