His mayan workers had cleverly interplanted corn and squash in the open spaces between the bamboo. And by planting a useful food crop, they eliminated the need to weed large open areas which where covered by acreas of trailing squash vines. In March of 1996, we began to prep the site for the initial bamboo plantings. A site was chosen adjacent to our driveway parking lot as a staging area where we could most easily off-load field divisions of bamboo, boot them into sawdust for a few days, and then be able to truck them out to the various grove sites as planting crews and time allotted. The staging area was canopied by a large purple plum tree, which shaded the stressed bamboo from the hot afternoon sun.
Nature demands participation.
Several weeks per year will be spent in annual maintence. The final verdict is yet to be revealed. By keeping accurate records and detailed accounting of expenses we can begin to assimilate the broad base of knowledge which is needed to demonstrate bamboo's feasibility as a cash crop. Trials for shoot flavor and quality must be ducumented as well as size and growth ratios for the Pacific Northwest. Bamboo must be shown to create a sustainable yield vs. an energy sink.