I am a cactus farmer

[Satya]

I bought this prickly pear with only 2 pads on it about 4 years ago.  Now I have to plant pads everywhere as the thing has grown out of control.  I line my property with new little cacti, kind of a natural fence.  I really should peel and eat this stuff.  Anyone peel and eat it raw?

I just ate some peeled fruit.  Not sweet and not bad!

[TylerDurden]

I've eaten them before, but can't recall the taste.

My garden in Northern Italy has such prickly pears but they generally don't ripen properly. It can't be lack of water, as they're cacti, but I suppose the climate is too cold.

[William]

I remember those from my winters in West Texas. Always thought that only a pervert would plant them on purpose.
Those tiny blond stickers that must be pulled out of the skin with pliers is what puts me off.

Makes me think of the fiend who imported poison ivy into England as an ornamental plant!

No accounting for taste. 

[TylerDurden]

I remember those from my winters in West Texas. Always thought that only a pervert would plant them on purpose.
Those tiny blond stickers that must be pulled out of the skin with pliers is what puts me off.

Makes me think of the fiend who imported poison ivy into England as an ornamental plant!

No accounting for taste. 

They're my uncle's idea, he never was much of a gardener, though.

[boxcarguy07]

I've eaten cactus before, but not THAT kind 

[stevesurv]

Never tried cactus fruit before. I'm interested in it though. I think that would be cool to have a cactus plant!

[Satya]

I've eaten them before, but can't recall the taste.

My garden in Northern Italy has such prickly pears but they generally don't ripen properly. It can't be lack of water, as they're cacti, but I suppose the climate is too cold.

It gets cold here too.  We are growing zone 7, which gets down to about 5 degrees F in a cold winter.  But it gets very hot in summer too.

[Satya]

I remember those from my winters in West Texas. Always thought that only a pervert would plant them on purpose.
Those tiny blond stickers that must be pulled out of the skin with pliers is what puts me off.

My son wanted the cactus.  Driving it home, he noticed a black widow spider on it.  We pulled over and released the arachnid out of the car.  And it has just taken off ever since we planted it.

But you don't like the natural fence idea?  Growing some plants is a tough business in TX.  I have fruit trees and such, but other things are hit and miss.  These cacti just love it here.  So I keep going with what works.  And that way, later on when I get sheep, they will be penned in all round by cactus.  I don't think sheep will eat them.  Goats will eat anything, though.  There's a goat farm down the road.  I should ask.

[xylothrill]

Those grow here too. I've had the pads and the fruit. I thought I'd gotten all the thorns off but my mouth told me otherwise. It's very difficult to get them all off. The fruit was wild-picked but the pads came in a jar, sort of pickled.

[Sully]

I had them. the food coop I go to has them planted outside. I didn't clear off the pricklers and got some on my hand and throat. i like it. I read that native Americans used a stick to pick it and rubbed it in the sand to get the prickers off.

[TruthHunter]

I bought this prickly pear with only 2 pads on it about 4 years ago.  Now I have to plant pads everywhere as the thing has grown out of control.  I line my property with new little cacti, kind of a natural fence.  I really should peel and eat this stuff.  Anyone peel and eat it raw?

I just ate some peeled fruit.  Not sweet and not bad!

When I was in Morocco, they had a lot of the cactus fruit in the market during the summer. The plants looked about the same.  They picked it before it turned red as it was over ripe at that point. They would wash/scrub off the spines, then cut them open and eat the insides, throwing away the skins. It was a quite edible cheap fruit.
Here in Florida they have a cactus that is pretty much spineless. The pads/leaves are eaten  pickled or even cut up in salads.  It has a rather tart taste for a vegetable.  The Spanish speakers call it Tuna.

TruthHunter