MAGGI!!!!!

[Kristl Walek]

I promised some of the non-yellow Opuntia....so here's a few from my garden.

I have neglected to say that my Opuntia area is a pile of coarse sand, literally---and that is where the plants grow and thrive. No soil whatsoever.

[Anthony Darby]

These grow in your garden, zone 4, Ontario, Canada Kristl? I have a peanut cactus on my open porch. I wonder if I could grow Canadian Opuntias there too?

[Carlo]

That pile of coarse sand makes a HUGE difference...

[ChrisB]

Here ( I hope) is a link to the recipe for braised venison with chocolate sauce:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/database/braisedvenisonwithab_3263.shtml
If I haven't done this correctly, please someone tell me how I do it.  thanks

[Anthony Darby]

That looks yummie!

Kristl, would it be possible to beg, borrow or steal a couple of Opuntia pads to try in our desert area in the school's eco garden? My school has one and my wife is charge of the eco-schools initiative in her school too. May have to keep them sheltered during the winter?

[Kristl Walek]

Tony/Anthony,

I would be most happy to contribute pads---my only real issue is the prohibitive costs associated with shipping boxes to Europe from Canada, but we could discuss that------not sure why you think you need to shelter them in the winter though (wet?)

Send me an address, and we can discuss the rest. I would be shipping them mid summer (they do not even cover out of dormancy until late May/early June and I usually like to wait for a while before I do cuttings.

When they arrive at your end, the pads may have already rooted in the shipping box (they do it on their own, without human help), and if not, you just stick the "wound" end of the cutting in the ground (a sand pile is preferred), and they will be raring to go in short order.

[gote]

Another thing on my wish list - fantastic plants!
I must start a sand pile garden - I have been thinking about it for some time but a load of suitable sand costs me about 150 quid (Sterling) so I have been pushing it into the future the last two years or so.
Göte