Uses for Garden Bamboo

As people who grow bamboo know, it is a prolific plant. Years ago, I planted some Bissett bamboo (Phyllostachys bissetii) and what I believe is yellow-groove bamboo (Phyllostachys aureosulcata). The plants took very well to their locations, and now each spring, roughly on Mothers Day, I'm greeted by many many shoots. This gives me a supply of bamboo "wood" much greater than I can ever use myself, and so, for practical purposes, is infinite.

Phyllostachys bissetii

This year I decided to try using some of the culms as stiffeners in a fencing I was creating for a raised bed vegetable container.

I chose relatively narrow culms, cut them to size, and cleared them of leaf branches. I wove the culms into the plastic fence material.

The fencing I have is too wide to keep chipmunks out, but should be fine to deter woodchucks and deer. I suppose the woodchucks may choose to simply gnaw through the mesh, but at least I might slow them down a bit.