First Harvest!

Paul_Tatum · Post by **Paul_Tatum** » Sat Apr 30, 2005 7:24 pm

Three years ago I made a minimal investment in a couple of bamboo plants. One variety was mainly for pipes, being of the 20 ft high and giving the proper geometry for stem extensions. The other variety, 70 ft high, was mainly for neighbor screening and general eccentricity but that's another story...

So, this year was the first in which things were big enough and abundant enough to do a little harvest. At the rate I'm making pipes this should last me quite a while. I'll let it dry over the next four months and I hope it will be ready to work in the Fall. I can't wait to start playing with it. Check it out.
(P.S. this is my first attempt at attaching a direct picture link. Hopefully I did it right and you can see something below...)

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JMB · Post by **JMB** » Sat Apr 30, 2005 10:56 pm

The pic's came out great. Hope the bamboo works as well for you. Gave me a little scare at first, looks like the switch my Mother use on me when I was a kid. Then I remembered we are talking bamboo here. How much could that hurt.

magruder · Post by **magruder** » Sun May 01, 2005 12:00 am

How much could that hurt. Laughing

You ever hear of caning? 8O

Post by **Tyler** » Sun May 01, 2005 5:22 pm

Cool! :thumb:

bscofield · Post by **bscofield** » Sun May 01, 2005 6:07 pm

Tyler wrote:Cool! :thumb:

Tyler, you think caning is cool!? That's not very pastor-like of you!

magruder · Post by **magruder** » Sun May 01, 2005 7:25 pm

You a, uh, Baptist Tyler?

Paul_Tatum · Post by **Paul_Tatum** » Sun May 01, 2005 8:07 pm

Caning is a popular thing here in The South, but it refers to a craft that fixes worn out rocking chairs and is usually the preferred profession of retired furniture workers. Of course, you have to stick a sign out in the front yard to get any business. The sign I saw daily whilst growing up in Davisdon County, NC read "Chair Canning". This puzzled me for many years.

Paul

P.S. Speaking of Baptists and Davidson County, NC; there is a small section of the county, just referred to by the fire district of Muddy Creek, where a German version of the Baptists are known as "Dunkers".

Post by **Tyler** » Sun May 01, 2005 9:39 pm

Being rather conservative, I DO think the legal system a bit soft in some areas and caning might be just the thing! I've known more than one person in my life that would benefit from a cane properly applied to their backside.

Tyler

marks · Post by **marks** » Sun May 01, 2005 10:25 pm

Cool stuff!

Nick · Post by **Nick** » Mon May 02, 2005 8:36 am

ROFL! You guys are nuts!

Neat bamboo Paul.

JHowell · Post by **JHowell** » Wed May 04, 2005 11:39 pm

Paul, exactly what is the variety of the bamboo pictured, and how/where did you obtain it? Good luck, hope you can keep that stuff where you want it.

RadDavis · Post by **RadDavis** » Wed May 04, 2005 11:45 pm

Paul,

You really grew this stuff for them fishin' poles, didn'ya?

Ain't got nothin' ta do with no pipes.

Rad

Paul_Tatum · Post by **Paul_Tatum** » Thu May 05, 2005 7:42 am

JHowell wrote:Paul, exactly what is the variety of the bamboo pictured, and how/where did you obtain it? Good luck, hope you can keep that stuff where you want it.

The variety I chose for the pipe material use was Phyllostachys aurea - 'GOLDEN BAMBOO' . It is supposed to grow to 20' and we are using it as a screen in the back yard. I also bought a variety called Vivec (iirc) that we planted in the "back 40" to use as a wooded grove in an acre of the yard we don't use because of it's proximity to my neighbors front porch and barking dogs.

It is supposed to grow to 70' with a 6" diameter cane
I got the bamboo from lewis bamboo groves http://www.lewisbamboo.com/

They do mail order and will happily help you choose a variety that will both suit your needs and grow in your region. The web site also has some information on controlling bamboo growth, but basically if you mow around the area you can controll it easily. If you plant it near unmowed areas you'll have to kick over all new shoots each spring which is not difficult, just easy to forget or neglect to do. Unfortunately it looks like I won't be around to see the vivec take off as we will more than likely be moving nexty spring, but I do plan on planting more bamboo wherever we end up. Hopefully I can harvest enoug rizome to keep me in stock until the new plant become useful.

Paul_Tatum · Post by **Paul_Tatum** » Thu May 05, 2005 7:47 am

RadDavis wrote:Paul,

You really grew this stuff for them fishin' poles, didn'ya?

Ain't got nothin' ta do with no pipes.

Rad

I had considered crafting some handmade bamboo fly rods to sell to those nutty fly fishermen. I hear one can get up to $2500 for a highfalootin' bamboo fishin' pole if they doctor it up right.

Paul

marks · Post by **marks** » Thu May 05, 2005 6:10 pm

Paul_Tatum wrote:
RadDavis wrote:Paul,

You really grew this stuff for them fishin' poles, didn'ya?

Ain't got nothin' ta do with no pipes.

Rad
I had considered crafting some handmade bamboo fly rods to sell to those nutty fly fishermen. I hear one can get up to $2500 for a highfalootin' bamboo fishin' pole if they doctor it up right.

Paul

Hmmm... you say that these are highfalootin' fishin' poles if they are doctored up right? So, you use semi gloss instead of flat on them? I just bought some semi gloss this week. Hope Brutus remembers me, and won't bite me when I go to harvest some of this stuff..... hehehehe

RadDavis · Post by **RadDavis** » Thu May 05, 2005 7:57 pm

I had considered crafting some handmade bamboo fly rods to sell to those nutty fly fishermen. I hear one can get up to $2500 for a highfalootin' bamboo fishin' pole if they doctor it up right.

All you gotta do is mention that it's a "split cane" fly rod. You'll have 'em lined up around the block to pay you the big bucks! Those guys are definitely nuts!

If I were you, I'd sell 'em on Ebay under an assumed, untraceable name. Tell 'em you're in Montana or some place like that. You'll also need a fake email address. That way, you can keep the money.

Use that bright red or royal blue thread for the guide wraps, and you can charge 'em extra! If you need any other advice, just let me know.

Best of luck in your new venture!

Rad

Paul_Tatum · Post by **Paul_Tatum** » Fri May 06, 2005 6:04 pm

Hmm, splitcane, Montana, fake e-mail and red string. Got it. Wal-Mart has a bunch of polarized sunglasses for about $5 each, do you think that if I repackage them I could use them to upsell my new fishin' poles?

"And for only $85 more I'll toss in these fish spotting optics!"

I caught a mess of Guntersville Bream today. I've got a tournament tomorrow and I'm hoping to cash in. Unlike in a bass tournament, I think I'll be able to smoke my pipe tomorrow. Bream fishing is pretty relaxed.

Paul

RadDavis · Post by **RadDavis** » Fri May 06, 2005 11:56 pm

Bream fishing is a hoot! Pound for pound, the fightingest fish there is!

Good Luck in the tournament!

Uh, how much cash? More than you could make selling "split cane" rods?

BTW, including the Walmart sunglasses is a great idea! You are a marketing genius! I would never have thought of that.

Rad

Paul_Tatum · Post by **Paul_Tatum** » Sat May 07, 2005 5:33 pm

I just got back from the tourney and am now pounding margaritas and smoking a pipe. We took first place with 17.38 lbs (30 fish) and won Big Fish with a 1.10 lb shell cracker. All in all we caught easily 100 fish; we had two 5 gallon buckets and a cooler stuffed with fish. It WAS a hoot, and much more relaxing than a bass tournament. Though my heart still belongs to the Alabama Green Trout.

The money wasn't much since it was just our little NASA fishing club. They are, mostly, a nice bunch of guys and we generally have fun. Fishing as a non-boater can get expensive so it's nice to place now and then, and so far I'm about breaking even. It's a great way to make friends and get to know the lakes around here. Some of these lakes can be dangerous to boat on and I've learned a heck of a lot about travelling on them.

I did not get a chance to use my fly rod though.

I'm not much for chucking bait, but when one is in the back of the boat, one usually must do as the captain suggests, and crickets and red worms were the bait of choice.

Hey, I just realized that I have completely hijacked my own thread! Allright!

Paul

RadDavis · Post by **RadDavis** » Sat May 07, 2005 8:02 pm

Hi Paul,

Congratulations on winning the tourney!!

And also on hijacking your own thread!

Well done!

Rad