I have several older groves of bamboo in dire need of renovation. Currently I have removed all of the leaf and culm waste underneath, which is normally a fine mulch. It's all shredded and bagged, waiting for a new hot compost pile.

Tomorrow I'm taking my little wagon down, over the railroad tracks, to the local feed/ organic supplement store and picking up 7 cubic feet of the most recommended organic compost, Tuffel's Compost. It's a start anyway while my piles are still not ready. Boy.. people sure love that stuff.

I am in the process of thinning out as many of the older and smaller culms, which is over due. Less plant material and more air circulation is high on the list, but it's a slower process for me, since the plan is to save, cure, and use as building material. They're really, really tall, so it's tricky moving the culms around the yard and setting up to work on them. I've gotten the worst groves done, but there's still many to work on.

So.. I may have had a brilliant idea ? What about undercropping the bamboo, since it's the perfect time to be planting such things here.

Bamboo is a grass, and the average grower/ collector uses high nitrogen, synthetic fertilizers. Which is the reason I'm asking here, rather than the bamboo forum. I have searched, with no luck BTW.

I have always tossed a little compost on mine, and wished for the best, which has worked up until now. The large, absentee landlord, bamboo close by has always done fine, so I wasn't worried. But.. his is unrestricted ... mine has reached the limits of it's designated space.

And the horrid part of my tale. I made a huge mistake and purchased some bamboo from a farmers market, and have ended up with bamboo mites. Info on the web says these mites have no natural predators and the only thing that works is a nasty chemical pesticide. Not willing to go there, even if I could justify the high price. Thirty years on my little spot of earth and I'm rich in the good bugs. :)

But you see, this means I can not share my bamboo plant in order to thin it out. Hope springs eternal.. maybe I'll be the first to win this battle organically. This summer during our various heat spells, the yard was so full of predatory insects, and some bad guys passing through, I had times when it as not really comfortable being in the middle of things. They all come in waves. It's been interesting, and during times with just the lady bugs around I've been religious in spraying as much leaf surface with my hose nozzle set on jet ! Helps with spider mites so I figured it's worth a shot.

Sorry this has gotten so long. Now on to my questions.

Ideas on if a cover crop would work ? And which one ?

I immediately thought of just getting clover..I think it was the crimson that I planted years ago and it was not only beautiful but grew well here all winter.

Then things got tricky. I started searching the web. Closest I can find is info for orchards, since I will be unable to till the remains in come spring. Bamboo roots are a full, solid mat.

I'm adding a link to the page that seemed most relevant, and included this ...

>>>Under nontillage, residues with a high C/N ratio will decompose slowly due to a lack of nitrogen source for microorganisms which decompose surface mulch. The nitrogen contained in the residue will become available to plants only after the residue has become incorporated into the soil organic matter pool. If low C/N residue is left on the surface, microbial decomposition will be more rapid because of the favorable nutrient status. About 80 to 85 percent of the nitrogen in cover crops is contained in the above-ground portion. http://www.sarep.ucdavis.edu/newsltr/v5n3/sa-4.htm

Hoping some will accept this challenge, because I am sad.While I seem to have reduced their numbers dramatically, they still here.

Oh, and so far my horrid mites have not spread to the absentee landlords place..and it just can't because that will never be cared for.

And as far as my saved , dried culms.. I don't think mites will be too interested in old dead stuff.. but at least that could be sanitized. Right ?

Here is a link that might be useful: Scavenging Nitrogen in Orchards