Subtopic	Posts		Updated
	Peyote Grafting	1		06/11 08:17pm

By Nanook (Nanook) on Friday, May 04, 2001 - 05:11 am: Edit

This is a graft of a Peyote button to the top of a San Pedro rootstock.

Notice, despite the tiny size of this graft, it is already budding. This photo was taken indoors in early spring when my cacti were waiting to go out. Since they have been out in direct sun with water and fertilizer... This graft has nearly trippled in size and now sports two more buttons budding off of it. This method will force a tiny, tiny little button to flowering maturity in about four months. "Grandfather" buttons take a season... I run about 25 8" clay pots... Never a shortage of cactus 'round here

Nanook

By Nanook (Nanook) on Friday, May 04, 2001 - 05:14 am: Edit

Sorry, I'm still getting the hang of this...

By Nanook (Nanook) on Friday, May 04, 2001 - 05:25 am: Edit

Mid-February. My cactus winter dormant in a corner of the kitchen.

By Nanook (Nanook) on Friday, May 04, 2001 - 05:32 am: Edit

Oh, I forgot! In the last picture with all my columns, you can see a row of grafted plants against the white wall. They look like little missles.

This button was originally gathered in the wild in 1978, when it was perhaps between 5-8 years old.

By Ashenms (Ashenms) on Friday, May 04, 2001 - 06:56 am: Edit

dosent take years fer them to grow. I been wanting to grow a cactus of my own just havent found ne where to get them

By Buck (Buck) on Friday, May 04, 2001 - 10:54 am: Edit

ashenms
if your in canada then go to www.torontohemp.com
click on products then scroll down and click on Miscellaneous
you will see this in the Miscellaneous page
- 9 month old Peyote cactus - (6 for $134.95, 12 for $249.95) 24.95


the cactus are now about 10 - 11 months old

if you arent in canada it is possible that they can still send to you but im not sure on the laws regarding export of peyote.

By Hippie3 (Hippie3) on Friday, May 04, 2001 - 11:19 am: Edit

beautiful.
i cannot seem to grow cactii, i've killed several san pedros tring.

By Rhizomorph (Rhizomorph) on Friday, May 04, 2001 - 04:04 pm: Edit

what's the percentage of Mesculine in the San Pedro cacti as compared to peyote cactis. in the US it is legal to own and grow the San Pedro but not the peyote. BTW great pictures Nanook!!

By Nanook (Nanook) on Friday, May 04, 2001 - 06:13 pm: Edit

> what's the percentage of Mesculine in the San
> Pedro cacti as compared to Peyote?

You know in my experience (extensive experience?) you are asking a question that simply has no good answer. I have eaten San Pedro that was far more potent than Peyote (I know, it's contrary to generally accepted beliefs). Potency varies widely from location to location in the wild, and from plant to plant within a local genome.

On the other hand I have eaten Peyote that was so strong that consuming two or three small buttons (a buzz) ended up being an impressive experience... Factors that influence potency in cacti: genetics, moisture content of the plant (which varies widely depending upon rainfall and/or watering), soil type and composition (read available nutrients), and the amount of light the cacti receive.

And Hippie, thanks for the complement. I used to say the same things about shrooms until I got here... Now I am thinking there may be hope for me yet on this front. As for killing your San Pedro Hippie... You cannot plant cactus in pots full of Verm & milled brown rice

I should think that if you wanted to give it another try I can list some key points that lead to success.

Nanook

P.S. My partner was by earlier and wants to come back with his camera equip. tomorrow, so I should have some more images to upload soon.

By Fungusflipper (Fungusflipper) on Saturday, May 05, 2001 - 12:47 am: Edit

NANOOK!

Post a "TEK" if you would about finer points of growing peyote and San Pedro, maybe even isolating mescaline if you know how, and all the other pertinent facts. I would DEFINATELY wanna check that out!

FF

By Lifeform (Lifeform) on Saturday, May 05, 2001 - 12:49 am: Edit

hi nanook,cool pics, can you tell me how to graft a peyote to a sanpedro and also when do they seed,or what triggers them to seed
thanks alot

By Mjshroomer (Mjshroomer) on Saturday, May 05, 2001 - 01:06 am: Edit

Hi Nanook, Mjshroomer here.

I sould like to suggexst to you something that has worked for me in the past with San PEdro during the cooler months.

Believe it or not, I found that my cactus' grew better when I placed them on high selves in my store and they were near the florescent lights and they grew a little bit faster and stronger.

ANyway, this is just an suggestion.

Great job on the success of your transplant. ANd all of the other cactus'' look really happy. You can view my peyote cactus plants at erowid.org as well as my San Pedro's/

Have a shroomy day,

mj

By Nanook (Nanook) on Saturday, May 05, 2001 - 01:23 am: Edit

Preparation of San Pedro Nanook Style:

I process my San Pedro prior to consumption, I have found the concentrated syrup much easier to down. Some may, if they wish, continue the process down to pure crystal mescaline via a fairly simple chemical extraction... But you have to start with the syrup.

San Pedro Syrup: Slice off the needles, then peel the skin off a couple of kilos of fresh cactus. Leave all of the green photosynthetic flesh. Slice as for cucumber salad, put in a pressure cooker, cover with _distilled_ water, bring to 15 lbs steam for 10 min. Decant the liquid, squeeze the pulp (I use a small grape press). Combine all liquid and set aside in a large container, return the pulp to the pressure cooker, cover with water... Repeat the process 3-4 times (three with a press, four times if you are squeezing by hand). Collect all the liquid and boil down to the consistancy of heavy cream. About 5 oz of concentrated syrup followed with a good chug of Ocean Spray Cran-Grape on an empty stomach... You are there...

Peyote because of it's very complex pharmacology should never be processed. It is best eaten fresh, dried is pretty OK... Boiling this cactus destroys some of the less robust synergistic compounds... And it makes a noticable difference in the experience.

Tip: process your San Pedro, all the way down to crystal if you want... Get a dose of mescaline in you... Then eat one or two buttons for a full blown Peyote experience while conserving this most precious and slow growing cactus.

Nanook

By Nanook (Nanook) on Saturday, May 05, 2001 - 01:48 am: Edit

Cactus growing tips:

I think the most important thing I have discovered about intense cactus cultivation is the pot chemistry and nutrient availability.

Cactus in general prefer to have a "sweet" or rather alkaline soil with a pH around 6.8 or a bit higher. When the pH is correct San Pedro, even Peyote, will feed heavily on Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Potassium. I keep the pots wet with a full outdoor strength liquid fertilizer solution (20-20-20 w/chelated trace elements) during the entire growing season.

The pot chemistry that results with all this water and fertilizer is that the pH plummets. Fertilizer may be present, but because the pH is too low, the primary nutrients are unavailable for uptake. The cactus grows pale, the potency suffers.

So I use _lots_ of lime. When potting or rooting new stalks, I mix up a rich soil of 30% bagged topsoil, 30% compost/manure, and 30% crushed limestone (provides a long term buffer for the pH), and about a cup of powdered lime. Pots go acid quickly, so I top dress with powdered limestone on top of everything else... Then I pour the fertilizer on, full sun, and watch em shoot for the stars with a dark blue/green color and a kick ass potency

Nanook

By Fungusflipper (Fungusflipper) on Saturday, May 05, 2001 - 02:09 am: Edit

I swear there is another cactus that is the MOST potent, I want to say San Gabriel. Maybe its from Peru or South America? Also small like the peyote cactus. Am I completely making this up in my memory or what?

FF

By Fungusflipper (Fungusflipper) on Saturday, May 05, 2001 - 02:16 am: Edit

Also, does anyone know where to get San Pedro in the US?

FF

By Nanook (Nanook) on Saturday, May 05, 2001 - 02:28 am: Edit

> can you tell me how to graft a peyote to a
> sanpedro and also when do they seed,or what
> triggers them to seed

Grafting is not a sterile process, but it needs to be damned close. The point of contact between the rootstock and the graft must be very, very, clean.

I take a healthy Pedro stalk, and a small healthy button. The button must not have any browned skin, pits, or damage on the graft point.

There are several methods of grafting cacti, I think I may have invented one of them... But the easist is called the "double pickle" method.

Clean, clean work area, boiled knives, tincture of iodine, a tall glass full of strong sanitizer (chlorine or iodine) and a big bag of large assorted rubberbands.

Wash and clean your button carefully under running water. If you are working with a whole Peyote plant, remove the button with a clean knife before washing. Replace the root in soil to regenerate. Once the button is clean, let it air dry on a clean plate.

Remove the growing point of the Pedro stalk with a clean sharp knife. Make a single flat cross cut. I work next to the sink, rinsing my knife in hot water after every cut then set it into the glass of sanitizer. Clean, clean...

Once the growing point on the Pedro is removed, trim off the spines around the top 3-4 inches of the stalk. Look at the photo.

On a decently fat Pedro stalk you should be able to carve the top of the stalk so you have a little flat surface at the very top all by itself and waiting to be mated to your button.

You need to make a sterile (or as close as possible) cut on the button. Use iodine to draw a ring around the widest part of the button, then use a sterile knife to slice once through the iodine ring. Do not remove the "pickle" slice you have created.

With a sterile knife, slice a pickle of tissue from the top of the Pedro stalk, also leaving the slice in place.

Line up your button to the top of the Pedro. Remove the pickle slices (which prevented air and bacteria from entering into the clean cuts), mate the two cacti together, and stretch some rubberbands lengthwise to hold the graft in place under pressure. Set upright under bright light.

It takes about a week for the graft to heal... Then remove the rubberbands, root the Pedro stalk.

Seeds come from flowers, flowers bloom spring to fall on healthy, mature Peyote buttons that are cultivated. The flowers do not appear to be self fertile, I cross pollinate with a Q-Tip which I keep stored with some dessicant in a glass vial in between blooms. A fertilized Peyote flower produces a fruit: tiny, pink, like a miniature chile pepper. Once dried it can be plucked carefully with a tweezers...

I am not doing much from seed any longer... Even my patience has it's limits...

Nanook

Hope that answers the basic questions...

By Nanook (Nanook) on Saturday, May 05, 2001 - 02:33 am: Edit

> Also, does anyone know where to get San Pedro
> in the US?

rarebotanicals.com had cuttings, New Mexico Cactus Research is where I got mine... But that was a million years ago

Nanook

By Clovershea (Clovershea) on Saturday, May 05, 2001 - 06:09 am: Edit

I read a biography about Jim Morrison years ago, and this thread reminded me about an event in the book. It seems Morrison had heard about a scientific study involving hallucinogens and spiders. Spiders given LSD wove geometric webs, while the webs of peyote induced spiders were patternless and random ( "insane" he surmised). He, of course, journeyed into the desert in search of buttons.


clovershea

By Atomichrist (Atomichrist) on Saturday, May 05, 2001 - 06:21 am: Edit

I know that there is a cactus similar to san pedro, called peruvian torch or peruvianis, that is usually more potent then san pedro.
Actually, I'm in the process of growing some pedro now...a friend gave me a nice big one in exchange for some cubies. Should be cool, i haven't had mescaline in a long time.

By Lifeform (Lifeform) on Saturday, May 05, 2001 - 01:34 pm: Edit

thanks alot nanook,im going to give it a try.
my peyote has never flowerd,do you think it might
be because they are indoors under lights?[ its a bit to cold to put them outside here and not enough day light ]
how can i get it to flower?
is it like herb in as much as you can cut the hours of day light to induce flowers?
thanks again

By Hippie3 (Hippie3) on Saturday, May 05, 2001 - 02:55 pm: Edit

nice thread, nice link, too.
one for the archives, eventually.

By Remora (Remora) on Saturday, May 05, 2001 - 10:34 pm: Edit

Does this type of cactus grow wild in Souther California?

By Mixtli (Mixtli) on Sunday, May 06, 2001 - 02:32 am: Edit

fungus flipper try www.peruvian-journey.com

They sell san pedro and peruvian tourch. The torch is said to be 5x as potent as san pedro, but we haven't had any luck with it. San pedro from them on the other hand...wow

mixtli

By Nanook (Nanook) on Sunday, May 06, 2001 - 08:38 am: Edit

Quoting Clovershea:

> It seems Morrison had heard about a
> scientific study involving hallucinogens
> and spiders. Spiders given LSD wove geometric
> webs, while the webs of peyote induced spiders
> were patternless and random ( "insane" he
> surmised).

It has been some years, and I cannot reference the spider study directly (help?)... But I have read the _original_ study cover to cover.

Flys were injected with a variety of drugs, then fed to spiders. The webs produced by spiders "under the influence" were photographed and published with the text.

It was caffeine, and I am positive about this despite the faults of memory over many years, that produced useless webs in spiders. "Patternless and random" web structures won't catch flies. As I recall, LSD and Mescaline both produced webs that were significantly altered from the standard pattern of the spider used in the experiment. But the altered webs had clear form and structure, they would trap flies. It was caffeine, and then amphetamines, that caused the web patterns to decay to the point it was not longer a geometric structure.

I could be wrong, but I doubt it. Can anybody provide documentation on this study to prove/disprove it?

Quoting Atomichrist:

> I know that there is a cactus similar to san
> pedro, called peruvian torch or peruvianis,
> that is usually more potent then san pedro.

May be more potent, may not be... That is not the question. It grows too slow. A typical stalk of "peruvianis" grows fatter than a San Pedro, but it only puts on a few inches of growth per season. By comparison, my San Pedro (grown north of the Mason/Dixon line) will grow 12 - 16 inches per season, per growing point, when grown outdoors during the summer. And Pedro buds out prolifically, while peruvianis rarely shows budding. I have both species (and a number of other "active" cacti) in my collection. San Pedro is the only cacti I personally deem suitable for "mass production". Good potency, with extremely rapid and robust growth rates when properly cultivated.

I could be wrong about peruvianis... But I do cultivate it (have for years), and I just don't see it as a suitable cultivar for most people. It could be 5 times as potent, but San Pedro grows more than 10 times faster... Which is the better deal?

Quoting Lifeform:

> how can i get it (Peyote)to flower?

How old are your buttons? Peyote will not flower until it is mature, and I don't care what people say about "dosent take years fer them to grow"... I grow them, and it takes years... sometimes many years, before a Peyote is mature enough to flower. They have to age, develop roots, and button mass, before they expend energy to flower. They take time...

Unless you graft. I will have current photos to post soon. I have a graft flowering right now... The button is about the size of my thumb... with a healthy flower. I tell you, grafting is the only way to go with cultivated Peyote.

Nanook

By Nanook (Nanook) on Sunday, May 06, 2001 - 09:37 am: Edit

Quoting Remora:

> Does this type of cactus grow wild in Southern
> California?

It is native to South America. That does not mean it is not growing "wild" in S. California today... But Pedro flowers require a pollinator (I think it is either a bat or a giant moth that pollinates San Pedro in it's native range).

Nanook

By Lifeform (Lifeform) on Sunday, May 06, 2001 - 01:58 pm: Edit

thanks nanook,i think you are right my peyote is only 3 years old,a bit to young to flower. i will try some grafting and see how it go's.

By Nanook (Nanook) on Monday, May 07, 2001 - 12:40 am: Edit

Chemical Extraction of Mescaline from San Pedro Syrup:

Set three liters of Pedro syrup in the fridge for a month or so and allow all cell fragments to settle out. Decant at least 2.5 liters of the clear syrup off into a gallon glass cider bottle. Slowly add 3-4 cans of Red Devil lye (be very careful!) to the bottle, shake to dissolve, then add about a liter of Xylene (paint thinner)to the extraction bottle. Shake well, let separate overnight, decant off the Xylene. If the emulsion is too thick and will not separate, add a little distilled water to the bottle to thin it.

I put my Xylene into a wide mouth one liter ground glass "precipitation" bottle (purchased just for the purpose), add about 5 drops of H2S04 (sulfuric acid, battery acid strength) and shake(or stir). Crude mescaline sulfate will precipitate out of the Xylene. Add acid until no more precip is obtained. Carefully decant the Xylene back into the syrup bottle leaving the precip behind.

I place the open precipitation bottle in a crock pot with an inch or two of hot water at the bottom and dry off the remaining xylene (well ventilated area or under a hood guys). Then dissolve the crude Mescaline sulfate in a few CCs of hot distilled water. Decant your mescaline solution into glass bottle for storage.

Repeat this extraction process until no more precipitation is obtained when adding H2SO4 to the xylene. The gallon extraction bottle can be worked for about a week before it is exhausted, and your bottle of crude mescaline sulfate solution should grow to a few ounces.

Add strong ammonia to the crude mescaline solution, drop by drop, stopping to check the pH with some test paper. Bring the mescaline solution to a pH of 7.

Add a tablespoon of activated charcoal to the mescaline solution, boil, decant and filter. You can rinse the charcoal with some distilled water with a wash bottle. I repeat the charcoal treatment 2-3 times, using fresh charcoal each time, to clean the solution up.

Boil the mescaline solution down to about 200 cc volume. Place the solution into a freezer. As the temperature drops the mescaline sulfate will precipitate out just above the freezing point. I use a buchner funnel with a venturi vacuum pump and a vacuum flask to separate the precip: place a filter paper in the funnel, dump the near frozen mescaline solution onto the paper with the vacuum turned on, once the water has passed through remove the paper and dry the mescaline sulfate under a heat lamp.

Boil the remaining solution down to 100 cc and repeat the process.

Yields around 7 grams of mescaline sulfate crystal.

This process requires a little savvy in chemistry. Ring stands, glass funnels, venturi pumps, buchner funnels... You really need some basic equipment. Write to ELEMENTAL SCIENTIFIC LLC, PO BOX 571, APPLETON WI 54912-0571 for these supplies. They also carry glass desiccators, Drierite, alcohol lamps, inoculating loops, etc., useful in mushroom cultivation.

Nanook

By Hippie3 (Hippie3) on Thursday, May 31, 2001 - 02:03 pm: Edit

The reason I insist on a syrup concentrate, and large batches, of cactus syrup is for standardization reasons. In my experience you have to have a standard of reference from which to judge strength and dosages. People ask me: is 2-1/2 foot of San Pedro sufficient to blow my mind?

It's a damned good question, you have no idea how many times I have asked it. Me myself, no big deal. Party of four in controlled conditions?

You want to know your dose and concentrations. You mentioned ODs in street drugs, I have administered OD's (I was there to control them and ease them through) by accident... The dose was fine for me... But I have nursed people who were seriously disorientated by one of my doses because I did not realize how hard my head is.

Water content in fresh cactus varies by as much as 70%. Cacti shrink and fatten depending on mositure levels. Stalks can grow 2 inches in diameter or 4 inches in diameter. Show me a point here to standarize. How can you measure a dose of Mescaline? How can you compare potency of various species/strain?

You can weigh out and eat a shitload of nasty bitter cactus (done it many times), there is no standard. The cells in the cactus fill and deplete with the available water. A well hydrated cactus is what, 50% less potent than a dehydrated one? Tell me, I _need_ to know. People want to know the grams of mescaline per kilo, or grams per foot, or grams per button.

The funny thing is, I have learned over many years to dose, compare, and enjoy cacti. San Pedro is your "bread & butter". I have raised them all from seed to maturity (letting you know my age guys), but mostly you will find good old Pedro fits the bill: it's a damned tough and relativily potent cactus.

Regardless of the species, mositure content, growing condtions... If the cacti is alive it maintains a homeostasis: too dry it withers, too moist it rots, if it is alive you can standarize it by boiling off the water.

A fat weak cacti, a potent skinny cacti, a button. If you extract them down through a series of boilings with distilled water, you can derive a syrup of constant viscosity. Pancake syrup viscosity, a light paint.

Viscosity can be measured exactly. I have not done so, I learned by eye... But this is the standard you must use. When the viscosity is the same, water content and cell matter porportions in the syrup are the same; regardless of the mositure content or potency of the source species.

Clean your Pedro or other column cactus of all wax coated skin. Slice it thin, boil and press the cell contents out with distilled water and a PC. Boil the solution down to consistancy of pancake syrup. I like mine a bit heavier, but not honey viscosity, it gets too hot if you make it too thick and Mescaline degrades at 350 degrees F.

Anybody make tongue candy? Mescaline is sugar. Under 350 F it is stable, boil it too hot and the syrup will carmelize and you lose.

Pancake syrup is what you want. I don't care if your stalks were 2 inches in diameter or 4 inches... Wet or dry, Pedro, Peruvians, or Peyote. The syrup is your standard.

Decent strength Pedro syrup runs about .1 grams Mescaline per ounce of syrup. Decent Peyote runs about .25 grams Mescaline per ounce of syrup...

Don't make syrup out of Peyote, you lose something (a lot). Make as much Pedro syrup as you can.

How much Pedro does it take to make a dose? Good question, I don't know. Boil your Pedro down to a standard syrup and my guess is you will get about 100 miligrams per ounce.

If you want to make a batch of syrup, best to grow your own cacti for a few years. Start with a couple of kilos, about 5 pounds of peeled sliced cactus. Boil it down and you will likely find you get about four nice doses: I figure close to 500 mg Mescaline Sulfate per dose, you do the math I am too tired... But it all works out: viscosity standarization (heavy cream, pancake syrup) generally yeilds about .1 grams Mescaline per ounce, or one of my doses with 5 oz. syrup.

If you choose to extract pure Mescaline from your syrup, figure a 15 - 20% loss (how good was your second semester organic chem lab?)

Look at the archives for more details on the boiling process... Remember guys, San Pedro is legal... All of my friends grow it.

Nanook

By Admin (Admin) on Sunday, June 03, 2001 - 02:23 pm: Edit

I make no claims about any of these companies except for the address at the bottom, I know them. Peruvian Journey appears to me to be overcharging for San Pedro, there is a desert landscaping company in the list below who sells San Pedro for about 1/2 of what the ethno-botanical folks are charging.

Peyote cactus and Peyote seeds are available from companies outside the US, I doubt if you would have much difficulty in getting Peyote seeds through customs. It's your call, Caveat Emptor!

http://www.clearwhitelight.org/hatter/sanpedro.htm

http://www.rarebotanicals.com/7.asp

http://www.stickysituation.com

http://www.ganja.co.uk/cat/cactus/

http://www.ethnobotanicals.com/PureLandCatalogTZ.html

http://www.ethnobotanix.ca/cactus.htm

http://www.nyethnobotanicals.com/Lophophora%20williamsii%20San%20Pedro%20cactus.htm

http://www.psychedelicmusicworks.qpg.com/shop.html

http://www.cannabisculture.com/cgi/article.cgi?num=104

http://spiritplants.yack.org/articles/spf_dmso.html

http://www.openhere.com/hag/gardening/plants/cactus-and-succulent-plants/nurseries/

http://www.multimania.com/buju59/elist.htm#signet

http://www.elclandestino.com/

http://amazing-nature.com/

http://www.select-seeds.com/Liners.htm

http://www.nativehabitat.com/

http://www.herbs.mb.ca/

http://www.desjamaan.nl/www2/1400.html

http://home.inreach.com/klcactus/Pages/Cactus.htm

http://www.bobsmoleys.com/s-z.html

http://www.ethnobotany.com/seeds/genus.html

New Mexico Cactus Research
P.O. Box 787
Belen, New Mexico 87002