Garden Basics with Farmer Fred

402 Edible Succulents

• Fred Hoffman • Season 6 • Episode 30

Share episode

In this episode of the Garden Basics podcast, I speak with succulent expert Debra Lee Baldwin about the world of edible succulents. We delve into what defines succulents, their survival in arid conditions, and their nutritional benefits. Baldwin highlights notable varieties such as Agave tequilana (Blue Agave) and Opuntia, discussing their culinary uses and growth requirements. She shares tips on preparing these plants for consumption and reveals the value of lesser-known edibles like purslane. Baldwin also emphasizes succulents' role in food security. Also, we get a quick tip from Debbie Flower on where to place snail bait in a raised bed (not near the plants!) Originally aired in Ep. 61.

Previous episodes, show notes, links, product information, and transcripts at the home site for Garden Basics with Farmer Fred, GardenBasics.net. Transcripts and episode chapters also available at Buzzsprout. 

 Now on YouTube (audio) 

Pictured: the edible succulent, purslane.

Links:

“Beyond the Garden Basics” Newsletter  By becoming a paid subscriber, you’re helping support the newsletter and this podcast. Thank You!

Shop online at the Smart Pot store! For a limited time, use coupon code FRED at checkout to receive 10% off your Smart Pot order. Click here to start shopping!

Debra Lee Baldwin's Success with Succulents website

Snail and Slug Control Tips from UCANR


All About Farmer Fred:
GardenBasics.net

“Beyond the Garden Basics” Newsletter

Farmer Fred website: 
http://farmerfred.com

The Farmer Fred Rant! Blog
http://farmerfredrant.blogspot.com

Facebook:  "Get Growing with Farmer Fred" 

Instagram: farmerfredhoffman
https://www.instagram.com/farmerfredhoffman/

Blue Sky: @farmerfred.bsky.social

Farmer Fred Garden Minute Videos on YouTube
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases from possible links mentioned here.

Got a garden question? 

• Leave an audio question without making a phone call via Speakpipe, at https://www.speakpipe.com/gardenbasics

• Call or text us the question: 916-292-8964. 

• Fill out the contact box at GardenBasics.net

• E-mail: fred@farmerfred.com 

Thank you for listening, subscribing and commenting on the Garden Basics with Farmer Fred podcast and the Beyond the Garden Basics Newsletter.

402 succulents TRANSCRIPT (orig aired in Ep 61)


Farmer Fred:

[0:03] Welcome to the Garden Basics with Farmer Fred podcast. If you're just a beginning gardener or you want good gardening information, well, you've come to the right spot. Fruits, vegetables, berries, and even flowers can be grown and eaten from your garden. We've talked about a lot of them on this program. But what about succulents? Well, there are edible succulents, And we're going to talk with one of the country's leading experts on succulents, author Deborah Lee Baldwin, about tasty succulents. And we'll even touch on that agave variety used to make tequila. And did you know there's a very common succulent weed that makes a great addition to a salad? We've got all that. But there are precautions before you start munching on this family of low-water-use plants that love the heat. Plus, horticultural professor Debbie Flower has a quick tip: Strategic advice about where to put snail bait around a raised garden bed to get the best results. Today it’s edible succulents and dead snails!


EDIBLE SUCCULENTS


Farmer Fred:

[1:08] We talk a lot about edibles that you can grow, and most of you are very familiar with the fruits and vegetables. But did you know that the biggest selling component at a nursery are succulent plants, especially here in California. So that might raise the question, can you eat a succulent? Well, as a matter of fact, Debra Lee Baldwin says, yes, you can. There are several edible succulents for you to try. Debra Lee Baldwin, noted author of several books about succulents, wonderful website, DebraLeeBaldwin.com, YouTube channel as well, and so much more. And Debra Lee Baldwin, it's a pleasure to have you here on the Garden Basics podcast.


Debra Lee Baldwin:

[1:50] Well, thank you, Fred. Gosh, this is exciting and fun. I remember meeting you in Sacramento several years ago, so here we are.


Farmer Fred:

[1:58] So let's talk about succulents to begin with. What is the definition of a succulent?


Debra Lee Baldwin:

[2:03] Well, succulents are plants that survive periods of drought by storing moisture in fleshy stems and leaves, like typical of aloe vera. You can take a fleshy stem and snap it open, and what you see inside is gel. And that's what the plant lives on when there is drought time. In other words, it's not getting water and it may not be getting water because there's no rainfall or you simply haven't watered it. But regardless, that's what they do. They live off of the moisture stored in their tissues.


Farmer Fred:

[2:37] My knowledge of edible succulents is very limited. I think it's limited to basically tequila, which comes from what? Blue agave, is that right?


Debra Lee Baldwin:

[2:46] Well, Fred, it comes from Agave tequilana. The species name sounds like tequila. In fact, maybe tequila was named after the species name. The blue agave is a common name for Agave tequilana.


Farmer Fred:

[3:01] Can you grow that?


Debra Lee Baldwin:

[3:02] Oh, yeah. Sure. It is an ornamental plant. It has long, narrow, bayonet-shaped leaves. It looks like a giant pincushion. Gets maybe not as big as a century plant, which it's often confused with century plants, but the agave americana or century plant has thicker, wider, broader leaves and gets even larger. Whereas century plants will get as large as a Volkswagen Beetle, the tequila agave, doesn't get quite as large. They are spiky, dangerous plants if you have toddlers or small dogs or just plain old clumsy. So think about it before you plant them. But they're beautiful in their own right. I mean, they're geometric and sculptural and look great against a blank wall. Wonderful plants.


Farmer Fred:

[3:55] Yeah, there'd be a couple of restrictions on growing that. One would be the climate where you live would have to be conducive to growing that particular succulent. And I think you'd also need to own a distillery.


Debra Lee Baldwin:

[4:07] Yes, and you've got to be patient because they're normally harvested, and they are grown as a commercial crop in Mexico at around the age of seven years. So what happens when an agave prepares to bloom is that, and they only bloom once when they're mature. So when agave tequilana approaches maturity and is getting ready to bloom, it It condenses or gathers the sugars in its tissues. And that's what propels that tall bloom spike above the plant. And you've seen agaves bloom. So like century plant blooms can be 20 feet tall. So what they do in the commercial tequila operations is they whack it back. They grab it and they slice off those leaves and they pineapple it. So that all the leaves are sliced right back down to the center core. And that's what they harvest. And then that gets roasted. And it has several steps before it actually becomes the product tequila. So it's a fascinating process. But it's not something that your backyard gardener would want to attempt.


Farmer Fred:

[5:25] What about the environment that succulents thrive in? And maybe it's not even fair to generalize that since I imagine there are probably succulents for just about every climate.


Debra Lee Baldwin:

[5:37] Well, you think so. But by definition, and, you know, we define them as plants that store moisture. These are plants from dry climates. And warm climates, for the most part, now there are always exceptions, but the majority of succulents are from the southwest and Mexico, and those are your cacti and agaves, or from a similar region in South Africa. And those are your crassulas and more of the non-spiny plants, although euphorbias are included in that. So, I tend to think of the South African succulents as the more commercial because they're not as armed and dangerous. They tend to be, oh, the pretty ones. But they also tend to be a little bit more frost tender and a little tougher to grow. So, you know, it's all a matter of taste.


Farmer Fred:

[6:37] Well, let's talk about a very common one that you see growing along the freeways throughout California, and it's called Opuntia, the Opuntia cactus, paddle cactus to some. And the Opuntia has rather big, dramatic paddle-shaped leaves that some people consider a delicacy, other people consider them a threat because of how spiky they are.


Debra Lee Baldwin:

[7:01] Well, you know what I thought you were going to say, Fred, was the Carpobrotus, the pickleweed, that grows along the freeways, which is not it, despite its name. It's called pickleweed because the stems, which are about the size of a finger, are green and they look like pickles. So, all right. So along the freeways, you see probably see more pickleweed than opuntia or paddle cactus. But what's interesting about paddle cactus? And a lot of these cacti are considered a delicacy in Mexico. So the paddle cactus is often seen in Mexican markets. And if you go into Mexico, you'll see a stand of stacked pads. And each one is about a half an inch thick and, oh, maybe slightly bigger than a ping pong paddle.


Debra Lee Baldwin:

[7:59] And behind the table where these are stacked is, you know, one of the kids in the family or a grandparent is just scraping the spines off, just sitting there, scrape, scrape, scrape, scrape, scrape, because the spines, of course, are the one thing about them you dare not eat. So they're sold to be used to create a vegetable dish and as an ingredient in, oh, soups and stews. One of the things that we tend not to like about them is the same thing we don't like about okra. And that is that the tissues have a mucilaginous texture. Some people would call it gooey or goopy, which is not, you know, it's an acquired taste. So what you want to do with that, and believe me, if you grow a puntia, you can harvest it. You can do this. You score it. You take the pad, a nice, young, tender pad, not a woody, older pad.

 Ideally, you harvest it in the spring after rainfall has plumped the plant with new growth. After scraping off the spines, and I want to tell you about a spineless variety in a minute, then you score it in a crosshatch pattern with a sharp knife and you put it on the grill, and then that that goop kind of you know sizzles out and drips and what you're left with is a much nicer texture more of a well i think of the taste is sort of like green beans and i guess the texture would be more like a green bean, too. Just not that gloppiness that's kind of undesirable. And when the skin gets a char on it, it has a nice flavor, too. But that's just one way of preparing it. Google Nopales, N-O-P-A-L-E-S, and that is the ingredient for numerous Mexican delicacies and dishes. So, what if you didn't have to scrape those spines, right?


Farmer Fred:

[10:02] Well, I want to know what you use to scrape the spines away.


Debra Lee Baldwin:

[10:06] Oh, well, as I've seen it done, I haven't personally done it. You put the pad on your lap on a towel or something, and you have a gloved left hand if you're right-handed. And with that gloved left hand, you hold the pad in place. And with your right hand, you've got a knife and you scrape along the surface of the skin of the pad away from you and it catches in the towel.


Farmer Fred:

[10:36] Hmm. Okay.


Debra Lee Baldwin:

[10:37] I don't know what to do with the towel after that.


Farmer Fred:

[10:41] Yeah.


Debra Lee Baldwin:

[10:42] Do you want to hear about spineless?


Farmer Fred:

[10:45] Yeah. Spineless paddle cactus?


Debra Lee Baldwin:

[10:48] Yes, yes. Well, this, see now, oh, you have to stop because this is one of my favorite plants. And I think it could end world hunger. And I know that's an overblown claim, but I'm not kidding. And you know who I have this in common with? He's deceased. Luther Burbank.  The famed hybridizer. Yes. He was determined that he was going to create and market for spineless paddle cactus as cattle feed. Because, I mean, compared to grain, which needs all kinds of, you know, it's seasonal crop. It needs harvesting. It needs storage. It's prone to, you know, well, I don't know, all kinds of pests and, you know, fungal things. Well, so with a paddle cactus, you know what you have to do to grow it in a zone nine climate? Throw it on the ground.


Farmer Fred:

[11:45] Yeah. And it takes root, yes.


Debra Lee Baldwin:

[11:48] Yeah, it takes root. Wherever there's a spine, that's meristem tissue, new or little roots will form. I have one. I have one in my garden. It's lying on the ground. And I was recently visited by a nurseryman from Northern California. And we were walking through the garden, and he's looking at all these giant succulents you can't grow. And I said to him, oh, that's a spineless paddle pad on the ground. Would you pick it up for me? Well, it had curled up and was in contact with the ground on just that little bit of lower side. And he couldn't, and he tugged on it, and he tugged some more. And he said, this is a joke, isn't it? I said, yeah, it's taken root.

 Yeah, so anyway, Burbank was really into this idea, and I think it's a fabulous one, but he ran into a problem. Now, this is not a problem you might expect, like trying to talk ranchers into feeding this to their cattle. No problem. The cattle ate it. Cattle eat a lot of things, including that. Was it nutritious enough? Yes, it's high in vitamin C, its got great fiber in fact you can cut down on how much water you give your cattle because it's so full of water. Its easy to grow easy to store. How do you store it?  well you just leave it on the plant until you're ready to you know whack it off and put it in the trough okay so what was the problem why didn't it work? Well the plants regresses. So what started out as, Burbank spineless and that was the cultivar’s name, burbank spineless, so it started out as spineless cactus, After a few generations or a few seasons, the new growth had spines.


Farmer Fred:

[13:39] Yes, we see that a lot in nature where fruitless mulberries all of a sudden have fruit or ornamental pears all of a sudden start having fruit or even some ornamental trees that you might buy that you had bought purposely, say, the male of the species. And in 10 or 15 years, it, too, starts bearing fruit.


Debra Lee Baldwin:

[14:02] Yeah. Well, Burbank, Burbank, unfortunately, passed away before he perfected it. And when I started getting into this, I was just utterly enthralled at the idea that there was a food, a vegetable that you could throw on the ground. It would grow and people could eat it.


Debra Lee Baldwin:

[14:20] Think about that in terms of, you know, the famines in some parts of this world.


Farmer Fred:

[14:24] Right. But basically with Opuntia, the paddle cactus, it's easy to grow. You take off the spines, and then it's very edible in a wide variety of dishes.


Debra Lee Baldwin:

[14:35] I don't eat a lot of it, but when people tour my garden, I always tell them the same thing. And it's something my dad told me because he grew it. He actually grew it as a security fence around the property. He said, and when the famine comes, we can eat it.


Farmer Fred:

[14:52] There you go. Yep. Okay. Now, here's something that just about anybody who lives in USDA Zone 9 could partake of in a different way. Instead of getting out their weed whacker or their trowel and digging it out and throwing it away, it would be to eat it. And I'm talking about purslane.


Debra Lee Baldwin:

[15:09] I know. I know. Don't you love it? It's a weed. Yeah. Yeah. The problem is it looks a lot like Spurge. And Spurge is in the euphorbia family. Yeah. So, if you're pulling weeds, and you need to see what purslane looks like, obviously, and you need to know what spurge looks like. Because they're very different if you're familiar with them. But just looking, you know, just a casual glance, your first time around, you might not know the difference. But any euphorbia is going to have a milky sap. That's the clue. You know, don't eat the one with the milky sap.

Yeah, but purslane is a, it comes up as a weed. It's not an obnoxious weed. It's not a problem weed. But when you're weeding, you'll probably run across it and you may pull it out. That's fine. But it is a flat-growing succulent. It just kind of makes a match that grows from a main central stem. So it sends out stems that are red in color, kind of a reddish-pink. And then the leaves that come off of those stems, which are also right on the ground, are green and oval. That probably rings a bell with a lot of people because it is everywhere. I mean, it's not, they don't consider it invasive, but for some reason it always comes up in my garden. But after I did this blog post on edible succulents and I learned more about purslane, I was out in the garden hunting for it. I was like, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, I can't believe I pulled this out. I wonder if my neighbors would mind if I went over there and hunted for it on their property. Because it is so incredibly nutritious. You know, when I was doing my research, I did find out that the taste is similar to watercress. So you would use it as you might spinach or lettuce. It's loaded with vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, and is higher in omega-3 fatty acids than other greens.


Farmer Fred:

[17:09] I think we have time for one more. Why don't you pick it, the one you want to talk about?


Debra Lee Baldwin:

[17:13] I'm going to talk about elephant's bush because it's dear to my heart. This is my new favorite, succulent. Of course, they change.


Debra Lee Baldwin:

[17:21] But elephants bush is actually eaten by elephants in South Africa. It's their main diet. It's Portulacaria afro. It's very ornamental. In fact, it's grown primarily because it is a landscape plant. It looks a lot like jade with small leaves and red stems. And it kind of has an every which way direction for its branches, giving it sort of a bad hair day look. The solid green variety, which is the one that's common in South Africa, grows quite large. It'll get to, oh, six feet tall and is wide over time. And what you eat on that would be those little green leaves. And they are sour and crunchy. I have a video where I show how I add it as a garnish to a salad that includes sliced seasonal tomatoes and feta cheese. So it's, you know, and some oil and vinegar and herbs. So it's not the kind of thing you'd sit down and you'd eat a lot of. But again, it's one of those plants that's good to have around in case of the famine when, if it comes. But it's just one of those ornamental plants that you don't expect to have more benefit than at first it appears.


Debra Lee Baldwin:

[18:37] And in Africa, the elephants go stomping through big stands of it. And the plant has a symbiotic relationship with the elephants because being broken apart like that helps the plant to start from cuttings. And that's how it spreads.


Farmer Fred:

[18:58] Debra Lee Baldwin, wonderful website, DebraLeeBaldwin.com. Now, of all the books about succulents that you've written, which one would you recommend to somebody just starting off in the world of succulents?


Debra Lee Baldwin:

[19:11] Well, I would definitely recommend Succulents Simplified. This book has just taken off. It's a tremendous seller. And it is one of the best introductions to succulents. Succulents Simplified, published by Timber Press. You can find it on my website's book page or just go to Amazon and type in Succulents Simplified.


Farmer Fred:

[19:35] And, of course, you're on YouTube. You've got the blog. Debra, you've got a very active website and a marketplace as well.


Debra Lee Baldwin:

[19:43] Well, yes, thank you. I so love what I do. And as a journalist by profession who's come into succulents first as a hobby and then as a passion, I keep running across more cool things to share. So I'll add a post to my website. Oh, I have a newsletter celebrating the joy of succulents, which people can subscribe to for free by going to the homepage of DebraLeeBaldwin.com. I have over 6 million YouTube views, and I also have a presence on Pinterest, Facebook, and Instagram.


Farmer Fred:

[20:20] One of the nation's leading succulent experts, Debra Lee Baldwin, specializes in showing how top floral landscape and garden designers can use sculptural succulents in a wide variety of eye-catching applications. Her own garden has been in Sunset Magazine, Better Homes and Gardens, and she lives in the ideal gardening climate near San Diego, California. Debra Lee Baldwin, thank you for spending a few minutes with us here on the Garden Basics podcast.


Debra Lee Baldwin:

[20:47] Thank you, Fred. I really enjoyed it.


QUICK TIP: SNAIL BAIT IN A RAISED BED


Farmer Fred:

[20:54] Time for a quick tip here on the Garden Basics podcast, and we turn to our favorite retired college horticultural professor, Debbie Flower, and she's off hunting snails and slugs. And maybe you're using a bait to get those snails and slugs. The key, though, is where you put that bait. And if you have raised beds, especially with wooden sides, Debbie Flower has some good tips about where to put it in order to get the attention of the snails and slugs.


Debbie Flower:

[21:21] The Worryfree or Sluggo brands are iron phosphate baits and realize it's a bait. They're going to come to it. So in my raised bed.


Farmer Fred:

[21:33] I don't put it around the plants.


Debbie Flower:

[21:34] I put it around the periphery of the raised bed itself. Because during the day there, they're probably hiding between the wood that's making the sides of the raised bed and the soil where the moisture is and the shade is. And so when they come up from there to go start munching in the garden, the first thing they run into is the bait.


Farmer Fred:

[21:52] When choosing a snail and slug killer, always choose the one that has the less toxicity but still does the job. Look for iron phosphate as the active ingredient when shopping for snail and slug bait. When you go shopping for snail and slug killer, you're also going to come across the active ingredient metaldehyde. It's been around for years, been around for decades, but it is also very problematic around small children and hungry, small pets. It is quite toxic to them. And as we're fond of saying on this program, read and follow all label directions.


BEYOND THE GARDEN BASICS NEWSLETTER

Farmer Fred:

[22:32] Gardeners are saying very nice things about the Beyond the Garden Basics newsletter. Tessie writes in to say, I'm going to try your coffee filter germination trick to get the pepper seeds to sprout sooner. Thank you for this very helpful information in your newsletter.


Laura writes in and says, you and America's favorite retired college horticultural professor, Debbie Flower, have made me a better and happier gardener with the Beyond the Garden Basics newsletter. Tanya says, I subscribed immediately when I read your newsletter about the benefits of not pruning tomatoes. I don't do it, nor do two of my favorite French market gardeners, one of whom is a sixth generation gardener in a long line of successful market farmers. Thank you. And Robin says, I work the help desk for my county master gardener program, and I find I'm sometimes overwhelmed by garden problems, disease, confusion, too much or not enough water, gophers. And I love the idea in one of your recent newsletters of keeping a gratitude journal based on daily walks in the garden. Thank you. 

The Beyond the Garden Basics newsletter comes out twice a week. The Friday edition is free for all subscribers. The Monday edition is available for paid subscribers. And by the way, your paid subscription to the newsletter supports not only the ongoing efforts to produce the Beyond the Garden Basics newsletter. It also helps to keep this podcast freely available each week. Find a link to more information about the Beyond the Garden Basics newsletter in today's show notes or at our homepage, GardenBasics.net. Or you could just do an Internet search for the Beyond the Garden Basics newsletter. And thank you for your support and encouragement to keep the good gardening conversation going.


Music:

[24:16] Music


Farmer Fred:

[24:21] Garden Basics with Farmer Fred comes out every Friday. Garden Basics is available wherever podcasts are handed out. For more information about the podcast, as well as an accurate transcript of the podcast, visit our website, gardenbasics.net . And thank you so much for listening and your support!