Table of Contents
What is bamboo and what are its benefits
Bamboo is the fastest growing woody plant on earth, and a by-product of the cattle and timber industries. It has a lower cellulose content than hardwood, and is therefore easier to work with. While it does not stand up well to wet weather it is extremely sturdy when dried indoors and can withstand high winds. Bamboo can be used for flooring as well as building frameworks, which is why it is gaining popularity as a replacement for traditional materials. Bamboo is often used in structures such as bridges, canoes, and furniture. It can also be planted in gardens as a decorative feature and is a rich source of vitamins and minerals.
Different kinds of bamboo are used for different purposes:
Cordyline – This very common species of tropical bamboo has consistently high levels of both strength and flexibility, making it an ideal material for conventional bamboo furniture styles. It is grown in the arctic regions of Africa, China and Canada.
Fargesia – This temperate bamboo is often used as a substitute for wood because of its high-quality fiber. It can be found in such places as Japan, China and Australia.
Futong – A tropical bamboo with fine fibers, this species is widely distributed in Asia. The central part of China, Taiwan and Japan are all reported to have this species growing wild.
Dendrocalamus – This kind of bamboo is also known as Giant bambu and grows in India and Japan.
Bambusa – Among the most durable varieties of bamboo, this species has tougher outer coatings than most other types of bamboo. It can be found growing wild in places such as Bangladesh and Thailand.
How does bamboo compare to other materials
Bamboo is a member of the grass family. It is black and grows up to 10 feet tall, although the average height is about 3 feet with a diameter typically of 6-10 inches. The longest living species is called Giant Bamboo, and can live for over 100 years. Shorter growing plants are usually around 8 – 10 inches in diameter. It’s not very much if you start from seed – it will take 15 years before you can harvest your first bamboo poles or railroad ties, each with a diameter of around 5-6 inches. Bamboo grows very fast, taking around 4 years to reach 6 inches in diameter, and around 1 year every 2½ inches after that. Bamboo can grow as tall as 40 feet, although it is grown commercially from 10 – 18 feet, since this size is more usable for all the many purposes bamboo has. The stems are stacked up to form bamboo scaffolding, which is a very durable and strong building material. It is sturdy enough to support the weight of roofs and houses. It also can be used in boat building as a mast – it is extremely light, but can withstand high wind speeds, and provide the necessary strength for long distance sailing. This makes bamboo an ideal material for small boats that are used in the islands of Southeast Asia, where large boats aren’t often needed. Bamboo is also used in pipes, furniture, nets, and baskets. It is one of the fastest growing plants on this planet – that is why bamboo is so important to humans – it provides us with things we need every day.
The different ways to use bamboo
Bamboo is used for many different things. We are growing the red kind mostly because that’s what we need for our display. It’s also the kind used most widely by commercial growers, but there are many kinds of bamboo which differs in size, color, density, and in whether or not it has large, tough leaves. Bamboos all have a hollow center which contains the roots. Bamboo can grow up to 6 feet in a year and is used for anything from fences and poles to house siding and boats. The outside is generally closed in with a netting, or shellac at least, to protect the plants from insects. If you want something that grows very fast, you may have to have an initial bamboo planting of several hundred plants before you get any kind of visible growth.
There are several kinds of bamboo. They are:
Bamboo is a very useful plant. It is used for construction and flooring, furniture, art objects, musical instruments, and even house siding. The plants grow fast and are often used to green up streets and buildings in the winter time. There are many different kinds, some growing in damp areas while others grow better in dryter conditions. Some of them grow only 4 feet high; some can be as tall as 10 feet or more. Some kinds grow several inches per day.
Bamboo can be made into many things, such as baskets and furniture. It can also be used to make paper and fabric.
Bamboo’s environmental impact
Bamboo grows very fast. There are some kinds of bamboo that can grow up to a foot a day, others as little as an inch or two. The original bamboo we planted here, growing in the shade, is 6 feet tall. In a few more months it will be taller than the barn roof. Bamboo has been used for centuries in Asia and was used often in the past by furniture makers, woodworkers, and builders’ as scaffolding. They are used to make fences, poles for bicycles and other things, walking sticks and fishing poles. There were once about 2,000 different species of bamboo in the world but many have been destroyed because of human development. Now only about 1 percent of all bamboos are left. They grow in a wide range of climates and soils. China has about 70% of the world’s bamboo and about 38 percent of the world’s population lives in China.
Bamboo is an excellent building material as long as it is grown and harvested ethically. All bamboo can be used for construction purposes but some types are finer than others, such as Moso bamboo, or Phyllostachys edulis, which grows fine canes for flooring. The foliage is used for thatched roofs, it can be used for vases or containers. The wood is used to make furniture, boxes, and mats.
