My bamboo

I love bamboo! I don't know what it is but I've always thought it was really cool. I bought my first house in December 2010 and decided I would plant some the following spring. I've heard people say not to, that it's invasive and hard to kill but that just sounds like a challenge to me.

I started out planting just one (and my only clumping variety and the only one I bought locally. The rest I had delivered from a nursery in Oregon). This is called Phyllostachys bissetii

Same plant 1 year later in 2012

and now, April, 2013,  it's starting to grow vertically again (something bamboo only does for approximately 2 months in the spring. The rest of the time it grows horizontally underground)

June 2013

The second bamboo I planted called Phyllostachys Nigra or black bamboo. It's canes look like this

First day of planting

1 year later

Now, in April 2013, it's starting its 2 month vertical growth spurt.

June 2013

This is the 3rd kind I planted. It's called Phyllostachys edulis "moso". It takes bamboo about 5 years to become "established". This little guy is one of the tallest species on the planet.

1 year later (5 new canes)

And now, in April 2013 it's starting its new growth (60+ new canes)

One week later

The forth kind I planted is Phyllostachys vivax "Chinese Timber"

And the fifth kind I planted is called Phyllostachys Bambusoides "Madake or Japanese Timber"

These last two I've planted in the front yard. They will hopefully all look like this in a few more years.

I'll have to install deep ground boarders so they don't spread quite this wide. I'll contain each grove to roughly 20 feet across.

I also want to use the bamboo for practical purposes. I plan on using it to floor in my attic. To build a pergola for my patio and to build a shed for the backyard. You can even eat young bamboo shoots.

Here's a clever way to container garden with bamboo.

My kitchen utensils like spoons and spatulas are bamboo. I've even ordered some bamboo toothbrushes as a "greener" alternative to plastic ones. Bamboo will breakdown eventually, unlike plastic. Thrown away toothbrushes are found by 1,000's in the ocean and some 50 million pounds of them are tossed into America’s landfills each year.

This bike frame is bamboo

Here's a cool bamboo house

Cool bridge

If I had more room, I would get some like the next two pictures:

Here's a picture of one in my front yard on day 1.

a year later

May 12, 2013

June 2013

How cool is this?!

If you don't like something in your yard, get rid of it! This bush was boring so I slapped a chain on it and pulled it out with my truck.

Of course I planted some bamboo in that spot.  :)

I even tried to grow sequoia sempervirens, better known as Redwood Trees. Here's a picture of me in Redwood National Park in northern California.

Hard to believe these giants start out small but they do. And they look like this.

 and this

They grew bigger pretty quickly

But sadly all three died. Even though I tried keeping the mulch away from the tree, I over-mulched. :( I might try them again. Who wouldn't want a giant redwood tree (or three) in the yard?!!

April 10 Garden Update

Severe storms are predicted here in Middle Tennessee today so I have taken precautions. I've planted dozens and dozens of seeds, most just 1/4" deep, so I'm afraid hard rain will flood them out.

I only had 3 tarps so I had to improvise with cardboard. I didn't cover up the broccoli and cauliflower shown here. They'll just have to take the beating. Hopefully it will just rain and NOT hail.

Does anyone else regrow food from cuttings? Here's some celery I'm regrowing from some store bought stock.

Even though I have 17 raised beds (13 in the back yard, 4 in the front yard), I'm running out of room for things I want to grow. So I'm going to try a few things in containers this year. An empty pot is a sad sight.

In these containers I'm going to plant Rainbow Chard, Arugala and more celery. I'll also plant beneficial flowers like marigolds and place around the garden area to attract good bugs and deter pests.

Composting

One of the "greenest" things you can do besides growing your own food, is composting.

What is compost? Organic matter that has been decomposed and recycled as a fertilizer and soil amendment. Compost is a key ingredient in organic farming.

I try and live my life by the R's mantra: Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Rot (Compost) and Recycle.

Organic material disposed of in landfills creates large quantities of methane, a major global-warming gas. U.S. landfills are “among the single greatest contributors of global methane emissions,”

according to the Natural Resources Defense Council. According to the EPA, methane is 20 to 30 times more potent than CO2 as a greenhouse (global warming) gas on a molecule to molecule basis.

"The exercising of the human spirit can take many forms, and the simple act of cleaning up after oneself is one of them. The careless dumping of waste out into the world is a self-centered act of arrogance — or ignorance."

I started out small. Just some free wood pallets used to dump my grass clippings after mowing my 1/2 acre yard. It would fill up fast before summers end. I had the same problem with dead leaves in the fall.

You can't tell from the picture but the pile in the corner was as tall as me. Plus I bagged another 12 or so large plastic bags worth. I'm not a fan of throwing things away so I needed to expand. The next iteration looked like this.

Here there are 5 separate areas. Each is about 5'x5' by 4' tall (or 100 cubic feet). One area for cold composting. One for grass clippings. One for leaves. One for hot composting and one for storing finished compost.

Here's the finished storing area.

Originally I was mixing the right ratios and turning it with a pitchfork.

But this is laborious and it never seemed to reach the right cooking temps. It turned to compost but it took a whole year to do it.

So I did some research and was about to make my own compost tumblers from free 55 gal plastic barrels but then I found (thanks to John at http://www.youtube.com/user/growingyourgreens )  the Joraform 270. This is made in Sweden (they take composting seriously). The inside will reach 160 degrees! It wasn't free but it was just what I wanted. It makes compost in weeks instead of months. It's insulated so you can compost during cold months. It spins easily for mixing. Has 2 chambers. Galvanized and painted steel panels. It's high enough to park my garden wagon underneath to dump out finished compost. It'll keep the flies and other hungry critters out of the pile. It holds 70 gallons.

A compost pile needs these ingredients. Carbon and nitrogen with a ratio of 75% and 25%

For carbon I use dead leaves, shredded paper from my bills, toilet and paper towel rolls, straw, wood chips, sawdust, etc.

For the nitrogen I use grass clippings, weeds, spent vegetable plants, food scraps, egg shells, coffee and coffee filters (I even go by Starbucks once a month and they'll give you for free, all the used coffee grounds for that day. It's their Grounds For Gardens program), pulp from my juicer, etc.

“Compost is more than a fertilizer or a healing agent for the soil’s wounds. It is a symbol of continuing life . . . The compost heap is to the organic gardener what the typewriter is to the writer, what the shovel is to the laborer, and what the truck is to the truck driver.”

If you've ever bought a bag of organic compost from a nursery you know that it isn't cheap. I have 17 raised garden beds to fill and amend so this makes great economical sense too.

Why use compost at all? Why not just dirt?

BENEFITS OF COMPOST

ENRICHES SOIL

• Adds organic material

• Improves fertility and productivity

• Suppresses plant diseases

• Discourages insects

• Increases water retention

• Inoculates soil with

  beneficial microorganisms

• Reduces or eliminates fertilizer needs
• Moderates soil temperature

Compost also adds slow-release nutrients essential for plant growth, creates air spaces in soil, helps balance the soil pH, darkens the soil (thereby helping it absorb heat), and supports microbial populations that add life to the soil.

Here's a small list of what can be composted:

From the Kitchen
1. Coffee grounds and filters
2. Tea bags
3. Used paper napkins
4. Pizza boxes, ripped into smaller pieces
5. Paper bags, either ripped or balled up
6. The crumbs you sweep off of the counters and floors
7. Plain cooked pasta
8. Plain cooked rice
9. Stale bread
10. Paper towel rolls
11. Stale saltine crackers
12. Stale cereal
13. Used paper plates (as long as they don't have a waxy coating)
14. Cellophane bags (be sure it's really Cellophane and not just clear plastic—there's a difference.)
15. Nut shells (except for walnut shells, which can be toxic to plants)
16. Old herbs and spices
17. Stale pretzels
18. Pizza crusts
19. Cereal boxes (tear them into smaller pieces first)
20. Wine corks
21. Moldy cheese
22. Melted ice cream
23. Old jelly, jam, or preserves
24. Stale beer and wine
25. Paper egg cartons
26. Toothpicks
27. Bamboo skewers
28. Paper cupcake or muffin cups
From the Bathroom
29. Used facial tissues
30. Hair from your hairbrush
31. Toilet paper rolls
32. Old loofahs
33. Nail clippings
34. Urine
35. 100% Cotton cotton balls
36. Cotton swabs made from 100% cotton and cardboard (not plastic) sticks
Personal Items
37. Cardboard tampon applicators
38. Latex condoms
From the Laundry Room
39. Dryer lint
40. Old/stained cotton clothing—rip or cut it into smaller pieces
41. Old wool clothing—rip or cut it into smaller pieces
From the Office
42. Bills and other documents you've shredded
43. Envelopes (minus the plastic window)
44. Pencil shavings
45. Sticky notes
46. Business cards (as long as they're not glossy)
47. Receipts
Around the House
48. Contents of your vacuum cleaner bag or canister
49. Newspapers (shredded or torn into smaller pieces)
50. Subscription cards from magazines
51. Leaves trimmed from houseplants
52. Dead houseplants and their soil
53. Flowers from floral arrangements
54. Natural potpourri
55. Used matches
56. Ashes from the fireplace, barbecue grill, or outdoor fire pit
Party and Holiday Supplies
57. Wrapping paper rolls
58. Paper table cloths
59. Crepe paper streamers
60. Latex balloons
61. Raffia
62. Excelsior
63. Jack o' Lanterns
64. Those hay bales you used as part of your outdoor fall decor
65. Natural holiday wreaths
66. Your Christmas tree. Chop it up with some pruners first (or use a wood chipper, if you have one...)
67. Evergreen garlands
Pet-Related
68. Fur from the dog or cat brush
69. Droppings and bedding from your rabbit/gerbil/hamsters, etc.
70. Newspaper/droppings from the bottom of the bird cage
71. Feathers
72. Alfalfa hay or pellets (usually fed to rabbits)
73. Rawhide dog chews
74. Fish food
75. Dry dog or cat food

*Although I don't eat meat at home, with this Joraform Composter, you can compost meat, dairy, butters and cooking oils too. http://www.joraform.com/en/products/composters/jorakompost-125-270-400.html

Believe it or not, your poo and your dogs poo can (and should be) composted. You wouldn't want to use this compost for growing food in however. I have started composting my dog's poo (a 60 lb Golden Retriever) but I'm not quite ready to do my own.

Composting poo probably sounds gross to you but it shouldn't be. Educate yourself and read The Humanure Handbook by Joseph Jenkins for free online here: http://humanurehandbook.com/contents.html

It's about more than just humanure, it's about science!  Not a reader? Then watch this: It's the Pee and Poop show: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdN_3x8VNCY

This year I also plan on doing Worm Composting, or Vermicomposting. The worms poo or "castings" are excellent for adding to your garden.

And you can make compost tea which plants love.
What Is Compost Tea?
It's a liquid fertilizer and disease suppressor that is made by soaking small amounts of biologically-active compost in water, often with other ingredients such as kelp or molasses to feed the microorganisms, and then aerated over a period of one to two days. The "tea" is then sprayed using a typical hand-held sprayer either directly onto plants, the soil, or it is applied as a soil-drench (root dip) for seedlings.

More to come on compost tea later.