Tips for digging winter bamboo shoots with perfect accuracy

The trick to dig winter bamboo shoots with perfect accuracy is to look at the leaf tips and look down at the bamboo whip and the ground.

1. Look at the leaf tips

The leaf tips refer to the top of the bamboo, including the leaves and bamboo tips. When digging bamboo shoots, look up at the leaf tips. Generally, bamboo leaf tips like to face the sun. This direction is where winter bamboo shoots grow. Winter bamboo shoots prefer sunlight. In addition, the bamboo branches are densely packed, and the leaves are a little yellowed, giving a sense of malnutrition, indicating that there are winter bamboo shoots under this bamboo. The yellow leaves are caused by the winter bamboo shoots absorbing some of the nutrients from the bamboo.

2. Looking down at the bamboo whip

Winter bamboo shoots grow on both sides of the bamboo whip. Many old farmers judge whether there are winter bamboo shoots based on the color and direction of the bamboo whip. Buds grow on the sides of bamboo whip nodes, some develop into bamboo shoots, and some develop into new whips. Some bamboo whips will be exposed above the ground, and some are still growing in the soil. If the bamboo whips of adult bamboo are green, there are nine out of ten bamboo whips with winter bamboo shoots on them.

3. Look down at the ground to look for cracks

When the winter bamboo shoots swell in the soil, they force the soil to produce cracks centered on one point and radiating to all sides. The shallow ones can see young green or bamboo shoots. When we step on it, the soil clearly feels soft and elastic. However, not all winter bamboo shoots will cause cracks in the ground soil after they expand. Those that grow deeper will not have cracks around them.

Notes on digging winter bamboo shoots

1. When digging, the shallow-whipped winter bamboo shoots with a soil depth of less than 15 cm should be mainly used, while the deep-whipped winter bamboo shoots with a soil depth of more than 15 cm should only be harvested. The amount of energy is limited and a small amount of mining is allowed. Never dig indiscriminately just for immediate benefits, otherwise a bamboo forest will be destroyed for temporary gain.

2. It is prohibited to dig in forest edge bamboos with many winter bamboo shoots, forest clearing edge bamboos and sparse forest bamboos, otherwise it will greatly affect the development and growth of bamboo forests.

3. Only a few of the winter bamboo shoots that germinate before the winter solstice can be transformed into spring bamboo shoots, and most of them will rot. This is the main part of harvesting. Most of the winter bamboo shoots formed after the winter solstice can be transformed into spring bamboo shoots, and they should not be dug up.

4. Bamboo shoots that are curved in shape, have a sharp and thin base, or have cracked and aged bamboo shoot shells will basically not grow into spring bamboo shoots. This part can be harvested. Those with plump bases, well-developed roots, tender shells and tightly wrapped bamboo shoots will grow into spring bamboo shoots next year and promote the growth of bamboo forests. They must be preserved and cannot be harvested.