Can I harvest them this winter?

[tryptonaut]

My San Pedros (actually the smaller one is a Peruvian Torch) have grown pretty well and I would like to harvest them before winter (where they don't grow much anyways)

What do you think? They've been growing on my windowbench with cactus soil and good fertilizer. Will both together be a good dose?

 

[Ilian]

im not sure, but i think it grows in summer and produces mescaline in the winter.. so from that view you'd be better off harvesting in the beginning of the summer.

But i just read that somewhere.. and i cant remember where so it might be totally wrong :x

i dont really know about the dose..

 

[tryptonaut]

Do you see the thin part on the right one? That was what happened when I watered it every few days last winter. It didn't get enough sun and grew thin. But you're right, I also heard that when they have a little stress or grow thin they produce more mescalin.

The left one has only been growing throughout this year (got it as a little 8-10cm cutting in January or so). I can hardly believe it grew that fast...

 

[DevXavier]

BombSki, you're right. They grow larger in summer and produce mescaline in winter.

In winter, you shouldn't give them any water at all. They want to protect themselves from thursty desert rats and produce mescaline.

 

[tryptonaut]

In winter, you shouldn't give them any water at all. They want to protect themselves from thursty desert rats and produce mescaline.

Sounds very plausible. Should they be cool in winter as well? I keep them inside which would be ~22°C almost all day long, a few degrees less at night. Is that too hot?

 

[DevXavier]

Remember they live in deserts, which at night, can have temperatures like 5 degrees celcius. The cactus will survive this easily.

I don't know how mescaline production relates to temperature though. Would be quite interesting to know.

 

[Brewmaster]

Let me clear this up.

Those are both san pedro. I'm sorry if you got ripped off. Peruvian torch cactus have much longer spines and are more of a blue color.

You can harvest those in the winter and there will be plenty of mescaline in them. The same as in the summer. But those babies are small. Both of those together probably weigh a pound and a half. You need at least a pound to feel anything from a san pedro. Those two are barely enough for 2 people to feel a slight tripping sensation.

My suggestion is to wait until spring when you can cut the tip off of both and plant those to produce more cacti and the stumps will grow even more. Then you keep the middle for yourself. The cactus produce mescaline all year long. Dont water them in the winter because they're not growing and you can rot the roots. They will be better off indoors for the winter.

 

[Brewmaster]

http://www.erowid.org/plants/show_image ... ianus6.jpg

Here's a torch, notice the golden color of the spines. There's usually more spines coming from each node and they're much longer as well.

But yes, both of those together would be a very good dose. Just make sure that when you cut them you do it at a 45 degree angle. This is so that when they sit outside, water does not pool up on top of them when it rains. If you cut them straight and flat then water will sit on top of them and cause them to rot.

 

[Brewmaster]

Remember they live in deserts, which at night, can have temperatures like 5 degrees celcius. The cactus will survive this easily.

I don't know how mescaline production relates to temperature though. Would be quite interesting to know.

Trichocereus pachanoi and peruvianus are native to Peru ( duh ) which is quite close to the equator, so it does not get very cold. Freezing temperatures will either kill your cactus or give it frost bite. Frost bite usually kills the tip of the cactus so you have to cut it off.

Some people believe that abusing a cactus before harvesting increases mescaline content. Here's what I do. After harvesting, freeze the chunk you are going to use. Then thaw it out. Then freeze it. I normally repeat this 3 times. I don't bother peeling the skin off to make Pedro-snot-tea but if you're going to eat it raw then freezing and thawing makes the skin peel off real easy.