Peyote news!

Turning into little cacti.

 April 1, 2011 I've sown these little green, spineless cacti. The Peyote is known by different names: Cactus Pudding, Devil's Root, Diabolic Root, Dry Whiskey, Dumpling Cactus, Indian Dope, Mescal, Mescal Button, Turnip Cactus, Whiskey Cactus, White Mule and then I didn't even mention all the names primary given to this plant by the native tribes of northern Mexico and the southern part of the USA. The Latin name is Lophophora williamsii and if you would like to read some more, I recommend THIS book. If you're too busy, lazy or not THAT interested, you can also check out Wikipedia.

I've already been writing a lot about this plant, about my experience during the sowing process and after. In 2010, I've bought myself a Peyote-growkit from Azarius. It all started well, but as you can read in my earlier articles (starting here), you can see that it ended up in a big mess (something to do with not much sun, a vacuum-cleaner and my lovely wife. Don't worry! I'm a nice husband and care more about the people I love than the.... cacti I love. Ahh... I miss them! Nah! It's al right!)

But this time it's about the ones I've sown last year. It went a little better, but I'm still not 100% satisfied, because too many have died. I've used this soil:

• 50% cocopeat
• 30% perlite
• 20% fine gravel

And this time, I've used a bottom-heater.

All worked out very well, but when they were about 8 months, some started to rot. Now I think this is because of the soil. I've had better results in another container, using another ingredient next to the ones I've named above: Seramis, in other parts of the world known as turface. I guess the turface keeps it all moist enough, but not too much.

I've sown L. williamsii from 3 regions. The 'normal' one, one from La Popa, Nuevo Leon and one from Nuevo Yucatan. When they're full-grown, they should have different appearances. We'll check it out... 10 years later! 

To check out the progress from seed till what they are now, just CLICK HERE and you'll go to their Picasa-webalbum. You can also check out some earlier articles I've written about them.

A happy family! (photo: 28-6-2012)

They finally look like Peyotes, growing a bit flatter and slowly getting their green/blue/grey colour, which makes them attractive in my opinion. Right now I'm giving more attention to the PH of the water that I'm giving them. some months ago, I've read an article about Peyote grown in Europe. The main thing was that Peyote grown in Europe has less mescaline. Then I started to think... In their natural habitat, they grow in a very poor soil. So if I'm already growing them in a poor soil (which I am), that shouldn't be the problem. Maybe it's the sun? But what about the ones growing in hidden places, where there's actually some shadow... Hmm.... Could it be the water? Likely! And to be more precisely: could it be the acidity of the water? Not sure, but it might be worth to take care that the water has a good PH. Our water (I'm not talking about rainwater) has a PH of 8+. Cacti are more happy with 5.5/6 (I've read somewhere, I didn't ask them myself!). So since some weeks I'm giving them water with a PH of 6 and they're actually changing their colour! Even my larger Peyote has a different colour right now! No idea if this will result in more mescaline, but my goal is to grow them as natural as possible.

Lophophora williamsii, the normal peyote.

Lophophora williamsii, La Popa, Nuevo Leon.

Lophophora williamsii, Nuevo Yucatan.

These photos are taken at June 28, this year (today!). They seem happy and so am I!

This year, I've sown L. williamsii v caespitosa, La Perdida, a more sprouting variety that almost always starts to have offshoots at an early age. (more about their story at another page of this Blog)

Before I'll quit writing(see ya next time!), last but not least:

My own little piece of Durotar in the living room!