Bamboo tools?
Moderator: needmore
Bamboo tools?
I was looking at a bamboo site and saw that they had some kind of bamboo spade for $176, pricier than any shovel I've ever seen. Have you bought specialized bamboo tools to help manage your bamboo?
- foxd
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Re: Bamboo tools?
I did buy a couple of tools for working with bamboo, a bamboo knife and a bamboo splitter. It is rather neat to take a culm of bamboo and split it into strips that can be used to build things.
Southern Indiana.
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The legal issues that will arise when the undead walk the earth are legion, and addressing them all is well beyond what could reasonably be accomplished in this brief Essay. Indeed, a complete treatment of the tax issues alone would require several volumes.
My Bamboo List.
The legal issues that will arise when the undead walk the earth are legion, and addressing them all is well beyond what could reasonably be accomplished in this brief Essay. Indeed, a complete treatment of the tax issues alone would require several volumes.
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Re: Bamboo tools?
King of spades original long handle, 15" best I recall. Mantis will know.
Re: Bamboo tools?
Whenever I go dig/divide bamboo I always ALWAYS have the following in my car as a minimum. I might bring additional items depending on any other info I have of the clump that I'll be digging off of, but this is my standard kit. People will fight over which brands are best, but these are what I use:
WW Manufacturing D-handled King of Spades KS-S-15:
http://www.wwmfg.com/default.asp?contentID=1117
WW Manufacturing long handled shovel LH-S-15:
http://www.wwmfg.com/default.asp?contentID=1155
Felco F-2 Hand pruners:
http://www.felcousa.com/felco/pages/pro ... =FELCO%202
Felco F-23 loppers:
Bosch cordless sawzall with extra batteries:
http://www.boschtools.com/Products/Tool ... ?catid=632
Pruning/Demolition sawzall blades:
http://tinyurl.com/258fjve
And most importantly, safety glasses (not for the tools, but to not get your eyeballs stuck/cut by bamboo.
Other items to have handy are large contractor garbage bags (the thick ones that don't tear easily), some twine, work gloves, pocket knife, saran wrap, and Gatorade.
I think that about covers it.
WW Manufacturing D-handled King of Spades KS-S-15:
http://www.wwmfg.com/default.asp?contentID=1117
WW Manufacturing long handled shovel LH-S-15:
http://www.wwmfg.com/default.asp?contentID=1155
Felco F-2 Hand pruners:
http://www.felcousa.com/felco/pages/pro ... =FELCO%202
Felco F-23 loppers:
Bosch cordless sawzall with extra batteries:
http://www.boschtools.com/Products/Tool ... ?catid=632
Pruning/Demolition sawzall blades:
http://tinyurl.com/258fjve
And most importantly, safety glasses (not for the tools, but to not get your eyeballs stuck/cut by bamboo.
Other items to have handy are large contractor garbage bags (the thick ones that don't tear easily), some twine, work gloves, pocket knife, saran wrap, and Gatorade.
I think that about covers it.
Re: Bamboo tools?
If your budget is limited and you have strong arms, a regular digging bar (or tamper bar, or something similar) is $30 or so at Home Depot or similar and works great for chopping rhizomes and prying out divisions. It's heavy though.
Alan.
My blog: It's not work, it's gardening!
My blog: It's not work, it's gardening!
Re: Bamboo tools?
Shame on you Mantis you forgot the most important tool....Beer.
MarCat
MarCat
Re: Bamboo tools?
... or a camera.marcat wrote:Shame on you Mantis you forgot the most important tool....Beer.
MarCat
Those were the important tools for digging bamboo. Here is the most important tool for planting bamboo:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkzQeSq7jHc
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Re: Bamboo tools?
The boo spade is easily the same weight as a digging barAlan_L wrote:If your budget is limited and you have strong arms, a regular digging bar (or tamper bar, or something similar) is $30 or so at Home Depot or similar and works great for chopping rhizomes and prying out divisions. It's heavy though.
Your arms really feel a day of digging with that sucker! I will say it makes digging divisions easier, but for most people, a good strong shovel would be just fine.
The one thing that does pay off by buying the high end stuff is the pruners. I agree with mantis on the felco pruners.
Re: Bamboo tools?
Completely dependent on the situation. I have dug a few divisions that there was no way a normal shovel would have worked. One perfect example was the Clone-X I dug a couple years ago... we ended up using a Stihl chainsaw to cut the rhizomes, and then even with the rhizomes cut it took jumping on the handle of my King of Spades to get the plant out of the ground (yes, jumping... stand on the handle, hold onto the bamboo culms for balance, and start jumping up and down). It was the ultimate battle royale to get that division.ghmerrill wrote: for most people, a good strong shovel would be just fine.
That said, I've also dug divisions of Ph. v. 'Robert Young' and S. tootsik 'Albostriata' that I could have gotten out of the ground with a hand trowel.
I never know what I'll get myself into, which is why I just throw my basic tool kit in the car whenever I go on a dig.
Re: Bamboo tools?
Too bad your basic kit didn't contain one.mantis wrote:That said, I've also dug divisions... that I could have gotten out of the ground with a hand trowel.
Alan.
My blog: It's not work, it's gardening!
My blog: It's not work, it's gardening!
Re: Bamboo tools?
I actually do have a trowel in the car, but didn't list it as the spade trumps the trowel.
But just to be complete, here is the trowel I use:
http://www.amazon.com/Lesche-Digging-To ... 15INDWACCG
But just to be complete, here is the trowel I use:
http://www.amazon.com/Lesche-Digging-To ... 15INDWACCG
Re: Bamboo tools?
I already have Felcos and beer, and I have a couple of trowels ordered for my daylilies. Here is the spade I was speaking of, what do y'all think?
http://www.midatlanticbamboo.com/bamboo ... -spade.htm
http://www.midatlanticbamboo.com/bamboo ... -spade.htm
Re: Bamboo tools?
It 100% depends upon which types of bamboo you will be working with. If it is for your runners or young clumping varieties it will work well. If you are going to try taking divisions out of mature clumping varieties you would be wasting your money. You'd be much better off using that money to buy a cordless sawzall.
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- Posts: 484
- Joined: Thu Feb 09, 2006 12:27 pm
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- Location: We are less than one hour south of downtown Houston. We are located in Wild Peach, Texas located half way between Brazoria and West Columbia. Exit hwy 36 onto County Road 354. Take County Road 353 west . Go approximately 2.4 miles. We are on the left.
- Contact:
Re: Bamboo tools?
http://picasaweb.google.com/Bamboo.Outl ... sentation#
Here is a heavy digger that has seen much use. I think for most folks the tools Mantis showed are the best option.
Here is a heavy digger that has seen much use. I think for most folks the tools Mantis showed are the best option.
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Re: Bamboo tools?
lucille-
I've got one of those Mid-Atlantic bamboo shovels and I can't begin to tell you how much time it's saved me. I not only use it for bamboo, but for digging out and dividing large plants, like Pampas grass, transplanting small trees, and dividing overgrown clumps of lilies. You'll be quite happy with it.
I've got one of those Mid-Atlantic bamboo shovels and I can't begin to tell you how much time it's saved me. I not only use it for bamboo, but for digging out and dividing large plants, like Pampas grass, transplanting small trees, and dividing overgrown clumps of lilies. You'll be quite happy with it.