Fresh Organic Edible Cactus
California artisan-grown, user-friendly.

"The cactus John Dicus grows out at
Rivenrock Gardens are really surprising!
They have an incredible flavor—
a sweetness with citrus notes, fresh, crisp, green and alive!
It's a shame that we cooked 'em as John's cactus are excellent raw! "

Planet Green/Discovery celebrity chef Gregory Schaefer

Do be sure to visit our recipe page
for preparation instructions as well as recipes.

This page is for the small-lot orders of our premium nopal cactus
Our bulk shipments will not begin until May


Our premier variety, Nopalea Grande.

Our cactus are greatly affected by the winter weather.
Currently we can only offer the Grade D Cactus



Due to the wintertime weather,
we've had to remove Grade 'A', 'B' and 'C' leaves from the offerings.
The bad weather deteriorates the quality of the leaves....
so in the winter, we are now offering only the Grade 'D' leaves
with a couple of exceptions below

Also, this winter we'll be monitoring the weather,
and trying to ship only during times of weather conditions favorable to shipping.
We don't want the leaves freezing enroute.

For those who wish to sample a very small quantity of cactus...
we are offering the Nopalea grande Grade 'C' in a half pound box
sent by USPS Priority Mail Postage Paid
This is a tiny amount of cactus, perhaps three leaves only, but will give you enough for an evaluation
It is ten dollars... the USPS Priority Mail shipping is already included into this price
(we can always dig around in the cactus patch and find a few grade C leaves)

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Grade D is variable in size and maturity.
They are the 'less than perfect' leaves... older, bent and misshapen....
split by cold, with little spots from drops of water freezing on them and marking the skin,
perhaps with a few bug bites or some other environmental damage....
and often with much of the leaf frozen right off!
Grade D is the worse ones we have growing... but we'd rather sell them than compost them...
and plenty of folks say they fit their needs, and the price is good.

So we're OK selling them.. they're still OK..
but they have plenty of environmental damage on them...

Grade 'D'
three, five, nine and eighteen lb boxes
Shipped by USPS Priority Mail
(shipping is already included in the price)

Grade 'D'
or... 'The Hillside of Misshapen Cactus'

We started Grade 'D' simply as a way to reduce waste....
We always have leaves that get bent or abraded by growing too near another leaf...
or a bird might peck a hole into one... or a bug might eat part of the tip of a leaf....
These are still edible... but like 'The island of Misshapen Toys', no one wants them sitting on the store shelf.

In the summertime we have enough fine leaves we don't need to pick and send these misshapen leaves...
so we donate them to tortoise rescue organizations and food banks.
(if you have a 501c form, send it to me, you could get free cactus for your rescue torts, food bank or organization)

But knowing how people like these leaves because they're actually still good leaves....
they just tend to be extremely unsightly compared to the rest we have...
we are offering them for the extreme price savings they can give people.
But, you'd not want them on display in your premium organic health food store for instance,
people who don't know would pass them by.
But we have plenty of people who like these leaves due to the lower cost....
I mean, heck, I'd just as soon sell them cheap than just give them all away
They are not pretty, they are scarred, bent, misshapen leaves,
and many of them are a bit mature.... stew leaves only, not to be eaten raw

So we're selling Grade 'D' leaves for people who understand that these are sold at not too much of a mark-up over the shipping
and that they are not intended for appearance

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