The New Green Economy

With the recent flooding throughout the Americas these last few months, I thought to address a little known, but extremely important, forgotten grass: bamboo.

Bamboo is an arborescent (treelike) grass belonging to the family Poaceae, subfamily Bambusoideae.  The family Poaceae, true grasses, is thought to comprise 20% of the known vegetation covering the Earth.[1] Grasses are extremely important to both the ecology at large, as well as to humans specifically.  Grasses provide us with a host of benefits, three of which are supplying staple food crops, conserving soil moisture, and preventing soil erosion.

Like common lawn grasses, bamboo spreads by roots called rhizomes and must be removed by digging up the roots themselves.  An entire grove of bamboo is usually just one plant, for the roots are all connected and grow from the mother clump.  Bamboo is classified as either a clumping bamboo or a running bamboo.

Clumping varieties grow slowly and spread through very short rhizomes that keep the bamboo stocks close to the mother clump.  These varieties are easy to contain and rarely get out of hand before the property owner notices.  Running varieties grow more rapidly and spread far and wide, growing very long rhizomes that can be unmanageable when left unattended for years on end.  Clumping and running bamboos can be herbaceous (foliage stocked) and deciduous (woody stocked), as well as tropical and temperate.

Unlike common lawn grasses,

Using blue, food-grade, 55 gallon barrels, setting up a rainwater collection system takes determining where you wish to collect rainwater, gathering the needed materials, and a good sunny day.  Below are the 10 steps I used in constructing a rainwater collection system for use in watering my garden-landscape.

Step 1 – Gather Materials and Tools

Materials:

4 Blue, Food-Grade, 55-Gallon Barrels – $8 each from local honey and vanilla manufacturing company

1 Metal, Male Threaded Spigot – $5 from local hardware store

6 Metal, 5/8 In. Male Threaded Coupler with Tightening Clamp – $2 each from local hardware store

8 In. Tube, Fast-drying Silicon Caulk – $4 from local hardware store

3 Ft., ¾ In. Diameter Garden Hose – Had on hand: $5 value.

8 Ft., Flexible, Downspout – Had on hand: $10 value

8 Cinder Blocks – Had on Hand: $10 value

6 In. Square Window Screen – Had on Hand: $10 value

Tools:

Garden Snipers for Cutting Garden Hose

Lock-in Pliers for Tightening Spigots

Sustainability is more than just a home that provides shelter, warmth, and power.  Sustainability is good, nutrient rich, organic food.  Secure your families local organic food by investing in Edible Landscaping.  It’s easy, long-lasting, with minimal maintenance.

Edible Landscapes can be created in innumerable combinations of annuals and perennials.  Annual plants are herbaceous and live one, sometimes two, seasons.  Perennial plants live for more than two seasons and are perpetual growers’ season after season.  Many perennials are deciduous, meaning they are woody stemmed plants that shed their leaves annually; while some perennials are herbaceous, meaning they have the texture, color, and resemblance of foliage leaves.  Herbaceous perennials die back to their roots in the winter and re-grow new foliage every season.

I have been planting edible landscapes for seven years now.  I have found that both perennials and annuals will practically maintain themselves when planted and grown under three key guidelines.