Urban alternatives to bamboo

[Taraxacum]

Hi, interested to hear of more sustainable alternatives to bamboo which people have tried. There's willow and hazel available to many people, and privet and even sycamore prunings are useful, but if you're in a very urban area what other options are there? I work with people on an estate and most only have yards, but with help there could be a lot more gardening making use of those yard walls and fences. Thinking that split timber from skips could be useful (if splintery) maybe for homemade trellis, though not everyone has something to split wood with!
Any bright ideas?
Thanks!

[Skippy]

If you are looking in skips keep a eye open for underfloor heating pipe. It is grey and around 20mmish in diameter. They generally don't like to joint it in a floor so it's not uncommon to see half a roll dumped in a skip.Skips are often full of timber that can be used , look out for roofs being stripped and try to get decent lenghts of tiling lath (or battern depending where you're from) but watch out for nails.
Steel re-enforcing mesh can make a good trellis too but do bear in mind that some people aren't too kean to see a garden filled with what they might consider junk or rubbish.


Pete

[oldjerry]

Some good ideas there,you can often find old chainlink fencing(seems out of vogue these days); secured to walls that makes a great trellis,and provided it's covered in Beans/ fruit or whatever,whose going to notice it?,and anyhow who gives a monkeys what they think?!

[Green Aura]

We grew our own bamboo, for a while. I can't remember which variety it was but it was one of the ones that spread quite quickly - so we grew it in an old dustbin. Although we didn't get any really long pieces we got loads of 3-4 feet lengths and offcuts to make insect hotels.

[oldjerry]

Holiday Inn-sects??

[Carltonian Man]

I use planks rough sawn down into sticks and the longer trimmings from my neighbours cotoneaster (the tall type that councils plant).

[Skippy]

anyhow who gives a monkeys what they think?!

Man after my own heart
I also grow my own bamboo and have quite a few decent sized sticks , long enough but not very thick.
Taraxacum don't forget something as simple as string and a couple of nails for climbing plants and you may also want to check out the vertical gardening thread that uses plastic bottles and pallets.


Pete

[Taraxacum]

Thanks all - lots of really good ideas! Will certainly give them a try.
Cheers!

[Crickleymal]

I've just finished reading a book about the archaeology of gardens. It appears that in the past they used thick stemmed rushes as supports for plants. I'm at work at the moment so I'll have to look up what they used when I get home.

[AlexSBayley]

Just out of interest, why is bamboo considered "not sustainable"? I had never heard that. Potentially invasive, yes, but very much renewable for the same reasons!

[Jandra]

When you get it from China there are many bamboo-miles causing it to be unsustainable. Grown locally, it's fine, I would say.

[AlexSBayley]

Ah, fair enough! Living somewhere where it grows easily, it hadn't quite occurred to me that it might be imported from halfway round the world. Though I suppose I don't know the origin even of the bamboo stakes I buy at my local nursery. I'd *hope* they're local, but I'm not sure.