The Bountiful Benefits of Bringing Bamboo to the United States

By Bamboo Grove on July 6, 2021

Numerous countries from all over the world rely on the versatility and diversity of bamboo to provide both economic and ecological benefits, however, the usage of bamboo in the United States has gotten a bad reputation in the recent years and local climatologists and conservationists are combining their efforts in order to remove the unwelcomed and scientifically-unfounded stigma that currently surrounds the growing of bamboo crops in our country.

As we enter into some of the hottest weeks of the agricultural season, the hard work and dedication of our nation’s farmers and croppers can be viewed as far as the eye can see, as many of them have already been long at work preparing their fields and farms to produce the typical vegetation seen throughout the United States. And while the general population needs these specific crops for their own sustenance and subsequent survival, a smaller group of climate change warriors have found a wonderful way to assess the “dietary” needs of our entire planet through urban bamboo cultivation and gardening. For example, one backyard bamboo grower, Lauren Lydick, has started her own process of planting bamboo in order alleviate her life-altering allergies and asthmatic symptoms that have plagued her since her childhood. By experimenting with different species of bamboo plants, her family has been able to create a “green wall” that blocks the oppressive heat and dust storms that they so frequently see in Imperial County, California – one of the most polluted places in North America.

Despite its decades-long association with far-away lands, bamboo is completely capable of being grown here in the United States, although it’s far less common and almost unheard of, depending on which section of the country you’re currently living. The cultivation of bamboo has endless benefits to our environment, both locally and globally, due to its incredible flexibility to grow in whichever climate conditions are presented. The plant itself does not require any sort of pesticides or herbicides and generates little surface runoff…all while saving precious water and additional resources that these regions may otherwise not be able to waste, making it the perfect crop to grow in your backyard or community garden.