Cactus as a source of water??

what do you think about growing cactus as a source of water.....even if it has to be purified? I read somewhere that cactus can be a source of water, in emergencies? However, I am not a botanist and I honestly have no idea. How much of it would one need to grow to fill, say, a 1 liter bottle? Any ideas?

sk0rpi0n
what do you think about growing cactus as a source of water.....even if it has to be purified? I read somewhere that cactus can be a source of water, in emergencies? However, I am not a botanist and I honestly have no idea. How much of it would one need to grow to fill, say, a 1 liter bottle? Any ideas?

I realize it sounds like an amateur question...but still... I'm interested in knowing what you all think.

reply to post by sk0rpi0n


Technically, you would have to distill the water out of it so, capturing the rain water or condensing it out of the air would be much less effort and infinitely faster.

im not sure thats a good idea since cacti produce oxalic acid and is toxic. plus, they dont really hold that much water at all and most times you have to extract water from the pulp. the whole process is incredibly inefficient and you would probably be better off looking for an alternate source

reply to post by sk0rpi0n


There are much safer and faster ways then cacti, for emergency situations I think you would be better off learning about solar stills for converting urine back into water.

For storage uses I would suggest what green had said also, unless you live in the desert then you are better off buying a few large barrels and fill with water and treat with a small amount of bleach to keep it clean.




Forgot to mention.... 8 drops of bleach per gallon of water should be plenty to keep it clean.

reply to post by sk0rpi0n

as I live in AZ,I have tried eating a cactus...its tastes like dirty dishwater,even a freshly cut one! It has a texture like a cantaloup,so it won't have as much water as you'd think.And they are slow growing,so you need to get large mature ones if you plant your own.And you cut them down to get a little water,and your out of cactus.Not worth the effort to me.

reply to post by sk0rpi0n


Cactus can be a good source of water actually. Instead of trying to extract it from the pulp or over thinking the issue:

Solar Still
1) Dig a 3-4 foot diameter by 1.5-2 foot deep hole.
2) Throw anything containing water in there, including cactus, urine... anything.
3) Set a cup in the bottom center of hole.
4) Cover the hole with a single layer of thin clear plastic, like painters plastic, then put dirt around the edges to sort of seal it all off.
5) Place a small stone on top the of the plastic directly above the cup.

This method is surprisingly effective in hot sunny places like the desert, and requires little water/calorie expenditure. Also the water will be of very high purity and safe to drink unless you put something especially wretched and toxic in your hole.

reply to post by sk0rpi0n


To answer the second part of your question, there is no set amount of cactus needed to fill a 1 litre bottle. It depends on what kind of cactus you are talking about. However cactus is very heavy due to its water content, so a good sized barrel cactus could potentially yield several gallons of water in a solar still provided its outer skin is sufficiently cut up, or just chop the cactus up into 6in cubes or something. Something like beaver tail would also be a good candidate, and lastly something along the lines of a cholla cactus.

More important than how much water you have is how effectively you use your water. In the desert if you set up a few solar stills, slept by day, and hunted/gathered by night, you could survive for quite a long time with your only source of water being from cactus.

reply to post by sk0rpi0n


One time I got lost during an expedition to Marcahuasi and I was so thirsty that cut a cactus and ate some of the pulp : Nasty and didn't work.

reply to post by doompornjunkie


same method can be used for desalinization as well?
let the water evaporate and condense back to the glass: is that the same process?

reply to post by demus


Exactly, distillation via the sun, hence solar still. The process will leave behind just about anything that is undesirable.

Edit: set up your salt water solar still correctly and you may also be able to collect the salt! Which can then be used for food preservation

reply to post by doompornjunkie

didn't think about salt before but very good idea.
people who live close or relatively close to the ocean/sea should definitely learn about the process.
as for the cactus, it's good to know there is some water inside, you never know.
but, are all of them safe (mescalin comes to mind)?

reply to post by demus


The boiling point of Mescalin is 593.6 F, it will stay inside the cactus.

I love survival stuff....I was in a safe situation once where I cut open a cactus and attempted to suck out the water....cactus' can have quite a bit of water...to this day Idk what I drank but it made my throat swell and burn a little bit. I was a bit younger and thought I was pretty bright...so id say..sure you can but make sure you know which one you are drinking cause Id wager some are pretty toxic.