A better bamboo garden stake?
Short answer
Yep, our superior bamboo garden stakes are easy to use, last longer, and look better that the big box bamboo.
long answer
Bamboo has been used as garden stakes likely since the advent of gardens, as it is lightweight, strong, reliable, and natural and organic- eventually nourishing the soil. Plus it grows virtually everywhere. But it is not without it’s drawbacks.
The trouble with using bamboo in the garden
Bamboo is a woody species of grass that contains good amounts of moisture, starches and sugars. All of which tend to attract insects as it’s curing. which in turn damage the bamboo. Powder post beetles in particular are fond of drilling holes in drying bamboo. Additionally, because it’s hollow, transferring moisture at the end grain, so extended low humidity causes the tube form to shrink as the moisture is pulled out, causing bamboo to split and crack prematurely, as can extended UV exposure. These long cracks run longitudinally through several inter-nodal spaces, leaving them susceptible to water damage and rot from the inside out. Even worse are open tops of bamboo, where water collects in the cups and speeds up decay.
How to overcome these problems
There are 3 main ways to combat insect damage in bamboo products. One method involves a capillary soak with boric acid, but it has to be done very quickly after harvest with bamboo remaining in a vertical position for several weeks. Another option, popular with mass manufacturers, is a harsh chemical bath. The 3rd option is heat, the method we employ.
That’s as far as most bamboo garden stakes go, addressing the insect problem, and ignoring the water and UV damage sure to follow.
Cut close to the nodes
Bamboo is a hollow tube separated into chambers by woody membranes called nodes. These help provide the legendary strength of bamboo. Big box bamboo ignores this and favors efficiency and quantity over product durability. Their 3 foot garden stakes are all exactly 3 feet in length. Our garden stakes are rarely if ever identical in length. Mass manufacturers speed bamboo down a line that cuts it in nice precise 3 foot sections. It’s quick and efficient. The problem is, nearly every stake has an open top, a little well for collecting water and insects and rapid decay, as well as hollow bottoms that split easily. The garden stakes here at DomesticBamboo are all cut right up against the node on top, nullifying that issue, and cut close to nodes on the bottom for added strength and durability. Where a mass production line might get several stakes from a single bamboo culm, I might not get any, and at best I might get 2 or 3. It takes time to measure out and find the sections of bamboo that have about 3 feet between node sets, and not all do.
Heat treat by hand
We use open flame to heat treat every garden stake. This allows us to apply a more intense heat at the nodes where bamboo is thickest and strongest and stores much of it’s starches. This pulls out most of the sugars and starches that attract insect damage. While still warm from the flame, we burnish the bamboo with our conditioner, a blend of orange oil and beeswax. The heat sweats out the natural oils in the plant which rise to the surface, which when burnished harden into a protective enamel which sheds water and inhibits UV rays.
For smaller plants use smaller pre-split stakes
We make smaller greenhouse stakes for starters and smaller indoor plants from split bamboo. Split bamboo 3 feet long would be too flexible to offer much support, but at 14 inches these are plenty strong and capable for their size. These get heat treated just like our longer stakes and without hollows to collect water these are remarkable robust and durable for just being pieces of grass!
Shop our garden supplies on Etsy
Don’t take our word for it
Here are just a few of the verified 5 star reviews from buyers of our garden stakes on Etsy:
“What a great product! I took my bamboo and tied them together to make a sweet trellis for my cucumbers. They were just as described… Very happy!” – katiemartin “I needed some stakes to use as a trellis for a climbing indoor plant, and these are perfect. The heat treatment is very attractive. Couldn't be happier” –vgtolentino “So happy with my order. I have a ton of houseplants that are growing super tall and I needed some durable poles for them to climb and these were perfec t and I love the aesthetic!” -Jasmine “It's a great product, the heat treated are a great color, looks amazing in the garden, natural but a bit more jazzed up. Can use for trellises, as single sticks in planters, as tomato cages, its very kool. i wish i had more!” –Deanna “Very nice bamboo. Will make great tomato cages and trellises for basil plants. This year, the vegetable garden will be looking super nice! “–Sheila