3 ms·

Some folks are growing olives on a Canadian island just off Vancouver. They had their first successful oil pressing from the trees just this last December. I'm

• yellowapple 9y ago
  Bamboo is nothing to look forward to unless you're using it as construction material or otherwise have a real use for it. Bamboo is basically a giant weed.
  • microcolonel 9y ago
    I understand that it also makes good biochar. Some varieties make good textile fiber, I personally like the feel of bamboo and bamboo hybrid textiles, and the ones I own seem to hold up better than cotton after washing. The fact that it is basically a giant weed (more specifically a grass, everyone's favourite type of weed) is great, because you can abuse it, and it'll still take up tonnes of space for you. It's not too hard to contain if you make sure to moat, vinegar, and block it thoroughly. A good place for an expired family pet or a political enemy. When compressed thoroughly (three or four thousand tons per square meter) with the fibers aligned, it makes for unusually uniform and dense planks, beams, and boards. If assembled while green, then treated with borax, it can make for very interesting (and outrageously strong) structures if you know what to do with it. If you go to extra lengths, it can be a centenarian building material. The shoots are also good eats when cooked in rich stew or broiled with mayonnaise and chili.