Dear Vigilant Watchman:

Today we were in the store to get bananas and my daughter spotted spineless
prickly pear/nopales.  We purchased four of them.  When I got home I did
some reading about them.  They are fascinating. Animals from elephants to
sheep can live off of them exclusively in a drought.  All the water and
nutrients they need are in there.  They are used as part of animal diets
but when they eat more than 50% prickly pear they get diarhea, which one
does not need in drought.  The mucilage is used as a mosquito repellant
and if placed on water it will kill mosquito larvae for a year.  My
cistern problem needn't be a problem...There are more benefits (see the
link below).

I took two of the pads, soaked the crusted over "healed" portion in
alcohol (to kill pathogens and stimulate growth--the garlic instructions
had me do that with garlic) and then I placed them one inch deep in a
50/50 soil/sand mixture.  I did not water--they will live off of
themselves and begin to root.  In a month they should have rooted. I can
then water them and let the water dry up before watering again.  Some eat
it raw in salads.  I tasted it raw and it does taste like a green bean.  I
have not cooked it yet, but it is enough to know it has water and that it
is food--and it is prolific.  Once can get 6 harvests with 20-40 1/2 pound
pads AT EACH HARVEST.  If one primarily wants the fruit, do not add
nitrogen.  If one wants the pads, focus on the nitrogen.

The link
http://www.sfc.ucdavis.edu/pubs/brochures/pricklypear.html

A simple way to prepare it
http://www.recipezaar.com/library/nopale-548

A little about its nutritional value
http://www.azcentral.com/health/diet/articles/0531prickly0531.html

Mephibosheth