Hi! I few years ago I started growing my first cactus by rooting a cutting of Bridgesii. Not being very knowledgeable and being a slow learner I'm afraid I've not done a good job of caring for it. I'm learning more and I'm trying to turn it around though. I was hoping to get some advice about how I might proceed with it. I was thinking of cutting the taller of the two stalks, leaving the shorter which does not appear to be in such bad shape, and processing the cutting for consumption. Can a cactus with armoured scale and whatever all black stuff is be used for consumption? I assume the scale can be removed but I'm not sure what the implications of the black spots are. Will a cactus that's struggled this much produce much in the way of alkaloids? Thank you! iamdave attached the following image(s):  tb-1.jpg (1,568kb) downloaded 91 time(s). tb-3.jpg (1,342kb) downloaded 91 time(s). tb-2.jpg (939kb) downloaded 91 time(s).It seems to me immensely unlikely that mind is a mere by-product of matter. For if my mental processes are determined wholly by the motions of atoms in my brain I have no reason to suppose that my beliefs are true. They may be sound chemically, but that does not make them sound logically. And hence I have no reason for supposing my brain to be composed of atoms.
--JBS Haldane
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Looks a bit mouldy. That black mould is pretty yucky. Purify any alkaloid extract with utmost meticulousness! “There is a way of manipulating matter and energy so as to produce what modern scientists call 'a field of force'. The field acts on the observer and puts him in a privileged position vis-à-vis the universe. From this position he has access to the realities which are ordinarily hidden from us by time and space, matter and energy. This is what we call the Great Work." ― Jacques Bergier, quoting Fulcanelli
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My understanding is that stress provokes the cactus into producing more alkaloids as a defense mechanism. Yours looks stressed. You'll just have to try it and see. 
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Hey,
It looks like you have plenty of land to work with judging by the picture... What hardiness zone are you in? My reason for asking is because my main advice is to grow more! Get some seeds and start growing a bunch.... There's always bound to be things that go wrong with atleast a few of them but that's ok if you have a bunch.
There have been speculations that stress may cause cacti to produce more mescaline but they have never been backed by any actual evidence . As far as the mold is concerned you are going to want to cut the mold out of anything you consume or extract.... Cut out any black mold and throw it out. Bridgessii in particular are more prone to black mold than other cacti so don't worry about it to much ; I've yet to see a birdgessii that hasn't had at least a tiny bit of black mold on it. This is due to too much water or humidity and doesn't happen with other cacti nearly as much...
I personally wouldn't consume it as there is too much black rot and it would be a huge pain to cut it all out.. What I would do is take a cutting from it and grow it out more... That way you don't have any (or much) mold...
Also grow more!
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Eating cactus raw or in a tea is my preferred way but I had some pachanoi get what a commercial cactus grower called 'stink bug fungus'. An extraction yielded some beautiful crystals that lead to beautiful experiences.
*note I did not use any black or brown flesh
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spractral wrote:Hey,
It looks like you have plenty of land to work with judging by the picture... What hardiness zone are you in? My reason for asking is because my main advice is to grow more! Get some seeds and start growing a bunch.... There's always bound to be things that go wrong with atleast a few of them but that's ok if you have a bunch.
There have been speculations that stress may cause cacti to produce more mescaline but they have never been backed by any actual evidence . As far as the mold is concerned you are going to want to cut the mold out of anything you consume or extract.... Cut out any black mold and throw it out. Bridgessii in particular are more prone to black mold than other cacti so don't worry about it to much ; I've yet to see a birdgessii that hasn't had at least a tiny bit of black mold on it. This is due to too much water or humidity and doesn't happen with other cacti nearly as much...
I personally wouldn't consume it as there is too much black rot and it would be a huge pain to cut it all out.. What I would do is take a cutting from it and grow it out more... That way you don't have any (or much) mold...
Also grow more! I'm in zone 7a. High humidity and regular rain in the summer and freezing temps are not uncommon in the winter. So I think I need to be able to bring any cacti I grow inside, which limits the size of my pots. Are there are any particular species that you recommend for a situation like mine? Thank you all for the input! It seems to me immensely unlikely that mind is a mere by-product of matter. For if my mental processes are determined wholly by the motions of atoms in my brain I have no reason to suppose that my beliefs are true. They may be sound chemically, but that does not make them sound logically. And hence I have no reason for supposing my brain to be composed of atoms.
--JBS Haldane
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My last extraction there was some black mold on the Bridgesii but it didn't seem to hurt anything. I've never brewed tea with moldy cactus and probably wouldn't. The general consensus is that stressing a cactus will increase alkaloid production, and it makes good sense although I've never seen it definitively proven. I'm in Zone 7a. The key is as much sunlight as possible during the growing Season, assuming they have good root development and you don't give them full sun til they are completely out of dormancy (or they'll burn). For overwintering I put them under lights the first year, but by the next year I had too many for that to be feasible so I put them in the back room and blocked the heating vent which kept the temperature around the 50F range. By the next year I had too many to keep indoors and I bought a greenhouse tent for the backyard and ran a 10 gauge extension cord out to an electric oil type space heater in the tent which kept it above 40F. It worked great. I left them in the tent from mid/late December til the end of February. My flesh moves, like liquid. My mind is cut loose.
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Wolfnippletip wrote:My last extraction there was some black mold on the Bridgesii but it didn't seem to hurt anything. I've never brewed tea with moldy cactus and probably wouldn't. The general consensus is that stressing a cactus will increase alkaloid production, and it makes good sense although I've never seen it definitively proven.
I'm in Zone 7a. The key is as much sunlight as possible during the growing Season, assuming they have good root development and you don't give them full sun til they are completely out of dormancy (or they'll burn). For overwintering I put them under lights the first year, but by the next year I had too many for that to be feasible so I put them in the back room and blocked the heating vent which kept the temperature around the 50F range. By the next year I had too many to keep indoors and I bought a greenhouse tent for the backyard and ran a 10 gauge extension cord out to an electric oil type space heater in the tent which kept it above 40F. It worked great. I left them in the tent from mid/late December til the end of February. It's good to know it can be done successfully in this zone. Do you take any measures to keep the soil dry? I was thinking of covering it with some plastic. I took the cutting today: 33". My plan is to cut it into 1" slices, dry them in a food dehydrator and then powder them in a blender. Any recommendations on extraction teks? There's so many and so much information it sometimes makes my head spin. I've been looking at these three: https://wiki.dmt-nexus.m...ene_Mescaline_Extractionhttps://www.dmt-nexus.me...aspx?g=posts&t=67861https://www.dmt-nexus.me...&m=885252#post885252I've never done an extraction outside of organic lab in college nearly 20 years ago so I'm trying to balance ease and efficiency. It seems to me that 69ron's tek best strikes this balance but it's hard for me to judge. Would love any input on the matter. It seems to me immensely unlikely that mind is a mere by-product of matter. For if my mental processes are determined wholly by the motions of atoms in my brain I have no reason to suppose that my beliefs are true. They may be sound chemically, but that does not make them sound logically. And hence I have no reason for supposing my brain to be composed of atoms.
--JBS Haldane
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