Bamboo

[Nungali]

I have lived in a spot with various types of bamboo growing. Over the years it has been a wonderful resource for all sorts of things; building shelters, traditional Japanese fencing, models, utensils.

 

Its a great thing to work with ... a 'gift from the Gods' . There are things that are difficult to do with it (if you are used to working with dressed square wood) but when you understand it there are a whole different range of things it can do and ways it can be used.

 

One example is when some needs replacing (say parts of an old fence) I remove them and use them as frames for the bird netting on the veggie garden. After a while they degrade further, so then I replace them and use the old bits to make new compost bins, when they are further degraded and not good for that I smash them up and use them as kindling in the fire place. That's 4 separate uses from one harvest.

 

And when a grove is cleaned out, nothing goes off like a bamboo bonfire !

 

Anyone else here work with bamboo?

[zerostao]

i am trying to acquire some to grow myself. i have been growing a little horsetail for the organic silica, but the bamboo is a far richer source.

[silent thunder]

I freaking adore bamboo.

At the Gardens in the Huntington Library, in the height of summer's blast, walking into the bamboo pools area is like walking into air conditioning... the breezes are cooled and that sound... mmm.

 

I work with it from time to time building scenery.

Recently, I made a nice tea/sake set out of eight segments of a bamboo pole for a friend.

Very simple to make, going to do one for myself next time we use it on a set.

Looked like this.

 

 

 

 

[Nungali]

i am trying to acquire some to grow myself. i have been growing a little horsetail for the organic silica, but the bamboo is a far richer source.

Oh dang! I did it again ... clicked on the unlike button instead of reply ...sorry. (new at driving this)

 

Make sure you get a suitable type for where you are ... in some cases running bamboo can be a big problem. Some clumping bamboo shoots at opposite times of the year depending on origin (you need one that shoots during rainy time ... we have dry winter and some species planted here came from a place with a wet winter ... the bamboo shoots and doesn't have enough soil moisture to support the new growth).

 

 

 

 

 

 

I freaking adore bamboo.

At the Gardens in the Huntington Library, in the height of summer's blast, walking into the bamboo pools area is like walking into air conditioning... the breezes are cooled and that sound... mmm.

 

I work with it from time to time building scenery.

Recently, I made a nice tea/sake set out of eight segments of a bamboo pole for a friend.

Very simple to make, going to do one for myself next time we use it on a set.

Looked like this.

 

 

'Nice' ??? That is simple Zen like beauty. To have some just there in the garden is so handy! Let alone just sitting in the grove. We have a big one alongside the river, at night in the summer wet season there are 3 types of luminous fungi in there 2 green (toadstool and a spreading fungus on the ground and a pale blue toadstool ... add the fire flys of late spring and ... WOW!

 

My current project is using the 'painted' - black with brown stripe - variety to make a 'spirit house' for that special part of the garden.

 

AND ... its edible! ... not the house ... the shoots

Edited October 9, 2013 by Nungali

[traveler]

The shoots have dietary silica? Nice to know. I have a couple of nose flutes made of bamboo. A friend of mine who grows bamboo wants to make some as an art project sometime. They have a beautiful tone and not as strange to play as you might think.

[Nungali]

The Sakuhachi ! <swoon>

 

Wish I knew how to make one of them!

[traveler]

What I have is a couple of Hawiian nose flutes, not Sakuhachi. See http://www.vcstar.com/photos/2009/nov/08/79381/ for an image. A nose flute is played with one hand so the other can direct the air out of just one nostril, like with alternate nose breathing. You can get six tones with just the three holes by covering the end for some notes. The holes are a knuckle's width apart which is why it plays using a five tone scale. The hole at the end near the nose is drilled at a 45 deg. angle.

 

I picked them up during a trip to Hawaii last spring. When I came home I had some mischief planned. I was attending a weekly meditation back then and would indicate that the time was up by playing a native American flute. Every one would gently come out of their inner reflections to the sound of this music. So, I brought my nose flute to play for the meditation and didn't tell any one. They opened their eyes and smiled at the quiet sound of my flute, then they looked at what I was playing and their mouths opened wide, then they began to grin and point at my nose. It all happened just as I planned. It was a fun moment for me. Then I got to explain how the nose flute is a sacred Hawaiian instrument due to the use of air coming out of the nose which is sacred air.

[thelerner]

I love bamboo and we're finally seeing plantings here in the Midwest. It makes for beautiful natural fencing. In Israel I was surprised to see bamboo growing thickly along the streams. Very pleasant.

 

Still, I've heard warnings about some species of it becoming super weedlike. No problem with many types or if its contained.

[ion]

I was really suprised when I first discovered bamboo as a plant beyond what I saw of the wild stuff where I grew up in California.

 

The first time I saw a section of black bamboo on Maui I was awestruck by its beauty. Some of the higher end bamboo, usually the slower growing stuff that grows in clumps instead of spreading by root runners, is incredibley strong and beautiful to behold.

 

But even the "weed" or wild bamboo is an amazing resource on so many levels.

 

The ground and soil around bamboo is also a great place to collect micro-organisms for gardening. Very rich in good bacteria.

[Nungali]

What I have is a couple of Hawiian nose flutes, not Sakuhachi.

I got that (I just got excited remembering about shakuhachi ) I am familiar with nose flutes ... from New Guinea

 

I love bamboo and we're finally seeing plantings here in the Midwest. It makes for beautiful natural fencing. In Israel I was surprised to see bamboo growing thickly along the streams. Very pleasant.

 

Still, I've heard warnings about some species of it becoming super weedlike. No problem with many types or if its contained.

yep, the clumping species is easier to control (just need to 'keyhole' at an early stage - cut a path in and clear the centre and harvest from centre outwards. Apparently the running type will not cross under water ... a good root barrier will stop it, or a deep trench where the new explorer roots can be cut back each year.

 

It does make beautiful fencing, I have made about 7 different styles ... quiet hard at first but after a bit all the little tricks and techniques get familiar and then it is a joy to work with.

 

The ground and soil around bamboo is also a great place to collect micro-organisms for gardening. Very rich in good bacteria.

I didn't know that. For years, I thought the bamboo 'mulch' suppressed other growth as so little grows next to it, but I started using the mulch on the veggie garden, it is a very good weed suppressor and doesn't seem to hinder anything else growing.

 

It is amazing the range of things I have made using only the bamboo, a saw, a machete a section of 'iron bamboo' for the machete hammer (for splitting), fishing line and scissors. Sometimes I use coconut fibre rope or raffia as binding to cover the fishing line for effect.

 

I have also built two largish shelters (with fold back roof vents, and fire pit inside) using bamboo, black poly pipe (water line) uv resistant plastic, shade cloth and roofing screws( for waterproof roof). The first I made for a weekend event, it fitted about 25 people comfortably inside and cost under $350 to make (less than hiring a marquee) and ended up being turned into a temple and lasted 7 years.

[gendao]

The shoots have dietary silica? Nice to know. I have a couple of nose flutes made of bamboo. A friend of mine who grows bamboo wants to make some as an art project sometime. They have a beautiful tone and not as strange to play as you might think.

Tabashir actually forms within a few bamboo species (Bambusa arundinacea & Bambusa verticillata):

A major source in India is Bambusa arundinacea, though other species of Bambusa are also used.

Tabachir or Tabashir, is a translucent white substance, composed mainly of silica and water with traces of lime and potash, obtained from the nodal joints of some species of bamboo. It is part of the pharmacology of the traditional Ayurvedic and Unani systems of medicine of the Indian subcontinent. It is also an ingredient in many traditional Chinese medicines.

 

Not all bamboo stems contain tabasheer. Likely candidates are found by shaking bamboo stems, which can make the mineralized tabasheer inside produce a rattling sound. These stems are split open to extract the tabasheer.

Tabashir: an opal of plant origin.

A specimen of tabashir, a variety of opal found in bamboo, contained more water but smaller amounts of alkalis and alkaline earths than most opals. It consisted of particles of about 100 angstroms in diameter, linked together in clumps, which appeared in fractured surfaces as irregularities. The tabashir was amorphous, but its microstructure differed from that of silicagel and amorphous opal of inorganic origin.

Tabashir is a siliceous resin found in the nodes of the female bamboo tree. Bamboo is an edible grass that has been part of the diet of humans and animals alike for thousands of years. Bamboo Tabashir has been used traditionally as a rich source of naturally occurring organic silica.

 

Its silica content can be as high as 85% or more than 10 times the level found in the widely used Horsetail plant that contains about 5 - 7%. Besides silica, Tabashir contains iron, calcium, choline and betaine. This synergistic blending of mineral properties makes Tabashir an excellent and effective remineralizing agent useful in cases of osteoarthritis, painful joints, fragility of the cartilage (osteoporosis), hair or nails, and in prevention of the consequences of arteriosclerosis.

 

Silica is one of the most important constituents of the body's connective tissue including: cartilage, arteries, tendons, and ligaments. It functions as a cross-linking agent, providing strength, flexibility, and resilience to collagen and elastin connective tissues. It is also known to play a part in the integrity of the bones, arterial walls, skin, teeth, gums, hair and nails and has been used to alleviate eczema and psoriasis. Recently, modern research has focused on determining the role of silica in rheumatic disorders and arterial disease.

There's also some purported types of Bamsa Mukta (Bamboo Pearl)...but those don't even look remotely geniune..lol.

 

 

As far as invasiveness, the primary culprit to avoid is Phyllostachys aurea (golden or fishpole bamboo). Although obviously you should be careful wherever you plant any of it.. But with that said, a lot of species are not weeds that can just grow anywhere under any conditions at all, either.

Edited October 10, 2013 by vortex

[Nungali]

THAT'S what that stuff is! Thanks

 

Pretty amazing, the sealed section within the culm is acting like an alchemical vessel and extracting certain nutrients from the soil via the bamboo fluids and depositing the' medicine' in a ready made storage facility . ... What a plant!

Edited October 10, 2013 by Nungali