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Cultivation

Bamboo can be grown organically, without any use of chemical fertilizers or pesticides (though, in some places, chemical fertilizers are used to artificially boost production). Organic fertilizer may be used to adequately feed the managed bamboo stand. Understory crops, like mushrooms, shade-loving vegetables, and free-ranging chickens, can provide useful soil management benefits while adding to the farmer’s portfolio of marketable products. Rice husks are sometimes applied as a “covering method” to provide warming soil insulation against cold winter and spring temperatures. As a result, tasty bamboo shoots, like those of p. Praecox, can emerge twice per year, providing farmers with more profitable product to sell.

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Harvesting

Bamboo stands (or groves) can be harvested at shorter time sequences than trees, with only one third of an acre harvested at a time (to allow for remaining standing bamboo to continue harvesting nutrients for next generation growth). For example, culms harvested for use in the manufacturing of bamboo flooring can be gleaned every 6 years (standing to allow the culms to harden), while softwood trees mature at 15-25 years, and hardwoods maturing over even longer periods. As a result, bamboos are excellent resources to cultivate where tree forests are prone to violent weather events (like tornadoes or hurricanes) and expensive loss. A damaged or broken culm can be replaced with new growth the following year (making bamboo a “durable investment”), where damaged or fallen trees could take decades to return. Tree crops and bamboo crops make for a powerful, allied fiber stream. Harvesting shoots removes what would have been culms for harvest. Market opportunities (and species best suited for various industries) inform decisions about when to harvest, and for what application.

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Pre-Processing

Typically, in China and elsewhere, farmers (or contracted workers) pre-process their cut bamboo to facilitate easier shipping and handling to the factory. This usually involves de-branching so that they (the branches) can be bundled for specific uses. The branch-less 40 to 60-foot long culms (sometimes longer) are then loaded onto trucks for transport to a factory for further processing.

Further Processing

On arrival to the factory (or an additional pre-processing facility), the long culms undergo for further preparation for specific product applications. Cutting to lengths and sorting by sections (i.e. base, middle section, top sections, etc.) eventually give way to acts of splitting, planing (to remove hard culm nodes), sanding (to remove razor-sharp edges), and refinement (at times) into long strands for weaving, or sticks for skewers, toothpicks, or ribs for umbrellas (both big and small — like those in a cocktail drink). Nothing is wasted or left unused — for example, sawdust is collected for either fuel or additional products.

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Manufacturing

After completing steps to prepare the culm for specific applications, the product creation process takes over and, according to specific production requirements, further prepares the culms by — cutting, bending, stripping, burning, bundling, sanding, gluing, stitching, compressing, etc. After cutting, the culms protective silica skin has been compromised and the softer, inner pith is vulnerable to fungus and discoloration. To retard this unsightly effect, the bamboo is bathed in boiling hydrogen peroxide (non-toxic and often heated with bamboo sawdust fuel). That’s why your toothpicks and skewers are not blemished with mold. After their baths, myriad products result. The following images depict various stages of producing bamboo shoots for canning, bamboo flooring, crafts, basketry, mats, and furniture.

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