Bamboo Plantations - Anyone Considered It?

[Smithson]

Over the last few years we've been building with bamboo, (house, bungalow, salas). The poles have been treated to prevent insect attack and decay. We are planning some more structures, but there is a scarcity of quality bamboo.

Sure there is plenty of stuff for sale cheap, but finding the right varieties that are mature (3+ years) is not easy. In most cases we have to select the bamboo before it's cut to ensure the quality, which takes a lot of time. In coming years it will get more difficult as demand for will increase and, due to poor management, supply is likely to diminish. If someone set up a plantation and earned a reputation as a reliable supplier of mature poles it may be worthwhile.

Bamboo is the worlds fastest growing plant, needs little care - herbicides or insecticides, only fertilizers. After planting harvesting begins in 5-8 years and then continues annually. It loves sloping ground where other crops won't grow.

Any thoughts?

[Foreverford]

I purchased one small seedling ( not a sprig or cutting) for 1000 baht. So if i end up have ing a thousand of these cuttings and sell them at half price of 500 baht I'm going to build a train track to Paris to deliver fresh frog legs. I still paid a full 100 baht for another half dozen smaller varieties the smaller were supposed to be about the size of my thigh. the 1000 baht is as big as the trunk of my body. Choke dee with the Bamboo I think it has to be everyone's cash crop along with mangoes and coconuts. You can't killl these things and they are always a source of self sufficiency or income. Eat or sell or grow another tree with dat coco nutt. Bamboozeled on a Ford Forever

[Smithson]

The variety in the pic below, Dendrocalamus Asper, is common in several parts of LOS. There are plenty of plantations grown for shoots, but these are a smaller sub species. The larger timber varieties are don't seem to be grown commercially, however clones are available for under 50B.

Considering that each pole reaches it's full size in one year and one clump will produce several poles, it may be profitable.

[Foreverford]

well hey you old son of a smith I' d sure like to find a few of those sprigs for 50 baht or so. Where are they available for that price? What areas are they common in? Down south? Chumpon? I'm a machine gun of ?'s today. Thanks From a Ford Forever

[IsaanAussie]

well hey you old son of a smith I' d sure like to find a few of those sprigs for 50 baht or so. Where are they available for that price? What areas are they common in? Down south? Chumpon? I'm a machine gun of ?'s today. Thanks From a Ford Forever

Bring a spade next time you come over to my place. We'll do a little midnight shopping

[Smithson]

well hey you old son of a smith I' d sure like to find a few of those sprigs for 50 baht or so. Where are they available for that price? What areas are they common in? Down south? Chumpon? I'm a machine gun of ?'s today. Thanks From a Ford Forever

Clones should be available in most places. I've bought several for between B40 - B150. Best way is to take your own cuttings to be sure. Don't trust seeds.

Properly managed clumps will provide edible shoots and timber annually. There is quite a bit of D. Asper growing, but it is cut early and poorly managed. If you google you will see that demand for bamboo is expected to grow considerably. The investments and labor are minimal, so anyone with spare land should consider it.

[tim armstrong]

There is a thai run bamboo nursery at Chiangmai. I haven't been there yet, but they have a large variety of building quality types. Unfortunately not so many ornamentals which is what I'm after.

[WatersEdge]

If anyone wants to get serious in this business,

I know a man in Athens,Tennessee whose professional expertise is micro culture of bamboo and cane.

From one tissue slip he can propagate as many million genetically identical seedlings as you like

They are transferred from culture tube to nursery bag,

grown to around 1 meter high,

then transplanted to the plantation fields,

where they grow at a uniform rate and characteristic field wide.

Unlimited numbers of mechanically planted bamboo plants are a huge labor saving method

To make it happen you need a clean lab with an array of tubes,

then a huge nursery.

Back in the day when CO2 was going to ruin the world,

Bamboo plantations were a great Carbon Sequestering strategy.

Now that CO2 is actually a good thing

Bamboo still grows great with a wide range of uses.

If there is big money in cloning D. asper, then let's proceed full speed.

[Smithson]

There are many suppliers of good bamboo propagates, but virtually no sources of quality mature poles. This the world's most renewable resource and most versatile plant. Most sources of timber bamboo are not grown in plantations and therefore not managed, in a few years supply will diminish considerably.

[IsaanAussie]

This what it is all about to me. There are some beautiful bamboo structures around.

How does it compare costwise I wonder?

[jaideeguy]

The problem remains.......how to treat it propely and economically to resist isects.......the borer beetle??/

[Smithson]

Treatment with borates is effective and safe. We've treated 100s of poles and built a large house. There's been no problems with borers or decay.

Rich ppl are starting to build with bamboo. It would only take a small amount to grow enough to build a house every year.

As far as the cost compared to building with timber, bamboo would be much cheaper, the labor costs would be higher but cutting and transport would be less.

[David006]

good source with good links..

www.greenhomebuilding.com

[featography]

This what it is all about to me. There are some beautiful bamboo structures around.

How does it compare costwise I wonder?

A couple more questions;, how much land is required to establish a renewable annual income that would pay for annual maintenance and land taxes?At what point would one be breaking even, and when might one start showing a respectable profit?

Could it be effective with 5-10 rai?

Edited March 20, 2011 by featography

[featography]

Treatment with borates is effective and safe. We've treated 100s of poles and built a large house. There's been no problems with borers or decay.

Rich ppl are starting to build with bamboo. It would only take a small amount to grow enough to build a house every year.

As far as the cost compared to building with timber, bamboo would be much cheaper, the labor costs would be higher but cutting and transport would be less.

specifics on the labor costs?

[Smithson]

This what it is all about to me. There are some beautiful bamboo structures around.

How does it compare costwise I wonder?

A couple more questions;, how much land is required to establish a renewable annual income that would pay for annual maintenance and land taxes?At what point would one be breaking even, and when might one start showing a respectable profit?

Could it be effective with 5-10 rai?

Not a great deal of land is needed, I think 5-10 rai could produce a considerable amount, enough for several houses annually provided soil and rain was adequate. At the moment prices are fairly low, however the quality is mixed. In the future I believe good mature bamboo would become valuable. The idea is to color code the poles to show which year they sprouted and have good quality control, soon you would be seen as a reliable source.

I have been happy to pay a premium price for mature poles, but often have ppl try to sell me immature stuff. Pai Liang is a common variety which is in increasing demand. This is the type used for ladders and cheap furniture. We've found that mature Pai Liang is hardly attacked even without treatment.

Planting is bamboo is simple, there are no real pests, it's good (but not essential) to control weeds for the first two years after which the bamboo creates enough shade and has such a dense root system that nothing can compete. It's self mulching, so besides cutting, the only work is applying fertilizer.

Large varieties take longer to get established, smaller varieties could begin harvesting in 4-5 years. Bamboo leaves make good animal fodder, no sure how suitable they are for pigs though.

Selecting a variety would depend on the area, all species like water, some more than others. Here's is a comparison between teak and bamboo plantations in Costa Rica.

http://www.guaduabamboo.com/teak-plantations-vs-guadua-plantations.html

[wescue]

Hello

There are some pretty knowledgeable bamboo people in Chiang Mai plus a bamboo nursery that can get any plantation species you can think of. Start here..

http://thai-bamboo.blogspot.com/

THere is a Kings Project, that supplies bamboo to the hill tribe farmers. They have the obvious plantation species.

Khun Kittisak from the Royal Project Bamboo Collection in Mae Hia, South of Chiang Mai, located next to the large park named Royal Flora Ratchaphruek.

Er, it's not just plonking a desirable species in the ground.You want quality poles and think that weeding/feeding is not necessary. Catch up.

Plantation website

Wescue

[Smithson]

There is a species of bamboo common here called Pai Liang, this is the stuff used for ladders and the cheap furniture you see in restaurants. This is a really useful species with edible shoots, clones would be very cheap or you could even dig them up yourself.

There are many plantations around Nakhon Nayok and Prachinburi and farmers say it's quite profitable, especially if you harvest yourself. The ones I spoke to regretted planting eucalypt, as the price was so low

It grows well among trees in semi shade, much better than full sun. Some possibilities could be mangoes, coconuts, tamarind and rubber. These have deep roots, whereas the bamboo has a shallow carpet of roots, which prevent erosion and weeds.

Best if you fertilizer once a year, but this isn't essential. Even harvesting doesn't have to be every year, every 2nd or third would be fine.

I'm not sure how well it would go in Issan, with it's pronounced dry season. Irrigation would be good for the first year so it could get established.

[rice555]

Hello All, big spread on Boo this month!

Also 5-pgs. on black pepper.

rice555