The cacti and my other cacti in the picture are fresh shoots and have reached a height of 35 cm after 6 months. The cacti were quite thick. For example, I grew the cactus in the picture for 6 months, cut it when it was 35 cm, kept it in the dark for 6 months and then consumed it. However, the mescaline content and effects were very low.

You did the right thing in keeping them in the dark before consuming. It might be that particular cact has low content, there´s plenty of genetic diversity, some have practically no actives.

You could potentially compare different cact for mescaline content using TLC so you know which one has more mesc content and then propagate those genes, and consume. You can harmlessly take a small sample from each specimen, using for example a biopsy skin punch like they do in this publication or something simpler.

There might be other ways to increase mescaline content, I seem to remember that too much fertilizing was not good but can´t recall the source. Either way I think genetics is probably the most important component.

Good luck!

I've tried other genetics, they're all the same.

Jingamin I can't see from your pic but are they growing in pots or the ground? I have only really tried my older plants quite recently (extraction not tea) and the best results definitely come from the older plants. Some of the younger ones (broke off on their own or as a result of some other cause) definitely have quite a lot less alk content, sometimes <0.3% dried weight (CIELO), even though they are relatively thick and grow in the same conditions/soil and are the same clones for the most part. This is definitely true with my Pedros. My Bridgesii's seem to be more active overall even when relatively young. But most of all the weakest are ones taken from pot only growth (just had too many at one point!) and were all less than 0.3% yield (dry weight) and minimal effect in tea.

Thank you very much for your reply. This was the answer I was looking for.

I had some decently strong specimens which were felled by frost when they were at least three years old, but grown from cuttings so the original rootstock would have been at least ten years old if not more. I have a suspicion that some exposure to cold may help to increase alkaloid content in some Trich species but controlled experiments would need to be done to test that fledgling hypothesis.

It would be nice if friends who tried it could share their ideas here.

As to "when" I wish to know if anyone has any opinion/evidence about time of year and time of day? I have read some talk about stressing the plants before cutting. I have a couple that are getting quite tall and I overwinter them inside. They are about 5years old. I will keep searching for the info but if anyone has direct experience i am all ears.

I've been testing differences in pulls between season and winter seems to be consistently better for higher mescaline content all round. I too thought it might be cold related DFZ (and it still may be). However, it fits the evidence of lack of light. We know from previous nexus tests that if kept in the dark for (was it min 3 months?) content can double. Therefore, I surmise that it is more likely a light issue as winter has much shorter days (this can change a lot depending on where you live).


I also tested a friends pedro which pulled the highest mescaline content I've seen yet. It was harvested in winter but he had been pissing on the thing daily.

It still isn't big enough retest without piss (maybe next year will determine if it just has good genetics or it was the help of 'piss fertilizer' ). It does seem to help them pup though.

The 'piss fertilizer' did eventually cause the pedro to split in half vertically from tip down. Which was weird, likely too hydrated, my theory was it was the sodium from the urine, generally with cells wherever sodium goes H20 follows.

Thank you for sharing your experiences, they are very valuable

Not very scientific, but I've harvested my cacti in both summer and winter with great results.

Urine doesn't sound like a good idea. Cacti like low nitrogen fertilizers.

There's been much talk about it on SAB and many members have reported that they can handle more nitrogen than most people think. Many SAB members have witnessed good growth and pupping and I too can contest to that. But there's nothing scientifically to back this. Some SAB members have also discussed that although it helps with pupping etc it leaves it open to infection. As the plant spends more time on growth than building its immune defenses.

Urine tends to be 11 parts nitrogen to 1 part phosphorus to 2.5 parts. So it is quite high in nitrogen. Although maybe not the best advice I have feed my collection straight piss many times with no issues.

When are you harvesting? When the fresh shoot grows for 1 year? As soon as it is between 35-50 cm, you cut it and use it?

I personally would advice to be patient. Not even for the sake of having abundant, big cacti, but for patience itself is one of the main teaching of the cactus!

35-50cm is meaningless without fatness. I think it is more relevant to speak of total fresh weight.

People suggesting harvesting in winter, but isn't it a bit risky for the cactus to heal in winter conditions?!

I cooked with winter cactus (fallen in storms) , spring or summer; aged or not. I got huge variation (up to 50% difference), and they are all from one single clone. But i fail to see a pattern. More data needed.

Another topic showed data that the tips are stronger than the down parts. That's also another parameter that could create bias in experiments...

It is common belief that older plants or cuttings should be used. I don't think that it's scientifically confirmed so far, but still I prefer to consume cuttings older than 3 years.

Regarding increased strenght, maybe it would be worth to look into aminoacids in fertilizer. Mescaline is biosyntetized from tyrosine or phenylalanine, so such treatment could help to produce more alkaloid.

thanks bro