You see the roots on a bamboo plant? Getting those roots in the ground help to not only conquer erosion, but create space and structure in the soil for your future plants. Having more “space” in the soil, not only paves the way for fruit trees and shrubs to establish themselves more quickly and easily, but allows them to root down more deeply and have greater access to water and nutrients due to having more robust root systems.

Having more space in the soil also makes the ground better at holding water for a longer period of time, reducing water stress on all plants in the vicinity.

Grass? Why would I care about filling a grass niche in my edible landscape? Because grasses and weeds are the first things that a forest grows when starting from scratch. They have the ability to grow in terrible conditions, putting down deep roots or sending off those dreaded running rhizomes that also help to prevent erosion and lock in soil nutrients for future, larger plants…like fruit trees.

Fighting grass is really like trying to prevent yourself from breathing. You’re going to have a good, long struggle, then eventually realize that grass is a normal part of any edible landscape. Growing bamboo gives you the power to choose which types of grasses you want to grow as bamboo will quickly shade out unwanted, pest grasses and create a thick microclimate to support the growth of your other edible plants.

For anyone who has ever decided they were going to be a dedicated food forester in the fall and go out and collect bags of leaves only to watch them–very sadly– get, literally, blown away by the wind, bamboo will be your saving grace.

Not only do bamboo plants help to break harsh winds that might blow through your garden or edible landscape, by breaking up those winds, they also prevent your hard-earned leaves and other mulching materials from being carried off to become humus and organic fertilizer in someone else’s yard.