Bamboo Age for Building: How Old Is It?
Determine the age of timber bamboo and learn to tell the difference between old and young bamboos. It's important to select bamboo to harvest at the right maturity so the bamboo fibers can grow to their peak strength. Guadua angustifolia is an amazing species of giant timber bamboo, the strongest bamboo in the Americas and used in regenerative building. In this video you can “see” the age of this Guadua bamboo by careful visual inspection. Choose bamboos that are 2-5 years old for the best structural integrity for building.
New fresh shoots (culms, stems, stalks) that are vibrant and green are usually one year or less old. Bamboo is technically a large grass and you can see the papery sheaths coming off of the nodes of the young stalks. Mature bamboo will not look as fresh and green and may have mosses or lichen growing on it. Harvest the bamboo when it is aged and green, but before it turns brown. Be careful of the spines and hairs. Once harvested, the green bamboos will turn brown as they cure. For preserving, dry the bamboo and paint with wood preservative. Avoid harvesting the bamboo after it turns brown for building projects as it loses strength once it's overmature. It's best to remove these old brown bamboos to keep the plant maintained and clean. These can be used for less structural projects like trellises, fences or firewood.
In this bamboo structure in Colombia, you can see some examples where the bamboo was harvested when mature and green and is turning brown as it cures. Bamboo was also used for walls and roofing material here. Special thanks for Paola Granjera of Eco-Hostel Medellin for my accommodations at her beautiful agroecological permaculture farm in Guatape, Colombia.
#timber_bamboo #bamboo_building #harvesting
Пікірлер: 12
Awesome! Good info. and a beautiful example of a structure being built.
I didn't get your last two videos, even though I pushed the bell notification. Have fun in Columbia. Are you coming back? MannyG Orlando FL
@TiaSilvasy
3 жыл бұрын
Yes the bamboo and bamboo building in Colombia was amazing! Now I'm back in Florida. Happy new year!
From my experience it's best to harvest culms that are at least 3 years old and preferably 4 years old. I'm finding our Guadua starts to die at 5-6 years old. Still strong but unable to take up the borax solution we use for treating so best used for temporary or non- critical installations. Nice to see the bamboo construction's in your video, thanks for posting and all the best from Panama.
@TiaSilvasy
Жыл бұрын
Thanks for sharing Jim! Sometimes it's hard to keep track between year 3 or 4 or 5. Do you mark the year on your bamboo culms?
Only harvest the brown ones to make them material for charcoal production.
Great video, thanks! One question - if you're not building a big structure that needs extreme strength (say, a cabin with 2 floors that are 4x4 metres) could you use bamboo that is younger (e.g. 2 years)? That is more available to me where I am. Thanks!
@TiaSilvasy
Жыл бұрын
You can but it won't last as long and you may need to replace some pieces later.
Will the bamboo the larger species grow in 9b. Thanks
@TiaSilvasy
3 жыл бұрын
In zone 9b you can't grow Guadua, but the best giant timber bamboo is Bambusa oldhamii. It looks very similar to the Guadua in this video, but not as large or strong. There is a nursery called Beautiful Bamboo in Groveland, FL that sells it or you can grow it from propagules.
Yep that's just what I would do touch the bamboo that has the fungus and then not wash my hands and go over and touch a young one that doesn't have fungus. 🤔