Baby bamboo shoot about to meet its maker…

I was being eaten alive by Bamboo shoots which have jumped over the fence from my neighbor’s garden and are popping up all over mine.  It wouldn’t be so bad if my garden wasn’t the size of a postage stamp.  Not much real estate at my place.

What’s really scary is this stuff can  come up through solid barriers such as patios and floors!  I fully expect one to pop up through my new pillow top mattress any minute. 

Kick over with your bamboo kickin shoes.

Most weed-suppressant groundcover fabrics will not stop bamboo spreading and they are impervious to Round-up. The problem tends to be with the invasive types of bamboo. These bamboos spread via long rhizomes, which help the plant to colonise new areas. I found a shoot coming up in a flower bed on the opposite side of my house.

My garden advisor, Shirley Dawkins, said to have no fear.  She showed me a new sport called Bamboo Kicking.  Every morning she goes out in her garden and hunts for baby shoots sprouting.  She kicks them over and they break off cleanly at the ground, never to be a menace again until next Spring when a new crop invades.

It’s quite a satisfying sport and so far this season I’ve bagged 14.  I don’t think there’s a limit.