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Is there a way to store optunia cactus pads? I mean it's not something easily obtainable where I live so if I buy some online is there a way I could store them?
Optunia cactus pads
- Thread starter DanaLachney
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Keep them nice and dry! The best way I've found is to just keep them outside. They will spoil in the fridge and they will preserve in the freezer but as soon as you take them out and they dethaw they will be bad. Keep them outside in dry conditions. I hope this helps!
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Arizona Sulcata said:
So they won't dry out? That's weird
the best way to preserve them is to plant them!!!!!!
you can plant them in a nice sized pot that gets sunlight, once they develop roots and start growing, you can feed the nice young tender pads to your torts!!!
they're supposedly EASY to care for, I am just now trying my hand at getting some started!
you can plant them in a nice sized pot that gets sunlight, once they develop roots and start growing, you can feed the nice young tender pads to your torts!!!
they're supposedly EASY to care for, I am just now trying my hand at getting some started!
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IkeLightner said:
Oh *slaps forehead* DUH! lol. Well I live in Louisiana will they grow ok here?
No they take months to dry out. The whole reason a cactus is a cactus is because its job is to hold in moisture in dry conditions. They are pros at it.
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Arizona Sulcata said:
Lol
DanaLachney said:
DanaLachney said:
That's not weird. Thats cactus.
To plant them just stick 1/3 to 1/2 half of a pad in the dry ground, and don't water it for at least one month. Soon you'll have more than you know what to do with. Pots work just fine too.
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Tom said:That's not weird. Thats cactus.
To plant them just stick 1/3 to 1/2 half of a pad in the dry ground, and don't water it for at least one month. Soon you'll have more than you know what to do with. Pots work just fine too.
Nice
To elaborate: They really are a great food. High in calcium, fiber and moisture. Really easy to grow. There are several varieties. I have around a half dozen types and about 30 stands. (Is that the right botanical term? A stand of cactus?) I use it a lot through our dry summers after all the weeds have wilted and withered away. Its so easy to just hack off a pad, give it a rub and a rinse and chuck it into the pen as you walk by. Its great for those days when you've run out of other stuff to feed or you are in too much of a hurry to go hunt and pick grass and weeds. I use bigger more mature pads for my adults and smaller, thinner, more tender pads for babies and juveniles. I feed whole pads to all my sizes from hatchling to adult. I find they can get chunks out easier if they can bite and pull against the weight of the pad. Plus it get pretty slimey when you chop it up.
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