Bamboo in the Garden

Bamboo is a type of evergreen grass. It is the fastest growing plant in the world and it grows naturally just about everywhere. The only continents without indigenous species of bamboo are Europe and Antarctica. There are a number of uses for bamboo in the garden. Using bamboo and bamboo products in the garden is preferable to using hardwood products and plastic products because bamboo is environmentally friendly.  

There are over 1,000 varieties of bamboo plant to choose from for your garden. They usually come with guidance about what climatic zones they are suitable for. Bamboo can be divided into two basic groups - running and clumping. Running bamboo quickly spreads over a wide area and is good for creating shade and privacy in a garden. It can also be used to mark a border. Clumping bamboo grows in tight groups and looks great in a garden as an ornament. 

Bamboo does not drain the soil and can be grown organically. You can grow bamboo from plants and seeds. It is cheap to buy bamboo seeds on the internet.

Bamboo also makes good stakes and poles for growing food. The stakes are strong, flexible and weather resistant. Bamboo makes great fencing for a garden. It is cheaper and more eco-friendly than wooden fencing and it looks better than plastic fencing.

It is also possible to use bamboo charcoal as an organic fertilizer in the garden. Tokai University has done studies showing that bamboo charcoal improves crop yields and keeps soil PH levels steady and suitable for the growth of green tea and other crops.

Finally, outdoor bamboo shades are a brilliant way of making outdoor areas such as patios, verandas and balconies. They create privacy and shade and help to cut out harmful UV rays from the sun.

How Safe is Aluminum Oxide Finish?

Friedrich Klumpp Gmbh is a company that makes the best aluminum oxide finishes for flooring. It is not currently available to the DIY enthusiast wishing to finish their flooring by his or herself. Instead Klumpp aluminum oxide is applied to a wide range of hardwood and bamboo flooring at the Klumpp factory.

The question is whether this type of finish is safe. There are alternatives that use a water based solvent. These appear more environmentally friendly but many people complain that these water based finishes aren’t as hard and don’t protect the flooring as well in high traffic situations.

There is also a growing body of anecdotal evidence on the internet talking about the toxicity of aluminum oxide. Aluminum is a heavy metal and can build up like mercury in the body until it reaches levels that could cause medical problems.

However, the scientific community does not endorse the health risks of aluminum. Most notably research in the 1960s found a link between exposure to aluminum and Alzheimer’s disease. However, since that early trial scientists have been unable to replicate the results of the original 1960s experiments and the alz.org speaks for the mainstream when it rejects the connection of aluminum with the cause of Alzheimer’s disease. To quote from alz.org:

"Public health bodies sharing this conviction include the World Health Organization (WHO), the U.S. National Institutes of Health, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and Health Canada."

This would make sense because much of the Earth’s crust contains aluminum oxide. It is found in many products including sandpaper. As long as fine particles of aluminum oxide are not inhaled it is hard to see how aluminum oxide can be inimical to human health.

It must be noted, however, that science is an on-going process and that any scientific assertion is only based on current empirical evidence. New tests could result in new understanding about the long term effects of aluminum on human health.

For those people interested in buying a flooring finish containing aluminum oxide try ‘Trek Plus’ by Absolute Coatings or look for finishes made by Fuhr International.

Bamboo Types

There are 1,450 different species of bamboo varying greatly in size, leaf shape and other characteristics. Bamboo is an amazingly hardy plant that can survive scorching heat and frozen winters. Indigenous bamboo can be found in a wide belt from 50 degrees North in Sakhalin (just North of Hokkaido, Japan) to 47 degrees South in Chile and Argentina. Surprisingly there are no species of bamboo indigenous to Europe.

There are two types of bamboo – running (monopodial) and clumping (sympodial). Running bamboo is native to the colder parts of China, Korea and Japan. And clumping bamboos are common to hot South Asian countries. Running bamboo is so called because it sends out roots called rhizomes with joints. From each of the joints a new bamboo can grow. Thus, running bamboo can spread quickly over distances and is therefore not recommended for suburban and urban gardens where the neighbors’ boundaries are nearby. In contrast clumping bamboo is so called because each rhizome only produces a single Culm (hollow jointed stem). As a result they don’t spread as much and instead clump into thicker and thicker patches of bamboo. Thus clumping bamboo is much more commonly used for home gardening.

Here are a few types of bamboo

Bambusa Multiplex is a popular clumping bamboo that grows to about 30 feet in height and is golden with thin green stripes. The bambusa multiplex or Alphonse Karr bamboo can survive temperatures as low as 15 degrees Fahrenheit and is a good potted bamboo or a bamboo to create privacy because it clumps tightly.

Bambusa Textilis or Weaver's Bamboo is an attractive clumping bamboo that has nodding tops and leafless lower Culms. The bamboo from this variety is frequently used for hand weaving, hence the name.

Gigancochola Atter is a clumping bamboo that grows an incredible 50 feet and has wide Culms. The young edible shoots taste sweet and have purple hairs. This type of bamboo is found in Indonesia.

Perhaps the most famous type of running bamboo is ‘moso’ bamboo or Phyllostachys Edulis. It is predominately grown in Southern China in huge forests. It is the backdrop for many a Kung Fu movie scene. Moso bamboo grows in long straight Culms that are very hard. Moso bamboo is the ideal species for making flooring. All of the bamboo plant can be cut into strands, boiled and then compressed under heat to make strand woven bamboo flooring.

Finally, there is Sinobambusa Tootsik or temple bamboo. It is another running bamboo. It grows thickly as well as runs and is thus great for creating privacy for a large space. Perhaps that is the reason it can be found in many temples in China. The flowers from temple bamboo bear a passing resemblance to hemp, another great renewable resource.

Bamboo Blinds

Bamboo blinds are traditional wall coverings in Japan and China. They are still made using traditional methods and tools. They make a great alternative to curtains or traditional blinds.

Roll up bamboo blinds are made from bamboo that is cut into very fine strips. These strips or slats are stripped of their outer skin and joints and then whittled down to a matchstick thickness. The slats are held together with a cord. Depending on the weave style bamboo blinds give different amounts of light and privacy.

You can clean bamboo blinds easily by simply wiping them down with a wet cloth. And despite being made of thin pieces of bamboo they are long lasting.

Bamboo blinds are now available in a variety of styles. They come with horizontal and vertical slats. They are also available in light bamboo shades as well as darker and more rustic colors.

Roman bamboo blinds are similar to roll up blinds but are opened by folding the bamboo slats.

And of course like all bamboo products, bamboo blinds are antimicrobial and anti-fungal. They are ideal for those people who suffer from allergies and asthma and who want to create a healthy indoor environment.

Finally to buy bamboo blinds is cheap. They add a touch of the orient into a room decor and the dappled light they cast in a room is most relaxing.

The Consumer Advantages of Strand Woven Bamboo Flooring

There are a number of consumer benefits in buying strand woven bamboo flooring. Judged purely as flooring (thus putting aside the environmental benefits for a moment) strand woven bamboo flooring comes out favorably when compared with other traditional flooring types such as hardwood flooring.

The first consideration for many consumers is price. Strand woven bamboo flooring is usually cheaper than hardwood flooring; it can be up to 50% cheaper than some 'exotic' hardwood flooring. 

At the same time there is no sacrifice to quality because of cost. If properly maintained strand woven bamboo flooring will last just as long as oak, maple, black locust and other types of hardwood flooring. It is just as hard and durable as hardwood flooring. Indeed strand woven bamboo flooring has a higher Janka Hardness than most traditional hardwood floors. Furthermore strand woven bamboo flooring is capable of withstanding high traffic and heavy furniture.

And in terms of aesthetics or appearance, strand woven bamboo flooring is as beautiful as hardwood flooring. It comes in a variety of carbonized colors, has a pleasing grain and soothing natural look that suits many interior decorating styles.

Another consumer benefit is that strand woven bamboo flooring is not only easy to install, but it is also easy to maintain. Unlike many hardwood floors, the color of strand woven bamboo comes from the carbonization process. This means the color is throughout the flooring plank. This means that after serious maintenance such as sanding it is not necessary to re-stain the flooring. This saves the consumer time and money. Strand woven bamboo flooring does not require any unusual or complicated maintenance. In many ways bamboo behaves like a wood and can be maintained as such.

Finally, it would be disingenuous not to mention the environment. Old style economics that normally measured GDP, inflation etc. when considering growth and progress have recently become viewed as willfully simplistic. Without an environment there would be no consumer. What benefits the environment also indirectly benefits the consumer. Strand woven bamboo flooring helps stop deforestation and loss of bio-diversity by offering people the advantages of hardwood flooring without the need for cutting down trees. There is no easy way to put a price on such a benefit for the consumer.