Nopales, or prickly pear, grow natively here in Michoacán. They are incredibly easy to plant: stir up a bit of dirt, plop nopal paddle down on the ground, and walk away.
We had three truckloads of nopal paddles delivered – about 2,000 plants in total. We will use them as natural barriers along the edges of the property and some of our important trails, as well as ornamentally along hillsides in sunny areas of the forest. There are three types we have planted: small nopal, large nopal, and jocanoles.
Nopales have two edible sections: the tuna, which is a fruit, and the pad (nopal), which is treated as a vegetable. Nopales are very healthy (good sources of calcium, iron, fiber, among other things) and easy to prepare. Right now we buy nopales from the ladies down at the market – soon, we will have our own!
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