Articles about bamboo

Our Most Frequently asked Question:

 

Bamboo is a fast-growing type of woody grass that is quite often mistaken as a species of trees. It even produces leaves and grows upwards with hollow shoots. Bamboos are the largest member of the grass family with over 1,000 different species and are considered to be one of the fastest-growing plants in the world.

Most people who partake in commercial bamboo farming or plant them as a hobby, know that it is an exotic and beautiful plant that comes in a variety of colors that can brighten your landscape. This plant, however, has been known to take over the area where it has been planted – which poses the question, is Bamboo invasive

To answer this question at a very high level – not all varieties of this Bamboo are invasive, and it is entirely dependent on the individual situation. To understand what it means to be invasive, we must evaluate the definition. Invasive: growing and dispersing easily, usually to the detriment of native species and ecosystems. In several cases, Bamboo has been used to regenerate damaged ecosystems and assisted in the return of the native flora and fauna.  While bamboos are known for their aggressive growth habits, not all species of Bamboos are considered to be invasive.    

What Is The Difference Between Clumping and Running Bamboo?

When discussing Bamboo, there are two categories that  Bamboo falls into – either “Clumping” or “Running”: 

 

Clumping Bamboo has a pachymorph rhizome system; this means that each branching of the rhizome turns upward, pushing through the soil surface as a fresh shoot and eventually growing into a cane/culm. Clumping Bamboo is known to gradually expand at a predictable and modest rate, which is why they are considered to be easy to maintain and non-invasive.

 

Running Bamboo has a leptomorph rhizome that travels  outwards from the mother plant and only send vertical shots during certain  seasons and weather conditions. This type of growth presents the question, “Is running bamboo invasive?”. The answer to this is not as black and white as many believe. For a crop to indeed be invasive, it has to cause harm to the native environment or be uncontrollable which through responsible management running Bamboo species are not.  

 

However, the worry with running species of Bamboo is that because of its moderate to fast-spreading rhizome, an unmanaged stand can grow beyond its desired area. It is for this reason that Bamboo growers seeking a running species must develop a management plan the prevents this unwanted spreading.  Here at OnlyMoso, we promote the responsible management of all our bamboo species through approved management practices. 

 

Why Plant Bamboo?

There are many different reasons for planting Bamboo, whether it is for commercial use (harvested for food and fiber), as wind brakes and sound barriers, or in a wide variety of ornamental landscaping. As a result, the extensive array of Bamboo species, including ones with stalks of varying colors like red, yellow, and dark green, Bamboo can bring an explosion of color and become the center point of any landscape. Similarly, its ability to be trimmed and trained lends it to being used as natural privacy fencing or attractive hedges. Its extraordinary growth rates and dances clumping also make Bamboo an excellent windbreak or natural sound barrier that can be utilized alongside busy roadways or between field crops to prevent topsoil loss. Also, because of Bamboo’s extensive and fast-growing root system, it can be used to avoid soil erosion and nutrient runoff. For commercial food and fiber production, Bamboo’s incredible growth rates provide a sustainable, profitable, and healthy food source with bamboo shoots being one of the top five healthiest foods and a renewable source of fiber products. This amazing plant also works to lower our carbon footprint by absorbing carbon dioxide and producing 30% more oxygen per equivalent mass of trees. As a result of its ability to clean the air, many species of Bamboo make excellent house plants that both add to a home’s décor while also providing cleaner air.

 

OnlyMoso: Your Commercial Bamboo Farming Partner 

Bamboo represents an incredible opportunity for American agriculture to grow a profitable, sustainable, and environmentally beneficial crop. Growing giant Bamboo with OnlyMoso allows farmers to plant a generational crop that can see returns as early as year three and, once established, provide a low maintenance annual revenue for 60 to 80 years. With bamboo shoots being one of the world’s top five healthiest foods and bamboo timber providing a sustainable source for lumber, fiber, and biomass, Bamboo offers multiple contrasting market opportunities. Bamboo also allows farmers to work in harmony with their land as Bamboo decreases soil erosion, balances nutrient cycles, and produces 35% more oxygen per biomass than trees. 

We offer landowners and farmers the opportunity to become growing partners with OnlyMoso by providing 50% financing from our company at 0% interest on the cost of plants. Along with buyback agreements that provide a secure channel to sell your shoots and canes when they reach maturity. 

 

Once theses lush bamboo forests become established, your farm can see an Estimated Projected Income between 25k and 38k with our Tropical Asper, 16k, and 20k with our Temperate Moso, and 18k to 22k with our P2Blue. You can find out more by visiting our website or calling us for more information at (877) 340-6755. “Your Green Mine” is just a call away!

 

 

 

Our Farmer Partners in Oklahoma were looking for land in Texas to start a commercial bamboo farm under our program. With our assistance, they ended up purchasing land in Florida and started with 25 acres of Commercial Bamboo and are now expanding to 60-80 Acres!

Commercial Farming Asper Bamboo

Not many people know that bamboos are actually a grass – or more like giant grass! Well, Asper Bamboos are known as the giant bamboo species and just like other species, they are known for the rapid growth and perennial woody stems. Its culms are hollow with distinct internodes and nodes, branches and rhizomes.

These plants have started stirring worldwide attention in terms of commercial bamboo farming because of their multifarious uses and versatility. Their uses range from commercial foods from the young shoots to subsistence and building materials. It has the ability to offer ecological and economic benefits for everyone in the world and ironically, this plant can be found anywhere because of its ability to grow rapidly.  To understand just how rapidly it grows, you should know that in 60 to 90 days, the culm of an Asper Giant can reach its full potential!

While we’ve established that they are easy to grow, you should also know that there are a lot of environmental benefits of growing Asper bamboo. This is so because they can cleanse the air we breathe more efficiently than other plants and even protect the environment. Bamboos are known to release 35% more oxygen than other plants because they sequester an estimated 12 tons per hectare of carbon dioxide from the air. This means that in the long run, it has the ability to protect the world from ultraviolet rays by reducing greenhouse gases.

Other than this, Asper bamboos are also great for soil conservation. With commercial bamboo farming, people have found that this plant’s widespread root system can effectively control erosion in the vicinity. Furthermore, it can even serve as great windbreaks alongside sustaining riverbanks.

Asper bamboos, like the other species of bamboo, are highly renewable materials. There is no need to replant them once their clump has been established. This clump will be able to produce new shoots every year and will be able to stand fully tall at 30 meters!

Bamboos are even great substitutes for wood. As the culm matures in just 3 years and builds enough strength, their properties will be quite comparable to species of wood. This is why their utility has been seen expanding to include transformations into several engineered bamboo products like structural panels and doors.

They are even a great source of food because it has become a vital vegetable in the daily meals of many people in Asia. It is also considered to be an ingredient that can be used as gourmet in some Western countries where they arrive mostly as imports. Other than this, Asper bamboos are also one of the exquisite components that are being used for landscape designs for an aesthetic and natural beauty.

So what should someone consider when planning for commercial bamboo farming? Growing Asper bamboo is actually quite easy, gratifying and fun. For whatever end product you are aiming for, growing them won’t require much of your effort, money and time. Even though large-scale bamboo growing is quite desirable, you can even be successful for your purpose if you start with a small scale.

Asper bamboos simply require sufficient sources of water and possibly uniform distributions of rainfall. These plants even love the sun because they will grow really well in such areas. Lastly, all soil and terrain types are perfect for bamboo growth with the only exceptions of waterlogged sites or ones that are continuously swampy.

Now that we know that commercial bamboo farming is relatively easy, we can look into its potential uses. Asper bamboos are multipurpose plants which have great economic and environmental values. These many uses of the plant have spread over to many new product and industries over the years.

Under the category of domestic use, Asper bamboo culms are manufactured into various garden, fame and home items. These are used in houses creatively with decorative craft purposes with numerous techniques. In some farms, bamboo poles are even used in place of functional fences, trellis or vegetable poles among other garden accessories or accents.

In terms of commercial production, these plants are used for arts, foods and even construction. This is because bamboo can become a great substitute for wood products and there are already many technologies that are using bamboo poles for strong construction materials. These include laminated bamboo floor tiles and concrete reinforcements among many others.

If you’re confused about its contribution to the food industry, you should know that the tender and young shoots of Asper bamboo are very nutritious and edible. In many parts of Asia and some western countries, these bamboo shoots have become a tasty food alternative.

With all these uses, commercial bamboo farming is being found by many to be quite inexpensive. For the 1st thee years, bamboos may work as a complementary crop for the other plants that have been employed there. From then onwards, your business will have sustainable and profitable yields without any expenses of replanting. This is where it would have become your economically and environmentally sustainable primary cash crop.

OnlyMoso: Your Green Mine

OnlyMoso offers both Moso Bamboo and Asper Bamboo. We offer giant bamboos as an excellent resource for eco-sustainability because they keep soil compact and prevent erosion caused by water. This plant does not require any machinery, pesticides or harsh chemicals for maintenance and has the ability to reduce greenhouse gases.

We are offering landowners and farmers the opportunity to make their own OnlyMoso Bamboo Farm with 50% financing from our company and 0% interest on plantation costs. There will also be discounts for large farms and mass purchases while the estimated ROI from a fully harvested acre can be 30k per acre per year from Moso Bamboo. Asper Bamboo, on the other hand, has an estimated annual ROI of 40k per acre per year. You can find out more by visiting our website or calling us for more information at (877) 340-6755. “Your Green Mine” is just a call away!

 

Including bamboo in climate change policies and rural development investments makes countries’ sustainable development goals more effective. Bamboo is a vast untapped strategic resource that countries in the world’s tropical and sub-tropical regions can use to better manage climate change, and provide beneficial ‘ecosystem services’ and new income sources for their rural populations.

An amazing way to enjoy the benefits of this prodigious plant is creating all sort of dishes, this time we want to share a salad recipe by MyGeneSolutions

Dressing

3 tablespoons chopped fresh Cilantro
2 tablespoons chopped fresh Parsley
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 1/2 tablespoons honey
6 garlic cloves, minced and separated in 2 piles
1 lime, lemon or 1/2 an Orange, juiced and zested

Directions:

In a large bowl, combine the cooked chickpeas, cooked Adzuki, and cooked bamboo shoots, (I boiled them separately lightly salted)
Chop up raw veggies – 1 whole Red and White Onion, cherry tomatoes, Cilantro, parsley, Avocados, Cucumber, well with the salt and pepper. In a small saucepan, add the oil, vinegar, honey, 1/2 of the minced garlic, Orange juice and zest. Heat over low heat and whisk until the mixture is warm and garlic cloves are sizzling a bit.

Pour the liquid over the salad and add raw minced garlic and chia seeds toss well to coat. Cover with a piece of plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before serving. It tastes better as it sits! Serve with toasted baguettes spread with coconut oil or whipped feta.

Read more

In the green jungles of Bali, outside the town of Ubud, there’s a village of 18 homes constructed almost entirely out of bamboo. From a distance they look like jungle huts, but these are far from it. These unique homes provide all of the comforts of a 5-star-living modern home.