This is an exciting time of year at Annie Leila's. The camellias are still colorful, the azaleas are about to bloom, and the bamboo will soon be popping up out of the ground! The property is almost nine acres with an amazing bamboo grove which I adore. Since buying the property in 2016, I have learned a lot about this evergreen plant and there appears to be even more to understand.
Like most people, I've been aware of bamboo flooring for decades. I've never installed it, but I'd use it on the right project. And I also knew about bamboo being used to build scaffolding and homes in other parts of the world, or to make fishing poles, rafts, wind chimes, Tiki torches, and fencing. But now I know that it's also used to make shirts, drinking straws, toilet paper, skate boards, toothbrushes, underwear, structural building components, bicycles, and the list keeps going. Several years ago I starting hearing about the future of bamboo farming in the United States. It's an intriguing narrative and the upside sounds enormous.
Besides making useful things, bamboo shoots are a super food with health benefits. Plus, bamboo can also be used to make tea, beer, and wine! B
Bamboo has two harvests each year; spring for the edible shoots and fall for the trees/timber to make things. And these harvests don't wipe out the grove by clear cutting. It's a managed process which allows the majority of the plants to keep growing.
The bamboo grove that runs through Annie Leila's covers several acres and I have access to other sizable thickets in the area; at least ten acres total. St. George, SC is next to the intersection of Interstates 26 and 95 making it easy to transport spring or fall harvests quickly.
Since 2019, I've been reading and learning about the bamboo market, but have yet to connect with a buyer or broker serious about my shoots or trees. If you know of someone in the bamboo industry please contact me or pass on my info.: bloodsweatandpigsears@hotmail.com
