[Jamesdewinter]

Hello,

I started renting my plot at the end of october and we cleared it of all the brambles, etc.  When we went back this weekend, we found that half is covered in bamboo. All the other plot holders keep telling me that the land is worthless and we will not be able to kill the bamboo.

I would like to prove them wrong. Is there anything I can do to kill off the bamboo?

James

[Yorkie]

Bamboo is a bit of a thug 

If you can't dig it out, you will need to apply glyphosate - probably several times.  Burning it might be effective for a while too, if you can control the fire 

I would caution against something like brushwood killer because that is not likely to be suitable for use on ground where you want to grow edible crops.

[Aunt Sally]

This article tells how to apply the glyphosate:

http://www.livestrong.com/article/203464-herbicides-for-bamboo/

[Rangerkris]

Not that it helps much, but you could grow lots of climbing beans french and runner cucumbers and all other climbers to prove the wrong while your trying to kill off the Bamboo.   

[savbo]

I'm trying to knock out a low growing invasive bamboo in our front garden with glyphosate - and I notice that despite repeated sprayings some leaves appear unaffected. Other shoots are seemingly dying back., so either the older leaves are too shiny'hard for the glypho to get into, or they're dying but staying green!

will work on the former and cut back before spraying the new growth

[Rangerkris]

as the leafs are tough is it worth snapping them before applying the glyphosate so its gets into the leafs as well as on.

[Fluffcat]

Dig it out-I removed a huge clump by digging - down approx 6ft then followed runners out.  Some were 15ft away under a lawn!  Just be methodical and persistent and make sure you check after as some will regrow from any pieces of root left.  On the plus side I had lots of canes for free

[potatogrower]

wouldn't it be ideal to keep some growing? it will provide a steady supply of fresh bamboo to cut off, dry and use for climbing plants or sell to fellow plot owners?

[Jamesdewinter]

Thanks for all your advice. I shall keep you all posted   

[goodtogrow]

I had bamboo on my plot but didn't find that the spreading rhizomes ran more than 12" deep so it wasn't any more difficult to dig out than, say, couch grass.

Inevitably you always leave some behind but the re-growth on my plot was puny so I kept it regularly hoed for 2 seasons and there's practically nothing come back this year.

Brambles on your plot suggest quite a bit of neglect by previous plot holders or a long period unoccupied so your weed problem may be a key priority anyway.

I commited to hoeing with a sharp hoe - a stirrup hoe worked for me - almost every week in the growing season to knock back all weeds, including new bamboo shoots.  Once hoed off, perennial weeds (and bamboo) have to use energy stored in their roots/rhizomes to put out new shoots and then have to photosynthesise to replenish the reserves.  So hoeing off regularly exhausts them if they don't get chance to photosynthesise, I think, but I'm open to anyone else's understanding on this point.....

Anyway, it worked for me, so much so that I'm now a hoeing maniac 

Good luck with whatever you do.

Tom

[lmpd]

I had a huge bamboo that was spreading into the neighbors (via a carpark - yes, under 25 foot of carpark and out the other side) I found that a big heavy mattock was  quite effective.