BAMBOO FARMING USA
How Many Plants per Acre?
You must plan for irrigation! At least for the first two years. The more you irrigate, the faster the bamboo establishes. Bamboo needs good drainage and ample water. At least an inch a week during the season when deciduous trees have leaves. Moso in particular thrives on summer water. It does not like saturated soil in winter. Fewer plants and more irrigation is better than more plants and rain only. New plants need daily watering; better with twice a day if the weather is hot. After three weeks, schedule can cut back to once or several times a week.
It Depends...
This grove of moso bamboo was planted ten years before this photo was take. The owner planted three small plants. The grove would be larger except that mowing keeps it in check on the uphill side. On the downhill side is a stream with heavy woods (saturated soil and heavy shade). At either end are other kinds of bamboo (competition). It did not matter whether one bamboo or three or more than three were planted. Within 5 years they would have grown together whether planted ten feet or twenty five feet apart.
If plants are cheap...
At Washington State University in Puyallup, Washington, plants were donated by a local farmer, Wade Bennett of Rock Ridge Orchards and Cidery. The scientists chose to plant 5 foot on center. They wanted fast closure to minimize labor for weeding. They are happy with their decision. In each 25 foot by 25 foot plot they planted 25 plants. They could have planted just one.
If plants are dear...
A temperate timber bamboo has two growth phases. It shoots its canes up in spring. It shoots its rhizomes sideways in summer. (Up in spring; out in summer) If the timber bamboo is mature, its canes shoot upwards to 40 to 60 feet in two or three months. The rhizome is proportionate to the cane. If the cane grows up 50 feet, the rhizome will grow sideways 20 feet. The rhizome grows near the surface of the soil just under the leaf mold. The length that the rhizome grows depends on the health and maturity of the bamboo, the friability of the soil and the amount of moisture available. The rhizomes need moisture to extend (for cell division to occur).
Plan the Plantation
If the mature bamboo will be 40 foot tall, you will harvest 40 foot poles each summer or fall. A forty foot tall pole is three inches in diameter. It is heavy. Its leaves are heavy. Plan access to a road so you don't have to pull the poles too far before reaching the trailer/truck where they are to be loaded.
When harvesting shoots, harvest all shoots that come up in the road. This will keep your truck access clear. The road is paved with leaves from the bamboo, not with blacktop.
When harvesting shoots, harvest all shoots that come up in the road. This will keep your truck access clear. The road is paved with leaves from the bamboo, not with blacktop.
How Many Plants per Acre?
10 feet on center 400 plants
15 feet on center 196 plants
20 feet on center 100 plants
25 feet on center 70 plants
Better to plant fewer plants and give them superb care, than to plant many and let them manage on their own. Superb care means ample water applied. At least an inch a week. More is better.
A solution to spacing that I like is 8 feet apart in the row and 20 or 25 feet between rows.
You can dig from your first planting once it starts spreading to get starts for adding acreage.
15 feet on center 196 plants
20 feet on center 100 plants
25 feet on center 70 plants
Better to plant fewer plants and give them superb care, than to plant many and let them manage on their own. Superb care means ample water applied. At least an inch a week. More is better.
A solution to spacing that I like is 8 feet apart in the row and 20 or 25 feet between rows.
You can dig from your first planting once it starts spreading to get starts for adding acreage.
Plants established in pots are preferred.
Generally speaking, plants that have established in pots are better for planting in a field than are freshly dug plants. They are less likely to be blown over than fresh plants. When they shoot, their shoots will be larger than the canes in the pot. They will not be shocked by sun and wind.
Freshly dug plants thrive if you can water them twice a day.
This new planting in Mississippi is largely from freshly dug plants. After auguring the holes, the holes were filled with water. After the plants were firmed in, they were watered.
The ground is precisely graded so that twice a day, water flows past each plant and saturates the soil. These transplants are thriving. They did not blow over. There is less than 1% loss.
The ground is precisely graded so that twice a day, water flows past each plant and saturates the soil. These transplants are thriving. They did not blow over. There is less than 1% loss.
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