Hey Doc I was over there reading Conradino's journal about the bamboo thing and thought I'd post my reply to that here for you instead of on Conradino's journal since it's like 15 days behind.... that's me a little slow but I'm predictable, for the most part. Anywho.. tifwiw
Hey Doc we grow bamboo here too. Use it primarily to hide our worm bins they are outside. Now depending on type of bamboo, you can contain it pretty easily with a few tips.
Plant in in a mound say a compost pile you have going. They send out runners looking for better food sources so planting in a pile of old composted yard waste is perfect. So you decide how large of an area you want to grow the bamboo in and dig a ditch about 5" deep and 5" wide - make a little moat/trough around the area you want the bamboo to stay in. Done... when the runners get to the trough then you just snip them off or take a straight edged spade and cut the runners.
Bamboo is trainable for sure and they are intuitive and when you start chopping runners they stop sending them out in that direction. They get the idea pretty quick but you need to feed the compost pile. Why we decided to put our worm bin beside the mound of bamboo... they like the run off and are pretty easy to control after the little ditch and snipping runners thing. They pic it up and grow accordingly.
There are 2 distinct types of bamboo... clumping and running... either work in a yard situation, its the height that you need to be aware of. Some will grow HUGE ... suburbs its probably best to grow the short clumping varieties, say 12' or so tallest. In the PACNW they can grow large. I would check with your local nursery and get advice on which ones grow best in your area. Also so you don't accidentally introduce something that gets you into trouble with the locals... I'm sure you're aware of that deal.
We found a veriety here on the east coast that grows naturally in our region - Appalachian Bamboo. We found it in the woods on a mountain side where we live. It's perfect for us and is manageable.
A tip for managing out of control bamboo (sometimes in the beginning they want to roam) is to cut them down to a few inches about the soil line - it will grow back - then cut it back again. It will stop putting out new shoots in that spot after the 2nd cut. As I said they are pretty cool plants and are very intuitive and will live with you as you live with them. first few years they get a little crazy ... but after that its perfect.
Conradino that's pretty cool you make bio-char with bamboo. I've been using the stalks as plant stakes for canna and our outdoor veggie gardens with good result for a long time. They sell bamboo stakes at the box stores for big money around these parts.
We make bio-char here too usually with hardwood we use for smoking fish/meats and throw it under our Azalea shrubs and a bit in the worm bins, wait a few years and dig it up and mix in with soil for the veggies. The hardwood char will keep the soil somewhat acidic which is perfect for several of our shrubs that grow naturally here on the east coast USA, like Azalea and Rhododendron.
I should try the bamboo char - as it's a grass we should have bio-char in short order as it will not take long to colonize the mycos and it brakes down pretty fast as well. The stakes will decompose in pots after a year or so then we cut the end off and use a shorter stake. hmm great idea.
Reps to Conradino for that tip!
Here's a linky to some Bamboo info:
Bamboo Sourcery's complete guide to using bamboo in your landscape: species selection, care, cultivation, containment, clumpers, runners, flowering, etc
There's a bunch of resources on the web for bamboo... there's as many folks growing that plant as our favorite grass here.
Eyes wide open... you will see a beautiful world.
and your LCOG is putting out those tight sticky nuggets. I've not tried either yet, but if given a choice, I'd probably take the OG. I gotta smile just looking at her. I'm hoping to run her in the Fall...next run might be LCOG, Carnival, 707 Truthband, Dusty Cheesecake, and maybe some mystery seeds from Spain. 
Of course, this could all change if I get distracted by something else. 
