Bamboo: The Grass That Will Amaze You

For every fruit and non-fruit-bearing tree seedling we sell, clients request 10 to 20 culms of bamboo. It is one of, if not the most versatile plants in the world. There are many reasons for this. In this article, I’ll share just a few of the many benefits of growing bamboo. I won’t cover even a fraction of them. It’s estimated there are over 1000 uses for bamboo.

When Paul and I decided to rip out the 8,000 coffee trees that came with our farm and “do something completely different,” we hired a consulted and we also devoured books on planting in the tropics. One of those books was David Farrelly’s The Book of Bamboo. First published on September 12, 1984, it’s become one of our most referenced agriculture resources.

Farrelly lists several benefits of bamboo. Among them:

1. Environmental / Ecological
   • Rapid growth and renewability
   • Carbon sequestration
   • Soil stabilization and erosion control
   • Habitat creation for wildlife
2. Structural / Architectural
   • Strength-to-weight ratio comparable to steel
   • Flexibility (wind and earthquake resistance)
   • Use in housing, bridges, scaffolding, furniture, flooring, laminates
3. Agricultural / Practical
   • Edible shoots (nutritious, fast-producing food source)
   • Renewable poles for fencing, stakes, and farm structures
   • Leaves for animal fodder or mulch
4. Economic
   • Cash crop potential for construction materials, crafts, textiles, and paper
   • Low input costs once established (no replanting needed)
5. Cultural / Artistic
   • Music (flutes, percussion instruments)
   • Traditional crafts, baskets, utensils, art objects
   • Spiritual symbolism of resilience and flexibility in many cultures
6. Aesthetic / Landscape
   • Fast natural screening for privacy and windbreaks
   • Year-round greenery and sound (the “bamboo whisper”)

Whether our clients live in urbanizacións, on one cuerda or a finca, privacy is an issue. Many want to create a wall along their property line so people can’t see in. We did it along our property line. Mayani Farms is in a very rural part of Utuado, and while we don’t live close to our neighbors, we have about 500 feet of the property line that runs along the road. We like our privacy. Our clients value it as well. In some cases, it’s not just privacy. Security is also a major consideration. We grow type of bamboo called Dendrocalamus hamiltonii and Dendrocalamus fuminensis. Both have these spines that come off the culms that make it impossible for a person to breach. Better at keeping people out than barbed wire and certainly more attractive, both hamiltonii and fuminesis will guard your property very well.

We live someplace where erosion is an issue. Whether people live in the mountains or on flat land, erosion on an island is an issue. When we first bought Mayani Farms and decided not farm coffee, we noticed small landslides because there was very little holding the ground together. We wanted to replace the trees with something stable.

Puerto Rico is in the tropics and on an island. We experience significant rainfall every year. Apart from El Yunque Rainforest, the mountains are one of the rainiest parts of the island. During rainy season, Mayani Farms is inundated and returning from the farm, we’re often drenched. Paul took this video the other day to illustrate bamboo’s strong root systems. https://www.facebook.com/reel/1690452178312591 You can see the rain moves around the bamboo and doesn’t pool. That’s because some anchoring roots can reach about 1 meter (≈3 feet) if soil is loose and well-drained, but that’s exceptional. This is Dendrocalmus asper.

Regenerative

When clients ask us for bamboo seedlings, we cut one culm. From a culm we can grow 20, 40 or even 60 nodes, depending on the height of the culm. Bambusa multiplex is our most popular bamboo because of its weeping willow appearance. It can grow up to 30 feet and is stunning. It’s not a strong bamboo for construction but clumped together, it provides a beautiful privacy barrier. We may get 20 nodes from Bamboosa multiplex, vs. Dendrocalamus giganteus, which can grow up to 120 in Thailand, can produce up to 40 nodes on each culm.

But the part I love the most is that it is truly the definition of regenerative. Cut a culm and within days there’s one to take its place. In its growing season (May through November), you can see it growing up to eight inches a day. Below are some photos of new culms taking the place of ones we’ve recently cut down to create seedlings for clients.

Goat Food and Shade

We also grow bamboo because our goats gobble it up. They love the shoots and the leaves. It provides a beautiful canopy above their pens.

Compost

As regenerative farmers, we love recycling. Bamboo leaves fall. We scoop up the leaves every two weeks and they comprise the bulk of our compost.

Many people throughout the world build houses with bamboo and use it to replace scaffolding. Dendrocalamus strictus is solid. All bamboo in the tropics is solid, but strictus is on a different level. Guadua angustifolia is one of the most commonly used bamboos in Central and South America and the Caribbean to build homes. We just had an order for 50 culms of it. We couldn’t supply it but fortunately we could source it quickly for our client.

A Note About the Bamboo on the Side of the Road in Puerto Rico

People often compare the bamboo we grow on Mayani Farms with the bamboo on the side of the road. That bamboo is prone to starch beetles and it breaks off easily. It is not sustainable and it’s not strong in any way.

Bamboo is unlike any other plant in the world. We couldn’t do sustainable or regenerative farming without it.