Tomatoville® Gardening Forums - View Single Post - Do you have to cure bamboo before you use it?

t-ham · May 16, 2011

Found a supply of bamboo yesterday. It grows on a gas company ROW between 2 houses that quite literally makes up the NY/NJ border for a bit. As usual, it is bamboo that has spread from the backyard of one of the houses. I hit paydirt when I found a PILE of canes where it looks like someone had an anti-bamboo fit and tried to wipe out the encroaching plants. This is the common "local" species, about 1 1/2 to 2 inches at the base and 20 to 25 feet tall, maybe one cane in 10 shows some "zig-zagging" of the nodes.

My question is this:

Is there any reason not to use the bamboo leaves for mulch? They seem fairly tough and I figure they would last a while. They don't contain any compounds that would interfere with growth do they? Just wondering.

May 16, 2011	#8
t-ham Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2011 Location: rockland county, ny, usa Posts: 36	Found a supply of bamboo yesterday. It grows on a gas company ROW between 2 houses that quite literally makes up the NY/NJ border for a bit. As usual, it is bamboo that has spread from the backyard of one of the houses. I hit paydirt when I found a PILE of canes where it looks like someone had an anti-bamboo fit and tried to wipe out the encroaching plants. This is the common "local" species, about 1 1/2 to 2 inches at the base and 20 to 25 feet tall, maybe one cane in 10 shows some "zig-zagging" of the nodes. My question is this: Is there any reason not to use the bamboo leaves for mulch? They seem fairly tough and I figure they would last a while. They don't contain any compounds that would interfere with growth do they? Just wondering.