Have you wanted to pick a peck o’ prickly pears, but don’t know how to remove those painful little cactus needles? August means harvest time at Boyce Thompson Arboretum, a scenic half-hour drive west of Globe-Miami on Highway 60, and one of Arizona’s most knowledgeable and experienced prickly pear pickers will share techniques to safely pick, de-spine, juice and prepare these abundant desert fruits.
For more than a decade BTA staff taught overflow crowds at outdoor classes; the perennially popular show must go on -- and this summer classes moved have online. Sign-up for this online webinar Sept. 1; just $10 per registration, and funds raised help the nonprofit Arboretum with its ongoing mission of Sonoran Desert ecology, conservation -- and education. BTA’s own green-thumbed Horticulture Specialist Preston Cox leads his virtual audience through a demonstration of proven techniques for picking, de-spining and juicing cactus fruit.
Have a credit card ready and sign-up, registration links are posted at
btarboretum.org and also facebook.com/btarboretum
