Thatching

[Andrew Alcorn]

Marcos Camargo wrote:
>Is it possible to thatch a roof with Scotch broom?  I have
>so much of these plants in my property and would like to find
>a use for it.

I've got a lot of what we call 'cabbage' trees (actually a realtive of the
lilly) that have a lot of long tough leaves that they drop at a prodigious
rate. Anyone know of a testing method that would indicate in a fairly short
time (i.e. quicker than putting them on a roof and leaving them for decades)
whether they were suitable for thatching purposes?

Andrew Alcorn