Cactus Fire Break

For several years now we’ve been planting cacti along the border of our land, between our camping spaces and our neighbour’s land in the forest. Mature cacti can slow the spread of a fire, so a useful plant to have on the edges of our land. This year I’ve also harvested the cactus fruit to distill a cacti aguardente.

I’ve been collecting cactus pieces to replant as sections break off our more mature cacti by the goat shed or from the side of the road under a cacti patch I check out on our occasional trips out. Unfortunately, as the cacti we’ve been planting are small, many have been victim to clumsy feet as the carqueja grows up around them and they’ve taken a long time to get going. But I’ve been cheered today by a check along the edge and noticing that a number look like they’re finally establishing.