How to Plant and Grow Bamboo Shoots

Planting and growing bamboo shoots can be a challenge if you don’t have practical experience on how to do it. Bamboo shoots are on high demand for value addition by food companies because of its high nutrition value and for direct raw consumption globally.

Bamboo plants don’t have common shooting season, their shooting periods vary depending with the type of the bamboo. It also depends on their size, weight, depth, nutrition of the soil, watering, drainage conditions, temperature, PH and soil fertility. You can either plant bamboo for shoots by propagating cuttings or germinating seeds in a green house.

Bamboo is grown from cuttings by either roots cuttings or culms cuttings.

How to Propagate Bamboo Shoots From Root Cuttings

• Bamboo grass take very long before it produce seeds .To keep it multiplying its rhizomes keep growing underground to form buds and culms. To propagate rhizomes you cut it from the mother plant before they start spreading and running underground in the springs to create new growth.
• When propagating start by checking the type of the bamboo. Bamboo are classified as either running or clumping .We have different ways for root cuttings depending with the type of the bamboo. Clumping bamboo rhizomes grow in a thick tight clumps and running bamboo rhizomes spread out.

How to Propagate Running Bamboo Root Cuttings

Running bamboo rhizomes develop new culms and buds during spring season. Propagate in non-windy day before new culms sprout to avoid damaging the culms with your tools.

Step 1

Bamboo rhizomes and new buds grow in the top soil around the mother plant. Check if the bamboo plant have rhizomes that are mature for propagating by dig around the base of the plant with a sharp spade.

Step 2

Cut the rhizomes with at least two culms and 4 buds using a sharp spade or pruning saw.

Step 3

Immediately cover and fill the base of the parent plant with top soil. Cut back the culms to at least one third of their height and then plant the rhizomes with top soil. You can also mix it with organic fertilizer.

Step 4

Make sure you water the rhizomes and the mother plant every day. To avoid loss of water through evaporation, mulch the rhizomes and the parent plants with organic materials. Stake the culm if you’re growing bamboo in a windy environment.

How to Propagate Clumping Bamboo by Roots Cuttings

Step 1

Dig top soil around the edge of the bamboo with a sharp spade to expose lower part of the clump.

Step 2

Pull up the clumps and identify rhizomes with strong root, buds and at least 2 to 3 culms.

Step 3

Use sharp shade or pruning saw to cut the rhizomes off the mother plant. Pull the culm with rhizome and then sub divide it to pieces with at least 4 buds each.

Step 4

Immediately cover and fill the base of the parent plant with top soil. Cut back the culms to at least one third of their height and then plant the rhizomes with top soil at the same depth as the parent plant. You can also mix it with organic fertilizer.

Step 5

Make sure you water the rhizomes and the mother plant every day. To avoid loss of water through evaporation, mulch the rhizomes and the parent plants with organic materials. Stake the culm if you’re growing bamboo in a windy environment.

How to Grow Bamboo Shoots From Culms or Stem Cuttings

• Cut a mature culm from a plant that is over a year old. Use a culm that is 7mm diameter and above.
• When cutting the culm ensure you have a sharp knife or a battery charged saw. Cut at 45 degree angle. The hallow part of the culm tube holds water that is used to feed the new cutting.
• Remove all the leaves and the branches at the node but leave only the main branch because it will be the plant lifeline when it start developing.
• Cover bud with root hormone before planting. This is the part where the roots grow from. You can also apply fungicide to prevent your plant from any fungi infections.
• Keep culm hollow filled with water the entire time.
• Your planting pot should be large enough so that it will not disturb the young plants when transferring them or subdividing after successful propagation process.

Tips

New leaf growth is a good sign but that doesn’t mean you have succeeded. Manage your plant until they fully mature in 3 to 4 months minimum depending with your climate. Bamboo grows and matures first in the presence of enough sunlight.

Fresh bamboo cuttings should be kept in a shade to avoid drying up.

Bamboo propagation works best during full moon phase. The moon affects the earth in so many ways. In bamboo the moon gravitational force pulls sugars and starches from the rhizomes and roots up to the culms to feed the new leaf growth.

These nutrients provide energy to the new leaves and fresh branches at the node of the culm segment or stem cutting. All that the bamboo wants is to survive and grow. The process should be completed in warm months for your bamboo to grow best.

Things to Remember

For health plant and soil also do soil tests before planting. Soil test help to determine fertility of the soil and growth potential of the soil which show its nutrient deficiencies, toxicities from its excess fertility. The test is used to help mimic the function of roots to absorb minerals.

When planting bamboo shoots in small scale for domestic consumption you can grow them in a planter, pot, and container or garden. If your variety of bamboo that you’re growing is running bamboo in the garden create a barrier to avoid spreading in unwanted areas.

How to Harvest and Prepare Edible Bamboo shoots: Step By Step

• Have in mind bamboo shoots harvest season is in the month of February, March and April.
• Visit your bamboo plantation at least twice in a day during spring harvest season because the shoots must be harvested as they emerge from the field. Cut smaller diameter bamboo shoots before they reach 6 inches in length and large diameter bamboo before they reach 12 inches. The younger the bamboo the better it tastes. The shoots should be harvested within 24 hours after emerging from the ground.
• Harvest the shoots by slicing into the soil with a sharp spade to detach from the root system and break off the shoots by twisting and pulling with your hands. When harvesting cut only half bamboo shoots so that you can have enough new canes that can grow to keep the plant health.

Types of Bamboo with Edible Shoots

Bambusa vulgris and phyllostachys edulis are the most common types of bamboo that are known for edible shoots. Bamboo shoots are used as vegetables in Asian dishes. Before you think of eating bamboo shoots, first boil them in hot water to destroy the toxin. Bamboo shoots contain cyanogen glycosides a natural toxin that is also found in cassava.

Benefit of Eating Bamboo Shoots

Bamboo Shoots are a rich source of nutrients, antioxidants and bioactive compounds. They contain copper, zinc and manganese which mediate vital bio chemical processes. They also have several health benefits which include improved appetite and digestion, weight loss, curing cardiovascular diseases and cancer.

Bamboo Shoots Farming for Domestic Eating and Commercial

Once you have known how to propagate bamboo and the new plants development process is complete now transfer your bamboo culms to your farm or garden. The spacing for your bamboo plants should be 6 by 6 or 7 by 7 meters for giant bamboo and 4 by 4 meters for small varieties.

One hectare takes about 625 plants of the small varieties or 200 of the giant bamboo. Bamboo plantation will mature in 2 to 3 years for you to start harvesting bamboo shoots. You can look for a bamboo farming specialist or consultant who can help you to manage your farm with ease until you fully learn how to manage bamboo plantation.