CARBON FREE

I had been under the misconception that all bamboo was nasty and invasive, but I recently found out how wrong I was. I went to visit a project run by Food and Trees for Africa in a remote area just outside Johannesburg.

The Blue Disa project aims to create a self-sustainable community in a rural area by planting non-invasive bamboo with cash crops in between.

Each participant is given one hectare of the 200ha of fallow land and is taught how to practise organic growing methods, which relieves poverty and promotes awareness of the environment.

The bamboo that is planted is a “clumping” variety which takes seven years to mature. It is then harvested and sold on for processing. What I found truly incredible is that one clump of bamboo over a seven-year period can accumulate up to 1.7 tons of CO2, making it an invaluable carbon sink.

Inspired, and wanting to lessen my own carbon footprint, I decided to plant a living fence of bamboo in part of the veggie garden to act as a windbreak and also give much-needed shade to the softer greens that tend to wilt under the mid-day sun. It would also bind the soil together in places that get a lot of run-off during heavy rains.

Planting season is October to January in the summer rainfall areas and May is best for the Cape. The young plants need a wellcomposted bed with good drainage. Water diligently initially when shoots are growing but be careful not to over-water. Bamboo can tolerate temperatures going down as low as -5°C. The bamboo I saw, Bambusa balcooa, was growing in full sun.

Keep in mind when choosing your place to plant clumping bamboo that it spreads outwards in an expanding circle, growing about 10-20cm a year depending on which species is planted.

It can make a dramatic statement in the garden aesthetically and its carbon-gobbling capabilities will help us all step a little more lightly on the planet.