hello guys sorry I was out for the weekend , went to six flags, Patty a Nopal is the name of the plant in Spanish, The best part to eat is the young part of it, since the older part develops sort of a leadery skin and veins, you can eat the older ones but you have to completley peel nad remove the veins and obcourse the fruit,. you can cut them like french fries, squares, even if you're doin a BBQ, you can put a really tender one on the grill cook it. there are a lot of kinds, there are some bigger rounder, shorther long, spines , no spines some grow all year you can have [production year round weather permiting, some people juice them the taste gets some getting used to, but a lot people eat them because they are very good for you , people with diabetes specialy procure them, they even sell them in capsules. to clean you just put them in a table with a very sharp knife knock the spines off and youre set.

Ramon

something like this , I just run out and got a nopal to show you

Ramon, what do you think of this pruning method? Willing to give it a try?

I will try it this year that will make it easier to get to the fruit and balance the plant better, I have never given it any special atention aside from the ocacional watering. I'm trying to post some pict I can't is it a general problem or is is just me??

Looks like you got the image tags figured out, Ramon, or whatever the problem had been.

Ariel also uses brushes to remove the spines and gluchides (thorns on fruits) to make it easier and safer to harvest the fruit. He uses various kinds of brushes, including those that are made for cleaning ceiling fans. Ariel also mentions that spines and thorns do not come off of the plant or fruit as easily during the cool morning or night hours.

Ramon, what color is the flesh of the fruit of your prickly pear cactus? Do you have more than one cultivar or type?

The fruit color is red , very sweet, and yes you do need to brush the fruit, I brush the fruit then cut the ends off then a straight line down the middle just the skin and the pull apart the skin and expose the inside then I cool the fruit and eat it nice and cold,
I only have one cultivar.

Ramon

The only one I have now has orange-fleshed fruit but I have been told where to find a red one and will go there soon.

To clarify, Ariel brushes the fruit before harvest so that most gluchides are removed. Because he is growing prickly pear commercially, he also has an motorized set or rollers with brushes to remove the remainder after the fruit are harvested.

Ramon, thank you for nice pics! That is more like what I have.
How long does it take fruits to ripen? Wish I could see a pic of the fruit.

Patty sorry I have not timed the fruit I don really give it much atention the plant as been arround for who knows 15-20 yrs, this is a recen pict from a couple days ago you can see the young fruit, on the left you can see a couple fruit from last year, lol as you can see I don't give ir much care have not knock the old fruit down.

Ramon

Patty, the fruit on the cactus plants I obtained material from for my own recent planting are much larger and older (and neglected) than Ramon's but has fruit in about the same stage and the owner tells me that they normally ripen in November or December. This is in the northern San Joaquin Valley (central California) where summer days are hot. Ariel says his were flowering about the same time but ripen in August, but there weather is even hotter.

Thank you Harvey & Ramon.
Ramon, your pics are great! Thank you. I have mine growing inground outside here in zone 5 & they are surviving. I guess I won't ever see flowers because of our short summer. There are many babies growing off plant now so next winter I will mulch it up real good. I did clip off one half of one baby to see what happens. Some of the ones from last year got rotton on tips, or slugs ate them (?) so I cut them. I will have to eat one end of summer.
Isn't it amazing that they grow here inground all year - surviving our winters?

Ramon-Tj & Harvey. Is there a special way to prepare the fruit ? I have tried them in the past a the taste was awful... We have many here with both yellow & red flowers, but both had a bad taste...

You better wait for a reply from Ramon on this one; I'm new to trying to grow them and the only one I have a memory of eating was one eaten last month that was very much over-ripe and bland. It was an orange variety that was almost red. I am going to try to get some cuttings of a red one soon.

P.S. - Hope I am still on your miracle fruit waiting list from our PMs a while back.

Harvey I will send you some fresh seed as soon as I have fruit.

Laaz, do you have a picture of the plant, there is no preparing aside from just cleaning and pealing the fruit I prefer to chill the fruit, you just have to wait till the fruit is ripe, if its a red fruit wait until completley red don't let the fruit over -ripe and I imagine diferent varieties are more for eating than others. they wont kill you but the taste is just not there

Ramon