cacti - best before?

[testmehard]

hi there.

i just got a nice pre christmas gift, a nice cacti.
it will take at least another month till i can eat it.

any advice where i can store it so it won't rutt?


thx a lot
testmehard

 

[Solipsis]

Either keep it alive or dry it. Alive obviously it will not rot because it fends off germs itself (in most cases lol).
For something to rot there has to be water or moisture present so totally drying it preserves the cactus.

Search the web for ways to dry, basically I expect the procedure to be: separating active cactus tissues from garbage like the inner core. Then cut up the active tissue into thin slices or tiny chunks. You can air dry them or put them in the oven at low heat (50C / 125F). Then optionally pulverize, and store dry.

If you didn't already know: the drug is very stable and should not break down under typical conditions or even shortlived low heat. There are samples known to have survived thousands of years. But make sure once it is dead, you remove all water as quickly as possible. Not for the drug but because obviously rotting stuff cannot be consumed (or rather, should not).

 

[sekio]

If it's a live plant in a pot, leave it in the pot.

If it's a wet cactus cutting, freeze it, in a deep freezer. Take it out when you want to eat it. The freezing process will grow ice crystals that destroy the cactus cell walls, so when it thaws you will have a mushy cactus, perfect for making tea or extracting mescaline from.
You can also dry it out, like Soli said, but that takes much more effort.

If it's dry cactus chips, keep them dry and in a cool dark place.

Mescaline is fairly stable - the cactus itself will degrade before the mescaline contained within does.

 

[testmehard]

thx to both of you.
since the cacti seems to be wet but i have no idea how long it has been cut off i will freeze it

 

[Solipsis]

If you cut off a small slice at the bottom, near where it has been cut... you can try waiting to see if a callus forms. That is what they call protective tissue the cactus uses to fix the cut. If it just dries like a cucumber it is probably dead, if it starts making new tissue (like humans make scabs on wounds) you can plant it - check how you should treat it and give it a good place with little draft and good strong lighting.

I forgot if cacti are best planted with any callous tissue removed, check the web.

One could also always graft it on top of another cactus' roots and trunk, seems exciting to do IMO - IIRC it should be done eccentrically.

That said, freezing is always a good idea if you care only about preserving and tripping. Forgot about the lysis, which is a bonus ... well at least if you were planning on extracting or making tea.

If you are gonna extract though, why wait... you can make crude cactus 'tarballs'. Might not be idea extracting only 1 cactus though, considering possible loss of product during the process.