Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted June 21, 2021 Share Posted June 21, 2021 About ten years ago my wife and I had the bright idea to plant some bamboo to act as a screen to hide an ugly hillside where we removed a lot of dirt & rocks to use when our 1/2 mile steep driveway washed out during a monsoon. We had our neighbor who had a nursery that specialized in exotic bamboo put it in. He is basically an expert in bamboo horticulture. To address our concerns about bamboo taking over an area, he said this strain of bamboo doesn't spread much especially how he would plant it in our rocky ground. He used his back hoe to dig a trench about two feet deep, three feet wide and thirty feet long, which he filled with good dirt & compost. The rocky ground would contain the bamboo. That worked very well and the bamboo didn't jump out of the area. It became very dense and worked just like we had hoped as a screen. Then last winter which was unusually cold all of the bamboo died off. This spring, it started to grow again with a vengeance. The decision was made to remove it because The new growth did start to take over the area. I checked with Google about how to remove bamboo. Simple huh just dig it out with a shovel and be sure to get all the runners & root system out. I went out there with a shovel and found out hitting the root system was like trying to shovel through concrete. Bright idea, I have a tractor with a front loader, that'll get it. First attempt to dig with the bucket to get out all the roots was a joke. Note to self need another plan. Attempt two, shear off all the bamboo with the bucket and burn it in a huge pile. Still no luck digging out the roots, that stuff must be made of Kevlar. OK the box blade has scarifier's, I even made one in the shop, time to put it to the test. That seemed to work, if I pulled ahead a couple of feet then lifted the blade to rip up the root system. Then I could use the bucket to dig it out. That root system & runners was about a foot thick & three feet wide. Been at it all week (although when it got too hot had to knock off) start early and get about four hours in. I had to dump the dirt and grade it to separate the roots/runners from the good dirt. I now have a pile of roots & runners four feet tall and about eight feet in diameter. I plan on burning that too. Humm wonder if it would work as forge fuel... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn Posted June 21, 2021 Share Posted June 21, 2021 It would be great to set it on fire for the 4th of July, as each node is a closed system and builds up steam pressure until it explodes, at random, with a gunshot report. (grin) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daswulf Posted June 21, 2021 Share Posted June 21, 2021 Sounds like a real pain. I'd like some bamboo plants to use for different things but I deffinately dont want to have to deal with an issue like that in the long run. Bad enough I'm slowly battling wisteria that grows fast and comes back faster than I can cut it back. One day soon I plan to have it wiped out. I did manage to save a jeep from the original plant I demolished. Unfortunately now it is using the jeep as a safe growing space. My grandfather planted it and always wanted to see it bloom. Well it bloomed after his passing then turned into a wild raging beast. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted June 21, 2021 Share Posted June 21, 2021 The sins of the fathers…. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted June 21, 2021 Share Posted June 21, 2021 I love the smell of Wisteria flowers. I wonder if you could cross it with bamboo? Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott NC Posted June 21, 2021 Share Posted June 21, 2021 We were out house hunting and looked at a place that had a field of bamboo out back that had been cut down to the ground. We passed on that one but drove by it two weeks later and it had grown back and was easily 6' tall. There were sprouts all over the yard as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daswulf Posted June 21, 2021 Share Posted June 21, 2021 Frosty, the flowers are beautiful and smell nice but the plant is just so aggressive. It even strangles itself twisting and vining. The runners go out and take over neighboring trees as well. I've seen ones that have been maintained and controlled, but thats gatta be a full time job for someone or a crew. Nodebt smart move passing that one up. I think about the only safe way to grow the stuff is in a concrete container with high walls that could contain a nuclear reactor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted June 21, 2021 Share Posted June 21, 2021 Lisa and I were at the garden center on Saturday looking for a new clematis plant, when I heard her say, "This trumpet vine looks nice." Having waged a multi-year war (ultimately successful, thank goodness) with the neighbor's vines coming up on our property, my instant response was "BACK AWAY SLOWLY." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daswulf Posted June 21, 2021 Share Posted June 21, 2021 Atleast you knew about it instead of finding out about it later the hard way. Even if you did have to battle it once. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeeJustice Posted June 21, 2021 Share Posted June 21, 2021 We have just a little bamboo here, no where near to getting out of control. It is the dang Kudzu that I have to battle! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted June 22, 2021 Share Posted June 22, 2021 15 hours ago, Nodebt said: We were out house hunting Outhouse hunting Scott? I don't know if I would've brought that up even on Iforge. 13 hours ago, Daswulf said: Frosty, the flowers are beautiful and smell nice but the plant is just so aggressive. It even strangles itself Kudzu I've heard about, imported to this side of the planet as animal feed wasn't it? So far the only invasive plants are just something for the local environmentalists to wring their hands over. Not saying we shouldn't try to limit invasive species, just that we don't have any insidious ones here. So far. We have berry bushes, raspberries, blackberries, etc. those can take over in a big way but there ARE rewards for plucking their unborn seeds. Mmmm. I wonder if it'd be possible to sic kudzu on wisteria after it strangled the bamboo? Then finish the kudzu by herding in as many of the livestock that eats it as it takes. Sound like a plan? Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted June 22, 2021 Author Share Posted June 22, 2021 Goats, sheep, horses and cows love kudzu and all but the vines are edible for humans, makes a good survival food but most folks don't know that. It is comparable to spinach. The truth about Kudzu. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/true-story-kudzu-vine-ate-south-180956325/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted June 22, 2021 Share Posted June 22, 2021 I gather that the young shoots of Japanese knotweed (another invasive plant) are also edible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daswulf Posted June 22, 2021 Share Posted June 22, 2021 Hmm. Kudzu, bamboo shoots and japanese knotweed are edible for humans. Prefer an edible invasive over non like wisteria. Lol. Well maybe I need to borrow a goat. I'll have some free time coming up so I might be able to take on the wisteria and have it on the runner to just mow and weed wack the rest into oblivion. One psychotically anger driven night I took care of most of the original Bush. Now to get the hillside and trees it took over. And my old jeep it is growing through. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott NC Posted June 22, 2021 Share Posted June 22, 2021 52 minutes ago, Frosty said: Outhouse hunting Scott? I don't know if I would've brought that up even on Iforge. I don't care, as long as it has a nice shop out back.... Maybe put it on skids so I can't be taxed on it. Call it a mobile home! Das, you need a flame thrower. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted June 22, 2021 Author Share Posted June 22, 2021 The old Jeep would be the last straw for me, time to break out the Roundup, even though I don't like using it, sometimes it's the last resort. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daswulf Posted June 22, 2021 Share Posted June 22, 2021 Thinking I can cut it out of the jeep then time to move that jeep to another spot. That way I can mow the area regularly till it is gone. The jeep wound up there because I couldn't move it further with my tractor. My daily driver jeep has a little more umph in pulling. Honestly I wouldnt mind on That jeep but it keeps growing through the windshield frame and body acting as a wedge. Ugh. If only it worked to my will. Wisteria man! Crushing opponents and breaking concrete to rubble. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted June 22, 2021 Share Posted June 22, 2021 You could take on Poison Ivy the super villainess! Will your super suit have a cape? I vote for the flame thrower and someone around to video it! Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daswulf Posted June 23, 2021 Share Posted June 23, 2021 Dont get me started on poison ivy. We go back a long ways ever since I was around 3 or 4 years old and covered in it laying on the couch with my eyes swollen shut. I destroy it as safely as possible when I can. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted June 23, 2021 Share Posted June 23, 2021 I was talking about the Marvel Super Villian, she caused things to grow and cause problems. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daswulf Posted June 23, 2021 Share Posted June 23, 2021 Sounds like poison ivy to me.. lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott NC Posted June 23, 2021 Share Posted June 23, 2021 That pile in the photo looks like a sleeping triffid... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted June 23, 2021 Share Posted June 23, 2021 Sic the vegetarians on it! Back in NJ we had poison ivy vines large enough to tap for the sap...of course an inventive nerdy teenager would never do anything like that! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott NC Posted June 23, 2021 Share Posted June 23, 2021 A long time ago I unwittingly set out to pull a bunch of what I thought were wild grape vines out of a a row of pine trees. I was at it for a good fifteen minutes before I realized what it was. That was THE worst encounter I ever hope to have with poison ivy! Leaves Of Three, Let It Be! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted June 23, 2021 Share Posted June 23, 2021 Hairy vine, no friend of mine! 1 hour ago, ThomasPowers said: poison ivy vines large enough to tap for the sap...of course an inventive nerdy teenager would never do anything like that! Were you trying to make urushi-nuri? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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