perennial peanut advances on newly graded land - around the mango tree at the end of the road.
it functions more as a path or a narrow strip of running lawn really... the z shape has run offs parking, or paths leadting into the rest of the land at each point which makes good space for carrying and laying out bamboo after harvest.

Terracing with log rounds

the roseapple logs have become terrace faces
only a temporary fix for the problem of sloping land,
unless i can come back with stone in
the coming years and build some nice walls,
perfectly level belts around the middle of our gulch's contours.

Dendrocalamus asper, Indonesian


sometimes, in deep shade, bamboo plants will put up only one new cane per year until they break through the canopy. the shot above shows the spring/summer '09 new shoot, with no leaves yet, and the one from '08 fully loaded with leaves and leaning with their weight, increasing their access to precious jungle sunshine.

Dendrocalamus brandiesii


some of them grow edible shoots and some are primarilly used for timber. most of the ones i've collected are excellent, good or fair for both purposes.

Guadua angustafolia


the tropical clumping bamboos i've collected here in the last seven years have all begun from a small cutting or potted specimen and put up larger and larger canes every year, so the biggest ones in these photos are also the youngest.

oil for light and oil for life
nuts as presents for a wife,
ku for war and candles at night



devil come as sure as life
fool to call it twice
it's number is eight six three nine rice

i had an urge to plant some more milo seeds the other day, a reliable propagator and a lovely tree with valuable wood (prized in old hawaii for food prep & service because it imparts no woody flavor) and lo and behold, the one i planted a few years ago is bearing seed ready to plant. these fruit/seed pods in the pic are at about 10 ft high on a 13/14 ft tall 4 year old tree with a straight bole, albeit recently part pulled over. it's listed value as of a few years ago was $18 per board ft.