Growing Bamboo

[matt84]

Hi everyone,

I am looking to grow bamboo in Thailand for profit however do not much have knowledge of how to do so. I was originally planning to grow it as it absorbs c02 and I import goods already from Thailand so I thought it would beneficial to the enviroment however I have become aware that I might be able to make money doing it. I have a Thai friend who has 10 Rai, how much exactly is a Rai? Anyway after talking to her the procedure seems to be as follows:

1. Making the land suitable for growing rice

2. Growing rice which will apparently make it suitable or better for growing bamboo afterwards, perhaps fertilizing it in a way??

3. Planting the bamboo shoots afterwards

I also need to purchase a pump which will filter water from a local river if necessary however including the pump, machinery to make the land suitable in the first place, someone to tend the land and grow the rice I have been told it will roughly cost 120,000 baht but then once this is all done you can simply cut the bamboo and then it will keep growing back. 120,000 sounds like a lot to me but as I don't have any knowledge of growing bamboo and I don't know how big 10 Rai is it is difficult to say.

If anyone has any knowledge or information on doing this I would be extremely grateful. Going to be growing it in Chiang Mai by the way.

Many thanks in advance.

Matt

Edited August 28, 2008 by matt84

[yabaaaa]

Hi everyone,

I am looking to grow bamboo in Thailand for profit however do not much have knowledge of how to do so. I was originally planning to grow it as it absorbs c02 and I import goods already from Thailand so I thought it would beneficial to the enviroment however I have become aware that I might be able to make money doing it. I have a Thai friend who has 10 Rai, how much exactly is a Rai? Anyway after talking to her the procedure seems to be as follows:

1. Making the land suitable for growing rice

2. Growing rice which will apparently make it suitable or better for growing bamboo afterwards, perhaps fertilizing it in a way??

3. Planting the bamboo shoots afterwards

I also need to purchase a pump which will filter water from a local river if necessary however including the pump, machinery to make the land suitable in the first place, someone to tend the land and grow the rice I have been told it will roughly cost 120,000 baht but then once this is all done you can simply cut the bamboo and then it will keep growing back. 120,000 sounds like a lot to me but as I don't have any knowledge of growing bamboo and I don't know how big 10 Rai is it is difficult to say.

If anyone has any knowledge or information on doing this I would be extremely grateful. Going to be growing it in Chiang Mai by the way.

Many thanks in advance.

Matt

1 Rai 1600m2 so you will have 16000m2 4 uk acres, bamboo requires a lot of water to grow well and not sitting water. It grows thru rhizomes (underground roots) which spread out from the main clump. Bamboo is a greedy feeder it likes a lot of nitrogen the more u can throw at it the better. Also let the old leaves stay around the plant when they fall. When you cut a "culm" it does not re grow from the cut but via the rhizomes. It will take a few years to really get going.

Warning I heard SNAKES particularly like to hide in bamboo??

[lannarebirth]

To grow bamboo, you get some small shoots at the forestry department (or buy cheaply at nursery)for free at the beginning of rainy season. Plant in rainy season, just about amywhere, having done no particular soil preparation. Then wait a few years and you can begin harvesting. Requires zero attention from planting till harvest.

Edited August 28, 2008 by lannarebirth

[matt84]

So I shouldn't really need to pay anywhere in the region of 120,000?

I have already paid 35,000 for 10 Rai to be cleared(it was basically quite thick jungle) and have been told a pump would cost 18,000. I don't really want to pay any more if growing requires little or no attending. Was also quoted 13,000 for someone to start growing rice over 10 rai and attending it, which sounds a lot!!!

My thai friend also said she went to a free business advice centre and was put in touch with someone else apparently knowledgable in this area who told her 10 rai could produce enough bamboo which would sell for 140,000 baht per year, is this feasable?

By the way thank you for all the advice, it is appreciated.

Matt

[Maizefarmer]

You also need to make sure you grow the correct cultivar/variaty and that it is tended properly. Commercial bamboo farming has become a science with funriture manufacturers being very fussy about the "quality" of the bamboo they purchase for use in furnishings.

Do some research into whats the best type to grow, the conditions it needs to grow properly ect ect ................ and keep in mind its not something you'll be able to cash in on overnight - takes a good few years before harvest.

All the best

[lannarebirth]

So I shouldn't really need to pay anywhere in the region of 120,000?

I have already paid 35,000 for 10 Rai to be cleared(it was basically quite thick jungle) and have been told a pump would cost 18,000. I don't really want to pay any more if growing requires little or no attending. Was also quoted 13,000 for someone to start growing rice over 10 rai and attending it, which sounds a lot!!!

My thai friend also said she went to a free business advice centre and was put in touch with someone else apparently knowledgable in this area who told her 10 rai could produce enough bamboo which would sell for 140,000 baht per year, is this feasable?

By the way thank you for all the advice, it is appreciated.

Matt

It all depends on what your plan is. There are lots of differnt kinds of bamboo, which are grown for many different uses. Most of the bamboo growers I know grow bamboo to show they are using forest dept. administered land in an "agricultural way" so they might later come to possess that land. They do just what I described. Plant it and for get it and in 5 years they sell the bamboo for 3-10 baht per stalk toa wholesaler.

If your growing for furniture, well that would require more care and expense.

One thing though I don't quite understand. I've never seen bamboo grown in amongst rice. Nothing tends to grow very well next to bamboo. Is this in a paddy (which bamboo would hate), or on a hillside, which would be dry rice farming, which wouldn't like growing amongst the bamboo. I'm confused. Can you provide more details?

[sunsamourai]

I was originally planning to grow it as it absorbs c02 so I thought it would beneficial to the enviroment

Matt

I have already paid 35,000 for 10 Rai to be cleared(it was basically quite thick jungle)

Hi Matt,

Excuse me, but something just jumped to my eyes : you have cleared 10 rai of jungle to benefit the environment ?

Please, could you explain further ?

--> except that, I agree with you that planting bamboo sounds both profitable and ecological (from the moment the land was unused...), and am looking for the same kind of answers too.

ST

Edited August 29, 2008 by sunsamourai

[Lickey]

In my short experience of farming in Thailand, nothing will grow under a bamboo canopy, unless you want ants,snakes,snails,lizards, these seem to thrive in our bamboo plantation, the raised salad beds near the bamboo, the plants further away form bamboo do better, they seem to taper down the closer they are, and also the rubber trees, 4mts away, they have grown bending away from the bamboo.

Our strain of bamboo dosent need year round water, its on the top of the hill, the new prolific shoots grow about 1.5 inches a day, mrs sells them at the local market everyday, so its best to forget intercropping and planting in paddies,

Rgds Lickey.

[ozzydom]

Matt, I dont want to sound to skeptical but the proposal that has been put to you by your friend has more holes than swiss cheese, It sounds more like a new twist on "my buffalo is sick" theme.

[matt84]

Excuse me, but something just jumped to my eyes : you have cleared 10 rai of jungle to benefit the environment ?

Good point!, obviously its not 100% environmentally sound but it terms of something that is profitable and fairly environmentally sound its the first thing that came to my mind. I was also going to dedicate small areas of the land to create environments for animals, birds etc

I know I wont make money overnight, I just have a bit of spare cash and thought it might be an interesting thing to do. If not bamboo what other crops,plants are profitable to grow???

I havent spoken in depth about it yet but the just of it was that the rice was being grown first to fertilize the land.(sounded strange to me!) I have my suspicions that whoever has recommend this just wants to get money from doing something which isnt really beneficial. Can anyone confirm my suspicions I.E is there any feasable reason why you would grow rice to fertilize land?

And in regards to it sounding sceptical, I have been friends with said thai person for around 3 years and she has been entrusted with large sums of money when I have been in the Uk and she has purchased goods to export so it's not really in her best interests to rip me off for small amounts of money when she can make more wokring with me rather than against! But all in all I am sceptical about most things hence why I have posted this!

Many thanks to everyone who has posted their thoughts and info, it is appreciated!

[Smithson]

There's a lot of questions regarding your plan. The first one is 'what kind of bamboo', there's over 1,000 varieties.

I'm very interested in bamboo and think it an important role to play in a sustainable future. However it's remains to be seen whether it will be used to it's full potential.

The OP needs to state what variety he wants to plant and what it's to be used for. There's already plenty of bamboo plantation and the stuff is sold cheaply.

[Loom]

I havent spoken in depth about it yet but the just of it was that the rice was being grown first to fertilize the land.(sounded strange to me!) I have my suspicions that whoever has recommend this just wants to get money from doing something which isnt really beneficial. Can anyone confirm my suspicions I.E is there any feasable reason why you would grow rice to fertilize land?

A legume crop like soybeans would help enrich the soil. I've never heard of growing rice without applying fertilizer. So based on my unprofessional opinion, I'd say "no" to your question above. Also you should try double checking the expected return from the proposed bamboo strain (what type of bamboo?). I suspect that if the returns you've quoted are possible, there would be substantially less rice and a whole lot more bamboo being grown in Thailand.

[Cuban]

....planning to grow it as it absorbs c02 and I import goods already from Thailand so I thought it would beneficial to the enviroment however I have become aware that I might be able to make money doing it.

Just a few questions. Any plant removes CO₂ from the air, does bamboo remove more CO₂ per Kg than rice and if so what is the consumption of CO₂ per year per Rai of rice compared to bamboo?

I would suggest in these high fuel and food cost days - rice might be a better crop than bamboo even considering the lower cost for bamboo compared to multiple crops of rice per year.

Is it possible to use your 10 Rai to experiment with different crops and monitor the CO₂ fixed from the air vs labor costs. I would expect that there is existing data on the best CO₂ fixers.

Assuming you are enviromentally aware - is it good practice to clear native 'jungle' to replace it with mono-culture? Is there a reduction of CO₂ at the expense of impact on local populations of insect X and bird Z?

[Pierrot]

A bit unrelated but it's about bamboo too.

One of our neighbor has a nice bamboo fence, around 4-5 m high, 2-300 m long. I really like it, it provides good privacy and it's much nicer than a concrete wall, and I believe cheaper too. But a number of people have advised me against this idea, saying bamboos are a nuisance and are very hard to control. Any comments ?

Edited September 2, 2008 by Pierrot

[Khonwan]

....If not bamboo what other crops,plants are profitable to grow???

I havent spoken in depth about it yet but the just of it was that the rice was being grown first to fertilize the land.(sounded strange to me!) I have my suspicions that whoever has recommend this just wants to get money from doing something which isnt really beneficial. Can anyone confirm my suspicions I.E is there any feasable reason why you would grow rice to fertilize land?

....

Hi matt84

The profitability of bamboo and a great many other crops have already been discussed on this forum; please use the search facility or read the forum, which is all about many potentially profitable crops.

The production of paddy rice (as opposed to dry hill-side rice, which I do a little) is a contributor to the greenhouse climate problem. Rice production does not improve (or fertilise) the land.

Rgds

Khonwan

[Smithson]

Just a few questions. Any plant removes CO₂ from the air, does bamboo remove more CO₂ per Kg than rice and if so what is the consumption of CO₂ per year per Rai of rice compared to bamboo?

The faster the plant grows the more CO2 it consumes, bamboo is the fastest of all plants. There are too many variables to say just how much more CO2 it would use compared to rice.

[pumpuiman]

I've read many posts discussing the popularity of growing cassava to be used for an alternative fuel. From what I've read, it is a profitable and fairly easy (in comparison to other crops) crop to grow.

Perhaps it might be something you might be interested in, search the farming forum....theres lots of information.

A word of caution...farming is a business that must be operated with a very close watch on your expenditure versus your profit. For example, just the cost of pumping water could eat your profit very quickly.

Do extensive research before spending a dime.

It seems that a person new to farming, who is just "giving it a try"....always loses money.

Good luck.

[importford]

The profitability of bamboo and a great many other crops have already been discussed on this forum; please use the search facility or read the forum, which is all about many potentially profitable crops.

Rgds

Khonwan

Khonwan,

I have tried to search the forum for "the profitability of bamboo".

Sadly I couldn't find any info about the profitability of bamboo;

could you tell me where on the forum this info is available?

Thanks for the help.

[Khonwan]

The profitability of bamboo and a great many other crops have already been discussed on this forum; please use the search facility or read the forum, which is all about many potentially profitable crops.

Rgds

Khonwan

Khonwan,

I have tried to search the forum for "the profitability of bamboo".

Sadly I couldn't find any info about the profitability of bamboo;

could you tell me where on the forum this info is available?

Thanks for the help.

Yes, you’re right – there hasn’t been as much written on bamboo as I thought (sorry matt84). Some useful info (with prices) to be found on these threads though: “Bamboo, Anyone growing commercially?”, “Bamboo Plantations - Any Thoughts?”.

Rgds

Khonwan

[sunsamourai]

Yes, you're right – there hasn't been as much written on bamboo as I thought (sorry matt84). Some useful info (with prices) to be found on these threads though: "Bamboo, Anyone growing commercially?", "Bamboo Plantations - Any Thoughts?".

I will check it up too, Tnx.

[JungleBiker]

So I shouldn't really need to pay anywhere in the region of 120,000?

I have already paid 35,000 for 10 Rai to be cleared(it was basically quite thick jungle) and have been told a pump would cost 18,000. I don't really want to pay any more if growing requires little or no attending. Was also quoted 13,000 for someone to start growing rice over 10 rai and attending it, which sounds a lot!!!

My thai friend also said she went to a free business advice centre and was put in touch with someone else apparently knowledgable in this area who told her 10 rai could produce enough bamboo which would sell for 140,000 baht per year, is this feasable?

By the way thank you for all the advice, it is appreciated.

Matt

Hi Matt,

Normally after land has been covered in jungle for a few years, the soil is very fertile (tree roots bring up nutrients from deep in the soil in to the leaves and then the leaves drop to enrich the soil surface with nutrients and organic matter). After this jungle is cut down and burnt - usually in the dry season, for obvious reasons - the soil is very good for growing upland rice because the soil is fertile and there will be relatively few weeds in the rice crop. For these reasons, people who normally grow upland rice would be very happy to use your land without any need for you to pay them to grow the rice! (Unless the idea is that the rice crop would belong to you and you're just paying for the labour). After the rice crop has been harvested the soil will be less fertile due to removal of the nutrients in the grain and also possible erosion/leaching of nutrients from the soil which has been exposed to rainfall after the removal of the forest canopy. The weed problem will also be much worse. That is why traditional upland farmers usually move to a fresh piece of forest land each year (this practice is known as shifting cultivation or slash-and-burn agriculture). Therefore, if you really want to grow bamboo, then it would be better to plant bamboo after clearing the forest and forget about growing rice! So I think somebody is trying to take advantage of your money and your lack of knowledge about agriculture.

I also agree that if your main motivation is environmental not commercial, then you should not be clearing the jungle! Again I suspect someone may be using your money to reclaim land for themselves with the aim of obtaining a higher level of title deeds and selling the land for a profit in the future. If the land was sold in the future and the bamboo cleared it would not be doing much for your carbon sequestration plans. From an ecological pint of view, you'd be better growing the bamboo on land previously used to grow rainfed agricultural crops such as sugar cane, cassava, eucalyptus, etc. The 10 rai of jungle could either have been left as it was - but perhaps put some fencing around to keep people/livestock out - or could have been thinned to provide more space for any commercially valuable species and perhaps additional commercially valuable species could have been planted into any large gaps. Such species could include your bamboos and some high value timber species appropriate to that particular location.

Also regarding your assumption that someone would not "bite the hand that feeds them" I can assure you that if they think they can get away with it then they may well take the risk. I found this out for myself the hard way.

Best regards,

JB.

Edited September 7, 2008 by JungleBiker

[Nickthegreek]

Was also quoted 13,000 for someone to start growing rice over 10 rai and attending it, which sounds a lot!!!

Matt,

That would all depend on what you get for your 13,000 baht..

The method of rice planting,ie are they going to throw the rice or put rice plants in the land?

Are they going to clear all the weeds for this price and keep clearing?

Are they going to add fertiliser when required,usually after about 8 weeks.

Are they going to assuming you have water snails and crabs,add the chemical to clear these?

I am assuming its one parcel of land,so if you are about to plant now there should be planty of water,but if not now,will they add water when required..

farming rice is not as easy as it may seem..and there is a lot more work required that one may think..

These are some of the factors for consideration,but it also depends on where your land is situated..

The price of seed rice is currently about 20 baht a kilo.

Chemicals dependant on land are between 1000-1400 per bag.

Chemicals for killing grass are around 800 baht for 5 litres

Chemicals for killing bugs/snails about 500 per bottle...

Average price in my area for someone to work per day between 150 -200 baht

for the rice planting its much more generally per rai about 400

Price for wet rice now around 9,000-10,000 baht per tonne...

Hope this helps a little

[GungaDin]

Bamboo farming. Lots of links.