Shooting Schedule
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I created this chart by measuring the soil temperature at each of my mature groves every time I harvested shoots. The earliest bamboo to shoot is Phyllostachys praecox. The latest to shoot is Ph. bambusoides. Praecox can start when the soil is as cold as 52°F and as warm as 60°F. Praecox’s earliest shoots can freeze but the grove will start shooting again. This bamboo has a long period of shooting. The last bamboo to shoot is Ph. bambusoides. It will start shooting when the soil is 63-65°F.
You can influence the timing of shooting by planting in locations where the soil warms earlier.
Two useful take aways from the information on this chart. If you plan to sell fresh bamboo shoots, this chart will help you decide which varieties to plant. 1. Do you want all your shoots at the same 10 day period or do you want to spread harvest and sales over two months? 2. If you plan to maintain alleys in your grove, best to do the thinning after shooting is entirely over. Otherwise the late shooters will fill the alley again. Might as well just thin just once. In other words, plan to thin the alleys, after shooting season is well behind you.
I will be measuring soil temperatures at my farm in Hawkinsville in 2021. 2021 will be the year that my bamboos are 7 years old and will be the first year that I harvest shoots to sell. I look forward to creating the next chart “Bamboo Shooting Schedule”.