kadence blevins wrote: He said as an adult looking back, did the families actually trade or did the kids just get told that to ease their minds?
Fungal diseases of pads and leaves Phyllosticta pad spot Lesions on pads of prickly pear cacti (Opuntia species) may be caused by several different pests or environmental conditions. However, the most common pad spot on the Engelmann’s prickly pear in the desert of Arizona is caused by a species of the fungus Phyllosticta. The disease is found throughout the desert. Lesions are almost completely black because of the presence of small black reproductive structures called pycnidia produced on the surface of infected plant tissue (Fig. 5). Spores produced within these reproductive structures are easily disseminated by wind-blown rain or dripping water and infect new sites on nearby pads. Pads on the lower part of plants are often most heavily infected since the humidity is higher and moisture often persists after rain. Once pads dry, the fungus becomes inactive and the lesions may fall out. Severely infected pads or entire plants should be removed from landscapes to prevent spread of the fungus. No other controls are recommended.
A cut Cherub in a collection of other seedlings from my breeding project. The flesh color seems to vary a lot, but that is fairly typical of red fleshed apples.
Of some 15,000 to 16,000 apple varieties that have been named, grown and eaten on the North American continent, only about 3,000 remain accessible to American orchard keep-ers, gardeners, chefs and home cooks. An estimated four out of five apples varieties unique to North America (80 percent) have been lost from commerce.
Ela La Salle wrote:I like apples but can't eat them. At least not from the grocery stores, local markets or "organic". For some reason, any variety I have tried over many years, always leave the corners of my mouth sore. Like my skin is splitting and it hurts. However, when I pick abandoned , imperfect apples from some old uncared tree, I am fine, and my mouth doesn't hurt.
Rebecca Norman wrote:I made a long post on Permies about how I collect wild capers from the desert around me, for three different products. A delicious cooked green veg in springtime, then the flower buds which are what you would know as capers (little green balls), and the caperberries, which are bigger and more like a snack like olive. I've also been trying to grow them, with some success but mostly limited by failing to water them in enough for the first year or two.
https://permies.com/t/34882/Success-planting-caper-seeds-plant