Bamboo

[Hofmann]

Cool Davo, It looks like it might double as a spaceship too. I gather it's going to be permanantly fixed and you just swim inside it.

[DaveOponic]

No. The pool is rectangular (40 x 15 feet) and one end is under a fence of bamboo and a huge tree that drops 100 leaves a day.

I intend to mount the dome on rubber wheels that straddle the pool. Most of the time it will remain at the leafy end of the pool to keep the leaves out. The second purpose of the dome is to provide shade so that we can swim in the pool in the heat of the day. (Brunei is in the equatorial tropics - the sun is intense in the middle of the day)

It is actually I prototype for a much stronger dome (made of steel conduit) that would also have a hammock suspended from inside and a water slide could be attached/hung from the inside of the dome.

PS.... domes should never be made less than 300mm in diameter (lol )


Dave

[Hofmann]

Geez thats a lot of work for a test run. You must have a couple of house boys thrown in with your contract over there. Either that or you eat a **** load of wheatbix in the morning. You gonna go natural with the pool?

[GaryD]

Hi,

Late in 2009, we planted bamboo along our front fence line and down the eastern side of our new pergola area.

They're growing like topsy.

Gary

[morrie]

hi
i've got a couple of bamboos, oldhamii, budda belly and a thin black one that was sold as a clumping but turned out a runner - a bit of frantic digging to get it all (now in a pot)
we eat the shoots of the oldhamii and try and use the poles (its about 20+ m high now) for as many things as we can but i've discovered that in our small suburban back yard its a bit labour intensive.

the shoots need a lot of boiling to flush out the bitter taste and the poles arn't much good if they are not treated to stop rot and borers. the leaves etc take forever to decompose as well.

end up giving the poles away on freecycle

just as well i like the stuff!!!

[GaryD]

Hi Ian,

We planted Gigantochloa wrayii across the front fence line - to screen traffic noise, dust and light spill.

We've also planted several Chinese Dwarf bamboo to screen morning sun and neighbours from our farm kitchen area.

We've also got one Gigantochloa maxima. I love bamboo and I'd like to plant a lot more of them.

While they've all continued some growth through the cooler months, I'm expecting some serious growth during the wet season (our summer).

Gary