The vegetable garden at Amma’s Washington DC ashram is at risk from the spread of bamboo from the neighboring property. To protect the garden before its spring growth in March, AYUDH members and local sevites will be undertaking the Bamboo Control Project the weekend of February 29th.

Bamboo is an invasive plant that sends out rhizomes (underground stems) that will make the garden unusable if it is allowed to grow. Bamboo is difficult to eradicate because the rhizomes can extend several feet underground, unseen before they send up the visible shoots. Bamboo is the fastest growing woody plant in the world, capable of growing up to 2 feet in 24 hours.

When dug up, it can grow from even very small parts of the plant left in the ground. The Bamboo Control Project involves digging a trench 28 inches deep inside the property line, then installing a series of overlapping metal plates to provide an impermeable barrier against the invasive bamboo rhizomes.

The DC ashram is hopeful that this project will preserve Amma's garden for many years to come!.