Trying to control bamboo.

[Pa Pa Jack]

I have owned this property for about 25 years. It's only 25 acres, but it's a nice mix of hardwoods and openings. And one patch of BAMBOO".

This bamboo was never a problem and in fact it was very pretty. Until about 5 or 6 years ago. we had a severe ice storm and the weight of all the ice broke most of the bamboo down to the ground. that seemed to wake up it's urge to spread.

I have kept it out of the yard by mowing it down when it pops up. Unfortunately it just keeps coming up and spreading. This is really getting to be a pain. This is not your average cute bamboo. It grows to be 4 or 5 inches in diameter and 40 feet high. It can grow as much as three feet in two days.

I decided I needed to do more than just mow it. So, today I happened to be at a Deere dealer and he had a subsoiler. It's a Taylor-Way, made in TN. He wanted to get rid of it because he doesn't have much call for single shank subsoilers. It seemed to be fairly well put together, and the price was right. $175.

So, I got it home and hooked it behind my new Mahindra 3016 just to see what it would do.

I will experiment more with it because it doesn't seem to dig in hard, it seems to need a bit of a run before it digs in. This is probably due to the adjustment of the top link. I'll play some more tomorrow.

But it sure did dig out some roots. I bogged down the tractor several times and had to raise the 3pt on many occasions to break roots. I have destroyed an area about 15 feet wide because the roots would bring up everything around them. I never thought they would be this tough. Maybe this will slow the spread though and I can get the yard beck in shape soon.

I have more pics in my album if you are interested.

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[MarkV]

Pa Pa I hate to say it but I don't think your subsoiler is going to help at all with the bamboo. It may even make it sprout more off of the broken roots. It was a 5 year battle to get rid of some at my place. Cut it all down and use herbicides every time you see a new sprout. Bamboo is one resistant plant that sure will take over given the chance.

MarkV

 

[MotorSeven]

Marks right, all those root remnants are new stalks waiting to grow. Best bet is to whack the whole stand, fence it off and put goats in there. Just like Kudzu, they will eat it down to the ground & eventually it dies. Benefit: fat goats for market and the price is up & no bamboo.

 

[RobertBrown]

I'm not going to tell you what to do, or even suggest anything.....But there's a guy on Craigslist around here selling Bamboo poles for 2$ a foot.
Bamboo is a versatile material. It's very useful and structurally sound.
I know a guy who makes a good living building Tiki bars.

 

[MillWeld]

What RobertBrown said.
When life gives you lemons make lemonade.

 

[salopez]

the only real way to control it is to dig up the ground around it with a hoe, and give it away...bring in fresh dirt, but be prepared to do this pretty routinely. also get a good bush hog to help control it.

 

[gullyf]

the only real way to control it is to dig up the ground around it with a hoe, and give it away...bring in fresh dirt, but be prepared to do this pretty routinely. also get a good bush hog to help control it.

Actually, there are special containment barriers to keep it under control... see New England Bamboo Company, wholesale bamboo nursery. However, I'm not sure how practical it is for the area shown in the pictures.

I have a small stand which I enjoy a great deal, though it is a pain in the winter when ice and snow make it fall all over the drive. At least mine is somewhat contained by the driveway, exposed ledge, and perched water table (it doesn't like wet feet), though it has managed to escape on occasion!

 

[jonyyuma]

Actually I need some for a wash in my back yard. I tryed planting a cut stalk..But you have the roots. I am going to dig up some of the small brown stuff this winter and transfer it....I am tired of moving dirt to the ditches...So..Yep Lemonaid, just fought out black locust the same way with subsoiler, and it did sprout where i plowed it thru...

 

[rd_macgregor]

If you can't find someone to borrow a panda from, you might try penning goats in with the bamboo. I also like the idea of selling it! I remember seeing a picture of bamboo scaffolding around a high-rise under construction in Hong Kong, so it is plenty strong stuff!
BOB

 

[bcp]

I remember seeing a picture of bamboo scaffolding around a high-rise under construction in Hong Kong, so it is plenty strong stuff!
BOB

If you haven't seen what they do with bamboo, do a Google image search for "bamboo scaffolding." You will be amazed!

Bruce

 

[kayaker]

I fought this same battle 3 years ago. My resolution was a paint brush and a can full of Round-UP. As soon as I cut it a few inches from the ground, I painted a nice coat of full strength roundup. 3 years later, not a single new sprout.

 

[J_J]

You can get rid of bamboo, but it is a long task. In my opinion, the only way to kill bamboo is to chemically treat the area to prevent sprouting. I don't know what chemical they use now, but years ago, they had some stuff that would kill every spore, root, seed, anything that tried to grow.

Many years ago, I turned over an ice cream bucket that had rock salt/ice in it. I could never get anything to grow in that spot.

Another option would be to cut everything, and dig all the bamboo out out about 2 ft deep of dirt and replace it with some more soil. If anything should start growing, treat it as it starts.

 

[Pa Pa Jack]

I agree that it is very beautiful until it gets out of control. It will not be deterred by a driveway. It has already crossed an old railroad bed. It is sprouting up 75 feet away from the primary stand.

I have sprayed it with round-up, arsenal, and painted the stumps with brush-be-gon and garlon. It kills that stump, but three more sprout within a couple months.I keep mowing the new growth in the lawn, but I have had three people bush hog the primary stand and each one quit after multiple flat tires due to the splintered stumps cutting their tires to shreds.

I have also had several people want to buy it if I cut it and prepare it for them. What they are offering is not worth the effort. It is very useful, and my son has made several rails and decorative walls for people, but it doesn't seem to be something that is really in demand in this area.

As far as not liking wet feet, that is a myth. This stuff has messed up my septic tank by plugging the leech bed. I had to have it redone and relocated two years ago. the pipes were clogged solid. The primary stand also happens to be in the wettest area of my property.

It appears that someone may have had an old length of plastic running along that portion of the yard, but it has degraded totally except for a few pieces I've exposed with the subsoiler.

Thank for the responses, I guess I am doomed to spend my retirement in a battle with this stuff. Unless I can figure out a way to get government funding.

 

[ramheadjim]

I was watching yard crashers or something similar when they planted some bambo and they cut a trench and placed some barrier cloth in the trench to keep it from spreading sideways

 

[beppington]

How about cutting it all down as low as possible & then put a layer or 2 or 3 of weed barrier over it ... I assume it needs at least some sun?

Or maybe cut it all down & just keep driving over it, 2 or 3 times a week. Not too many plants like to be continuously driven over.

 

[gullyf]

How about cutting it all down as low as possible & then put a layer or 2 or 3 of weed barrier over it ... I assume it needs at least some sun?

Or maybe cut it all down & just keep driving over it, 2 or 3 times a week. Not too many plants like to be continuously driven over.

In most cases, all the culms in a bamboo stand are connected by an underground rhizome. To starve any portion of it, through lack of light or continual mowing, you must separate that portion from the rest of the plant. Otherwise it just receives the nutrients it needs from the rest of the group. The rhizome is usually pretty shallow, so it is easily cut.

Once separated from the main stand, then simply keeping it mowed will kill it through starvation, just like any other plant. Alternatively, as suggested, if you desire to get rid of it entirely, just keep the entire patch mowed close for a few weeks. See ABS - Controlling Bamboo for a more thorough discussion.

 

[DAY]

Bamboo spreads laterally, and quite close to the surface. A metal barrier generally contains it. For more information a visit to Google will yield additional advice.

 

[CompactTractorFan]

All I can say is good luck...

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/projects/177888-endless-battle.html

 

[Mudfarmer]

Roundup.

Otherwiuse, pull out the Asian cookbooks and start cooking up the bamboo shoots (takinoko) every spring when they first break the ground. Timber bamboo has great flavor and good size for cooking.
Mf

 

[Pa Pa Jack]

All I can say is good luck...

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/projects/177888-endless-battle.html

I see what you mean. I seem to have two varieties mixed together. One is similar to yours except it doesn't seem to clump as much. The other is up to 5 inches in diameter and that is the one that really spreads quickly. I have an area about 80 feet by 40 feet totally infested and about twice that size where it pops up constantly but I can mow it.

Another problem, is that this is right on my property line and has spread to the adjoining property. The absentee owner doesn't care about his large vacant lot and won't let me try to remove the bamboo from his land. So, even if I get mine under control I will still have to fight to keep it from spreading back into the same area in the future. Anyone have a nuke I can borrow?