View Full Version : Nopal, Opuntia, Nopalitos, Prickly Pear, Tunas
Richard
01-25-2011, 01:41 PM
Richard, the only edible cactus/succulent I'm growing is my Opuntia humifusa. The problem is it's in my front bed next to the street and the deer get to the fruit before I do!
The Cactus plant tribe Opuntieae (http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/gnlist.pl?1911) is historically an important source of food for both humans and fauna.
The young joints, pads, or pods of the plants are called Nopalitos, and so are many foods and/or fillings derived from them. The very small pods are boiled and served like snap peas. Young pods are pressed to exude a thick white liquid or paste which is used as a substitute for eggs. The pods are also chopped and cooked in foods and/or fillings -- typically with chopped onions and peppers, sometimes also with cheese, eggs, and spices. The chopped pods are also marinated or pickled into a plethora of appetizers, candies, and condiments. One treasured cultivar for nopalitos is a completely spineless deep green Opuntia called Supra nopalito, another is a cultivar of Opuntia ficus-indica called Burbank's Spineless (yeah, a Luther Burbank cultivar).
Then of course there are the fruits. These are eaten fresh, dried into cakes called Tunas, pressed or boiled into a syrup, fermented into alcoholic beverages, and more. Species from which commercial fruiting cultivars have been derived include Opuntia ficus-indica, Opuntia megacantha, Opuntia streptacantha, and Opuntia tuna.
For more details, I recommend Stephan Facciola's book "Cornucopia II".
mbfirey
01-25-2011, 05:05 PM
Any of the "fruiting" cultivars hardy to zone 8?
We've got lots of Prickly Cactus here in SC but the fruits are just to seedy to enjoy eating. I do however buy the red and green "tunas" from the local latin market frequently. I'd love to try to grow them.
Richard
01-25-2011, 07:46 PM
Any of the "fruiting" cultivars hardy to zone 8?
Well, they all fruit. I have observed some Opuntia species growing in mountainous areas of the southwest desert in what is definitely zone 8, and probably zone 7.
As for the cultivars of certain species, I'm not sure but I'd like to find out!
We've got lots of Prickly Cactus here in SC but the fruits are just to seedy to enjoy eating. I do however buy the red and green "tunas" from the local latin market frequently. I'd love to try to grow them.
Ok, but how are they doing with sources of Nitrogen and Potash? The prickly pear that is planted as a living fence alongside citrus groves and receive a trickle of the irrigation water with fertilizer produce awesome fruit.
:woohoonaner:
palmtree
01-25-2011, 07:50 PM
I like the spineless one!
I have an eastern prickly pear (native to here apparently). I haven't noticed any fruit, but it does have very nice yellow flowers.
Jananas Bananas
01-25-2011, 09:57 PM
I have prickly pear spined and the Burbank spineless:
http://www.bananas.org/gallery/watermark.php?file=39007&size=1 (http://www.bananas.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=39007)
And I eat nopalitos - to me with a little salt and butter, they taste like green beans. I made my own from my own cactus and have bought them at the grocery store.
I have eaten the purple flesh tuna and it was OK. I just ate it off the cactus - it would have been better chilled. IMO
~JaNan
mbfirey
01-26-2011, 09:28 AM
When I said "Fruiting" I meant the kind generally used for Fruit- like mentioned in the first post, like you'd buy at a store.
The ones here seem to do great, I picked a garbage bag full from a friends plant, but they just didn't peel well, nor could they be eaten fresh with the enjoyment we get from the store-bought ones.
Richard
01-26-2011, 10:47 AM
When I said "Fruiting" I meant the kind generally used for Fruit- like mentioned in the first post, like you'd buy at a store.
The ones here seem to do great, I picked a garbage bag full from a friends plant, but they just didn't peel well, nor could they be eaten fresh with the enjoyment we get from the store-bought ones.
Well, with any luck there's someone here on bananas.org growing a great-tasting variety in zone 8 (average winter lows in the range 10F to 20F [-12C to -7C]).
mbfirey
01-26-2011, 11:24 AM
Here's hoping....
Jananas Bananas
02-11-2011, 09:53 AM
Dean did you say you had a boatload of the Spineless? I think Mike and Alex would like some! :) Here is a link I found (looking for something else) that you guys might like to check out. Several recipes and quite a list for varieties.
SEDONA VISIONS PRICKLY PEAR (http://www.sedonavisions.com/prickly_pear.htm)
Richard, I figured you would really appreciate this link! :waving:
~JaNan
The Hollyberry Lady
02-11-2011, 11:33 AM
Here's my prickly pear cutting from JaNan...
http://i375.photobucket.com/albums/oo193/hollyberrylady08/2nd%20album/DSC01941.jpg
Shortly after it rooted, it began to produce a flower bud! :eek: I thought more branches would grow first but it's growing a flower instead! :08:
: )
Jananas Bananas
02-11-2011, 11:40 AM
Sherry's is the Spineless (though called Spineless they can sometimes have tiny ones - the needles are not huge like the average prickly pear). I have searched all over to try and find a flower bud before it is a flower without luck. It may be a new branch, but I don't know why it would be flowing like that. None of parent plants have any new growth here yet, but I will be watching! :) ~J
The Hollyberry Lady
02-11-2011, 11:38 PM
I gave it a regular supply of organic DNF (Dutch Nutrient Formula) starter formula for seedlings & cuttings, so this could be why it's flowering. Plus it's in excellent bright light. ;)
Too cool that it's flowered while still this small. It happened when Bob sent me a Plumeria cutting too...it produced a flower bud right away and it bloomed in the middle of winter in my window. :D
I'll show shots as the prickly pear grows...
: )
Richard
02-13-2011, 01:15 AM
I gave it a regular supply of organic DNF (Dutch Nutrient Formula) starter formula for seedlings & cuttings, so this could be why it's flowering.
Which of these formulas did you feed it?
Dutch Nutrient Formulas (http://www.dutchnutrientformula.com/nutrient%20feed%20schedule.pdf)
Or was it something else?
The Hollyberry Lady
02-28-2011, 09:10 PM
What the @%!$ is going on?! :eek:
Remember that bud I showed you guys a little bit ago on my prickly pear cutting from JaNan? Well it's since fell off, because I may have let the cutting get a bit too dry...
but a new one has developed and here it is today...
http://i375.photobucket.com/albums/oo193/hollyberrylady08/2nd%20album/DSC02377.jpg
: o
Sorry Richard...I missed your post before. :(
I use a 2-part blend of DNF for the early growth of seedlings & cuttings...
Part A = 2-0-2...
http://i375.photobucket.com/albums/oo193/hollyberrylady08/2nd%20album/DSC02389.jpg
Part B = 0-1-3...
http://i375.photobucket.com/albums/oo193/hollyberrylady08/2nd%20album/DSC02385.jpg
Together, they equate to a 2-1-5 formula. :D
I also use another 2-part formula that promotes flowering and fruiting. Here's the part B...
http://i375.photobucket.com/albums/oo193/hollyberrylady08/2nd%20album/DSC02387.jpg
: )
Richard
03-02-2011, 10:52 AM
What the @%!$ is going on?!
Potash with a dash of Phosphate, plus Nitrogen for quick uptake.
Together, they equate to a 2-1-5 formula. :D
Actually the numbers are percentages by weight, so equal parts will give you about 1-1-3.
The Hollyberry Lady
03-03-2011, 12:12 AM
Now I'm wondering if it really is a bud at all because someone commented that the cutting is just growing another "segment"!!!
It doesn't look like another branch but maybe it is. That would explain why one fell off and another one grew. :ha:
Guess I'll know soon enough...
: )
The Hollyberry Lady
03-08-2011, 01:00 PM
Growing bigger...
http://i375.photobucket.com/albums/oo193/hollyberrylady08/2nd%20album/DSC02501.jpg
: )
Dean W.
03-11-2011, 01:27 AM
Don't know all the names, but here we go.
Prickly Pear
http://www.bananas.org/gallery/watermark.php?file=40699&size=1 (http://www.bananas.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=40699)
Close up of the fruits.
http://www.bananas.org/gallery/watermark.php?file=40697&size=1 (http://www.bananas.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=40697)
another
http://www.bananas.org/gallery/watermark.php?file=40698&size=1 (http://www.bananas.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=40698)
spineless
http://www.bananas.org/gallery/watermark.php?file=40700&size=1 (http://www.bananas.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=40700)
The Hollyberry Lady
03-17-2011, 01:46 PM
Omg, I'm so in love with this plant...
http://i375.photobucket.com/albums/oo193/hollyberrylady08/2nd%20album/DSC02770.jpg
Thanks so much, JaNan! :goteam:
: )
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