Bamboo is booming: the other grass is gaining ground

The bamboo business is growing like weeds in a neglected garden, from ornamental, structural and other eco-friendly utilitarian forms. The growing popularity of this weed is in a commercial crop contest of late with legalized marijuana, the “other weed.” The accelerated growth in cash dollars has translated into an additional couple billion dollars at least for the state of Colorado, Washington is just behind and those numbers could well exceed expectations. It will be interesting to see if Seattle’s medical marijuana dispensaries will be as hot as a fresh cup of Starbucks. Now back to bamboo and all the things it can do – some cool facts and some awesome photos too!

First, here are some general but interesting facts about bamboo:

Bamboo is one of the fastest growing plants on earth with a documented 98 inches in a 24 hour period.

Have you seen a flowering bamboo? Me neither, many bamboos only flower every 65 or even 120 years after they fruit, most species die soon after.

There are 1,450 different varieties (species) of bamboo from a group of 10 genera.

Thomas Edison used bamboo filament to bring his brilliant idea, the first light bulb, to life.

Bamboo releases 35% more oxygen than the same amount of trees

Some people have seen the incredible photos shared on social networks with bamboo structures, which look like images from another world or a storybook, however, there is more than one community that follows this trend, in fact, more than a billion of them. people live in bamboo houses. right now. Many of these ornate and unique homes are high in the treetops, offering amazing views like the video CBS aired on Sunday morning in May, and can be luxurious or understated as your budget and patience allow. Considering that it only takes 4-7 years to harvest a bamboo crop, and that most desirable locations are in geographically poor countries, you won’t necessarily need a lot of money or patience to have your own thatched hut in the tree. or the bamboo palace of your dreams.

If you’re afraid of heights, you don’t have to worry about walking through the treetops on bamboo supports, in fact, bamboo is stronger than steel, seriously. The tensile strength of bamboo is 28,000 per square meter. in. and the tensile strength of steel measures 23,000 per square meter. in!

Bamboo, depending on its intended application, must be treated properly to preserve its integrity as a building material, but its uses range from lightweight accent pieces to high-use flooring. The flexibility of the bamboo material and the multitude of applications, fast harvesting and low environmental impact make this historic and (even) spiritual grass a fast-growing trend.

Most of us have a bamboo object at home, probably in the kitchen, and have used bamboo chopsticks, but as well as being useful as a gadget, bamboo also provides the ideal privacy (and shade) for a truly beautiful tropical garden. . You don’t even have to live in a tropical environment to grow many types of ornamental bamboos; some types grow in every corner of the earth (almost).

Pandas, right? What kind of person would I be if I didn’t mention panda bears (the ‘non-bears’?) who are 99% dependent on this herb as a staple of their diet, in fact. Bear or not, pandas have guts of iron, because the shoots contain a toxin “(cyanogenic glycoside) that produces cyanide in the gut,” but after proper processing, bamboo is fine for humans with fragile bellies to eat. There are many Eastern cultures that eat bamboo in many ways as a traditional dish and have done so for centuries.

Bamboo has been used for centuries in art, to make houses, rafts and other materials needed every day, for food, in weapons, textiles and medicine. If you don’t have enough bamboo, it’s time to get on the bamboo raft!

I was saving the best for last, here are some eye candy or neat pics of bamboo, just for you!