Day 36: In Which We Are Shocked And Awed

So here's this morning's picture. We've dubbed our first growth "Chute 1." Two other chutes have popped up (Chute 2 and 3, respectively) and while they're still tiny, we're expecting great things.


Chute 1 is totally huge. We've calculated that it's grown an average of four inches/day. The picture below is from this morning:


This one is from Wednesday:


And compare it to this one from this morning (using the trowel as a unit of measurement).


Another thing to note is that the grayish "skin" that's been covering the bamboo is starting to come away - as evidenced in the following picture:


And here's a long-shot, just for kicks.



Finally, we promised a web cam and a new logo: check it out here for now until we get the blog template updated. We're still having some issues with the web cam, but you can see what we've got going so far.

Day 34: In Which We Go Dot-Com And Show Major Growth

We're all dot-com in this place. Welcome to the new projectbambusa.com (http://www.projectbambusa.com)!

So last week was pretty exciting. We had our first chute sprout our lone root (dubbed "Root A"). Everybody was in shock. We all stood around the box, looking at this tiny sprout with our collective mouths agape. Egads!

One week later we return from the Thanksgiving Holiday and this is what we see:



So awesome.

The very next day we come in and we see this:



Seriously, y'all. That's, like, two inches in one night. Fantastic.

So now we're working on a webcam. That should be live tomorrow. Here are some more pics - the first is Travis trying to make the software work and the second is a pic of the webcam itself.




Tomorrow we're going to get the webcam up and on this site. Also, the Project Bambusa! logo will make it's first high-res debut.

Day 25: In Which A Sprout Is Sprung!

OMG OMG OMG OMG....

LIFE!!!

Day 19: In Which Nothing Happens

Just wanted to get a picture of our future planter online. It's still sitting on the loading dock, waiting to be opened and emptied so that we can convert it into a bamboo-growing container.

Here it is!

Day 18: In Which We Create A Better Home

Since our last update the bamboo has been growing all together in a single garbage bag-lined cardboard box. Two stalks with root-balls and a giant hunk of root. The planter that we've been building was completed today and is ready for its first resident.

We've decided that the giant hunk of root will be moved to the new planter and the stalks will remain in the cardboard box for now.

We ventured forth to the Home Depot to get more potting soil. It was raining and, needless to say, these Little Dudes got wet. When we arrived back at the office we got the new soil to our location on the second floor and went to work. With little mess, we got the giant hunk of root transplanted to the new box. See it here:



We've been discussing that it might be a while before we see any growth. In fact, it could be months before we know if this hunk of root pans out. It could die and we'd never know. Rufus indicated that they generally sprout in the spring, but we think it might be sooner since we're growing indoors.

Day 14: In Which We Get Bamboo

We got a late start from the office to Rufus' place. It was dark by the time we arrived and I'm sure we made quite the sight, walking down a dark street with flashlights and shovels.

Rufus wasn't home yet when we got there, so we surveyed the bamboo and decided where to start digging. I don't think either of us realized how tall the stuff would be. It was easily twenty-five feet tall. We picked a few good looking specimens, lopped off the tops, and started digging.

Anyone ever tried to dig up bamboo before? It's a bitch. I think we'd intended to get 4 stalks, but we ended up with only two and a giant hunk of root. A big thanks to Rufus for the bamboo.

The next problem was what to do with our newly acquired bamboo. When we got to the office the next morning it was clear that the plants would die if we didn't get them into soil soon. We went to the mail room and got a big cardboard box and a thick plastic bag, to line the box. We filled our creation with leftover potting soil from our previous planting and added the bamboo. It's going to have to live like this for a few days while the real planting box is completed.

The long shot:


The tight shot:


In the background you can see the corner of the new planter - not yet ready for prime time.

Day 12: In Which Background Is Provided

It just occurred to me that it may be unclear why we'd want to build a Wall of Bamboo. Especially at work. Obviously this is a distraction from our jobs and our employer would probably prefer that we do work that will help the "bottom line" and all that stuff. So let's go over a few things.

We work in a LEED-Certified Platinum building. So this is a really "Green" place. Part of working in a place like this is that there are lots of tour groups going through building in the middle of the day. One of the stopping points in the tour is right in front of our desks.

It's not to point out the two funny Little Dudes, so you can cut the jokes right there.

So these people, kids, senior-citizens, etc. like to stare and watch us work while the person leading the tour talks about green-stuff. This is, as you might imagine, a little unsettling.

We discussed various ways of "entertaining" the tour groups. Mock fights, throwing things, various obscene gestures, that sort of thing. But we finally realized that we needed to be shielded from these strangers. And so the idea of the Wall of Living Bamboo was born. The Green Wall. Project Bambusa.

It's going to literally be green and we're in a green building... so we think it kind of works. It goes along with the theme, right?

So that's where we are now. We'll meet Rufus on Wednesday to dig some bamboo out of his backyard. Pictures and more will be posted.

Day 11: In Which The Seeds of Greatness Are Planted

Today we planted a small bamboo stalk in a custom-built box. Measuring 2.5ft long and caulked to make it water-tight, this vessel will be the symbolic mascot for the entire project. Check out some pictures below:



We filled the box with potting soil, loosely packed. Then we added the small bamboo plant that inspired this entire endeavor. We don't expect this plant to grow to become part of our Wall of Wonderous Bamboo. No, we expect this little grower to be the symbol of excellence. The face of Project Bambusa!, if you will.




The Implementation Team of Little Dudes: Travis and Brooks.




The final product:



In other news, while filling the box with dirt on the loading dock, we noticed that two very large wooden boxes had been delivered. We realized that these awesome boxes would be perfect for planting our Rufus-provided bamboo. After a discussion with the Dude In The Mailroom, we made a deal to get the smaller box after it had been opened and relieved of its contents. So this thing is, like, 6ft long, 3ft wide and 6in deep. In other words, perfect. We're going to have to go to Home Depot to get more soil. More pictures will be provided once we have the new planter in our possession. It's going to take a little elbow grease before it's ready for planting, but I think it's going to work out okay.

Day 8: In Which Support for the Movement Grows

This week we learned that our boss, Frank, is in support of Project Bambusa. We have also learned that our biggest opponent to the project, the building's Facility Manager, has decided to move on instead of fighting the inevitable. There will be a wall of living bamboo and nobody can stop us.

We are hoping to acquire the first stalks of bamboo next week. We will keep you posted.