HOW TO PLANT BAMBOO ON THE ISLAND OF BALI

The Indonesian island of Bali is an ideal environment for growing bamboo, with its tropical climate and high humidity. Bamboo is a spectacularly fast-growing, renewable resource for construction materials, handcrafts, food and even medicine. There are over 1,000 species of bamboo, but most are one of two basic types: bamboo that spreads through runners, and bamboo that grows in clumps. Contact the Environmental Bamboo Foundation to learn where to obtain bamboo seedlings, culms and rhizomes, and which types will grow best in your part of Bali.

Instruction:

• Plant running bamboo if you want the plants to spread and multiply rapidly. Plant clumping bamboo for slower-growing ornamental and landscape installations. If you wish to plant from seed, start the seeds indoors to prevent wildlife from harvesting them. Sow in small peat pots and keep moist and well lit until they germinate, in three or more weeks, depending on the variety.

• Put on gloves and cultivate the area you wish to plant with a shovel to a depth of about four inches. Bali's rich, wet, volcanic soil is easy to work. Dig in areas that receive full sun for most of the day, especially on hillsides or the border of your property if erosion control or a barrier is needed.
• Plant 4-inch high running bamboo seedlings 18 inches apart in rows several feet apart. Getting the seedling in is as simple as pushing the rhizome into the soil, tamping it down with your foot, and moving on.
• Space clumping bamboo 12 inches apart, because it will grow and fill in far more slowly than the running varieties.
• Water thoroughly when you are finished planting the area. Continue watering every week during Bali's dry season, from March to August. You need not water at all during the rest of the year, as it will rain almost every day during the wet season.

Tips & Warnings

• To grow structural bamboo for building a house in Bali, plant Dendrocalamus asper or Guadua agustfolia, which have the have the tensile strength of low-grade steel.

• Bamboo may be planted at any time of year in Bali's tropical climate, but be sure to keep seedlings watered during the dry season.

Projects

Bamboo Reforestation

Situated between Mt. Abeng and Mt. Agung, Desa Ban is still dealing with the aftermath of Mt. Agung’s 1963 eruption. Surrounded by harshly sloping lands comprised of arid, volcanic ash, the community’s lands face an uphill battle towards reforestation; agro-forestry and the growth of environmentally-sound business programs that will help improve the environment and the lives of the locals. Bamboo is one of the fastest growing plants in the world, and on top of that it is the best known method of carbon sequestration. We have taught the locals the importance of bamboo, and all of the benefits that can derived from it. Bamboo is one of the best and most reliable construction materials in the world. It grows fast enough that one can harvest and replant bamboo without depleting its supply, and the strength of the material can rival that of low grade steel. With the help of Linda Garland, one of the leading bamboo experts in the world, we have taught the people in the surrounding villages how to plant bamboo, harvest it in order for the carbon to remain sequestered in its roots, and use it for various building projects ranging from huts to houses.

Vetiver Grass

Vetiver is a fast growing clump grass with sterile seeds that make it impossible for the plant to spread like a weed. With a dense and deep root system (penetrates up to 3 meters below the ground surface) it is able to prevent against erosion and landslides. Through this function vetiver has also enabled the building of protected roads, fortification of fertile farmland, and flood protection. Beyond this Vetiver acts as a purifying agent, improving soil fertility and water quality, and is one of the most effective natural methods of carbon sequestration. Vetiver is also harvested in a variety of ways that can provide building materials and crafts that can be sold to help stimulate the local economy.

Vetiver handicraft “bag/basket” training course:

We have brought in the world’s top vetiver grass handicraft trainers from Thailand to educate a collection of the Ekoturin staff, school teachers, and village leaders so that they could then pass on this information.

Production of dried Vetiver grass clothing, bags, hats, and furnishings for local businesses and cooperatives:

After teaching the local community various items that can be made from the roots of vetiver grass we are now helping them to market the products locally and eventually will start to market internationally.

For more information on the qualities and benefits of vetiver grass please visit the “Indonesian Vetiver Network” page on our website.

Biogas

Cow manure is collected and mixed with water in a large metal drum. This mixture will quickly start to ferment, releasing methane gas. The gas is transferred from the metal drum into a rubber inner-tire tubing and the people in our villages then use the biogas to serve the same cooking and heating functions as regular propane gas.

Planting:

It is important that:

1. roots do not dry out in transit; drying may be avoided by placing them in the shade or covering them with straw or mats;
2. shaking does not injure the attachment between rhizome and culm;
3. the rhizome buds are not injured; and
4. the ball of earth remains unbroken.

Spacing:

The proper number of plants is about 400 per hectare. If the plants are planted in a grid, the spacing between them is about 5 metres.

Depth:

Replant at the same ground line as before. The part formerly above ground is usually green while the underground part is yellow. Place new plants so that the rhizomes run at right angles to the slope and are horizontal. This is the normal way that rhizomes grow.

Fertilizer:

Fertilizer is important during transplanting to increase the vigour of the rhizomes. It can be placed in the hole near the rhizomes. A shovel-full of well rotted stable manure, a handful of chemical fertilizer will give new plants a good start. After this initial treatment, follow the fertilizing guide given for clumping species in the previous section.

Back Filling:

Back fill the planting hole with top soil using a stick to push soil into any spaces left around the rhizomes. Next, step lightly on the ground around the culms. Sometimes water is applied to settle the soil around the rhizomes, but this may not be necessary with a plant which has the original soil bound by its roots.

Bamboo that have been stored for a long time after digging, plants whose roots have begun to dry out, those which have a small root ball or that are transplanted in a dry season should be planted into very wet soil. Fill the bottom of the hole with water, add soil and stir to make mud. Place the bamboo plant in the hole and add more water until the hole is filled. Top up the soil leaving a shallow pan to accept water.

Mulching:

All transplanted bamboos should be mulched with 15 to 20 cm depth of hay or straw to a diameter of about 2 metres. Spread soil on top of the hay or straw, covering it. This protects the gro

Increasing the Grove Area by Extension of the Rhizomes:

Bamboo rhizomes spread into well-watered and fertile or loamy soil. This characteristic can be used to expand the grove into adjacent plots.

Excavate to 45 cm depth in a belt about 60 cm wide next to the side of the plot which is selected for expansion of the grove. Place compost or stable manure in the trench. Refill with soil and cover with a mulch of hay or straw about 20 cm deep. Instead of using mulch it is possible to grow cover crops of lupins or vetches. The rhizomes spread about 2 m a year. Whether or not shoots have emerged on a prepared area, keep on preparing successive adjacent belts each year immediately after the emergence of the shoots. Needless to say, only well nourished bamboos will extend their rhizomes rapidly, so it is quite important to properly fertilize the grove.

und from drying, controls soil temperature and checks the growth of weeds.

Re

Grove Management:

After about 7 years an equilibrium is reached where the number of new culms left each year equals the number harvested. For example, suppose there are 120 culms in a grove, and culms are harvested when they are six years old. There will be 20 culms of each age from one to six years old. In Spring, 20 of the new shoots are allowed to grow into new culms. In Autumn the 20 six year old culms are harvested and the garden is back to its original 120 culms.

A highly fertilised grove produces large culms with many branches and leaves. Because of the widely spaced culms wind damage to the rhizomes at the base of the culms is likely. To avoid this damage the culms should be topped. Topping also allows more sunshine to reach the ground promoting early shoot emergence.

The best time to top is just after the lowest 2 or 3 branching nodes have extended their branches and the upper branches are still enclosed in the sheaths. Count 12 nodes up from the lowest branches, and cut off the culm above it. Always cut the culm cleanly. Breaking it will cause ragged splits and provide entry points for disease.

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