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Recently I bought a much-used Troybilt 10 HP chipper, sent it thru the repair shop for basic maintenance, and have begun using it to help maintain my grove. Before this in many years of gardening I have just cut yard waste to 18-inch lengths more or less and let it rot down. But the bamboo that comes from cleaning the grove has too many branches, the pile gets out of hand in a hurry.

I am liking this chipper. I can stuff a complete culm down the branch chute, it quickly becomes a mix of chips and long splinters. I stuff a bundle of branches and twigs into the shredder hopper, same thing. I agree with other posters that there is a bit of a wrestle sometimes but so far it is no big deal. My largest culms are almost 2 inches diameter, I'm managing the grove for usable culms for making fences and gates, so most of what gets chipped is dead and dry, and/or split so badly I can't use it. Of course my mulch goes right back into the grove.

I will be in the market for a chipper soon and wanted follow up on this thread if I could get a little more guidance on chipper selection as I found a lot of choices even with recommended bearcat brand.

I have 51 plants now and plan to farm approx 600 more on 3.5 acres I just acquired. The largest diameter culm will come from old hamii 4". So think I will need a self feed commercial grade chipper, but of course costs is an issue. Anymore insight would be greatly appreciated.

One more question, does the mulch need to be treated for termites or any other pest before application to landscape? I've heard fresh mulch from trees such as pines is like candy to termites.

Great thread I also use bamboo as a mulch but find it hard to get enough ,is there a really fast growing bamboo in uk that I could use as mulch plant ? I have Pseudosasa japonica maybe I could use that or is there a faster one for uk

Deane wrote:Great thread I also use bamboo as a mulch but find it hard to get enough ,is there a really fast growing bamboo in uk that I could use as mulch plant ? I have Pseudosasa japonica maybe I could use that or is there a faster one for uk

Haven't posted in a while and thought I would chime in. I use an older, modified hammermill shredder that was made by WW Grinder. But instead of bamboo, I use a close cousin, Arundo donax as a great mulch. Same makeup as bamboo with high amounts of silica and it takes several years to break down. The ground looks very clean around the grove and rodents don't seem to be interested in making a condo in it.

Arundo can be harvested to the ground every year with no adverse affects. I keep a large stand to the side of the groves for that purpose. I use the leftovers for walkway material as it is very durable, long lasting and more pleasant than gravel.

When do you cut Arundo down? I've heard wait till new shoots appear rather than in the autumn. Good to know about the silica content.

Mine a week ago. With last week's heat it's apt to have shot up a bit especially after the accompanying rain.

john

Bobblehead Pete wrote:

Deane wrote:Great thread I also use bamboo as a mulch but find it hard to get enough ,is there a really fast growing bamboo in uk that I could use as mulch plant ? I have Pseudosasa japonica maybe I could use that or is there a faster one for uk

Haven't posted in a while and thought I would chime in. I use an older, modified hammermill shredder that was made by WW Grinder. But instead of bamboo, I use a close cousin, Arundo donax as a great mulch. Same makeup as bamboo with high amounts of silica and it takes several years to break down. The ground looks very clean around the grove and rodents don't seem to be interested in making a condo in it.

Arundo can be harvested to the ground every year with no adverse affects. I keep a large stand to the side of the groves for that purpose. I use the leftovers for walkway material as it is very durable, long lasting and more pleasant than gravel.

thanks Pete I have found your reply very interesting and it has got me thinking,my nursery is plague with Horsetail which also has a high level of silica ,could this be used as a mulch ?

johnw wrote:When do you cut Arundo down? I've heard wait till new shoots appear rather than in the autumn. Good to know about the silica content.

Mine a week ago. With last week's heat it's apt to have shot up a bit especially after the accompanying rain.

john

I prefer to cut it anytime after the leaves die back. In the more Southern states the foliage is more semi-evergreen. It gives me around 3 months or so to harvest and shred. I use the standard Arundo as it usually gets much taller than the "Peppermint" or other variegated forms, but either one would work.

Deane wrote:

Bobblehead Pete wrote:

Deane wrote:Great thread I also use bamboo as a mulch but find it hard to get enough ,is there a really fast growing bamboo in uk that I could use as mulch plant ? I have Pseudosasa japonica maybe I could use that or is there a faster one for uk

Haven't posted in a while and thought I would chime in. I use an older, modified hammermill shredder that was made by WW Grinder. But instead of bamboo, I use a close cousin, Arundo donax as a great mulch. Same makeup as bamboo with high amounts of silica and it takes several years to break down. The ground looks very clean around the grove and rodents don't seem to be interested in making a condo in it.

Arundo can be harvested to the ground every year with no adverse affects. I keep a large stand to the side of the groves for that purpose. I use the leftovers for walkway material as it is very durable, long lasting and more pleasant than gravel.

thanks Pete I have found your reply very interesting and it has got me thinking,my nursery is plague with Horsetail which also has a high level of silica ,could this be used as a mulch ?

It depends on the volume of the Horsetail you have. Once the stuff dries up, there doesn't seem to be much left. Chemical make-up should be similar to bamboo in the silica department. Might be worth a try.

I can get loads of it ,so I will try it out thanks Pete

My bamboo is self mulching - When the leaves drops to the ground I rake it around but haven't added any other mulch in a few years - That's one of my favorite things about bamboo - In fact this year it was getting so thick my neighbor picked up a wheel barrow full

I'm not sure if it's bamboo or just amount of leaf litter, but I found that soil under bamboos became much better than it was before. We have a lot of clay in our soil, so it gets easily compacted and doesn't drain water well. Bamboo leaves seem to aerate it and offer food to lots of micro (and larger) organisms that eventually improve the soil. Rufa 's soil became black humus like in just 4 years or so. It does take a bit more time for the leaves to decompose , especially in dry climate, but when the weather is wet, various organisms break it up much faster. They seem to be somewhat harder to decompose than tree leaves.

Along with grass clippings, leaves, etc., we "harvest" the bracken that encroaches on the garden from the woods and the algae that our "wildlife" pond produces.