I've just stumbled across this forum while searching for agave identification assistance. I've recently bought an 80 acre farm and I am planning to plant agave throughout the more sloping paddocks with the view to making Mezcal (I know I can't call it that. Agave spirit then).
My wife and I took a trip to Oaxaca last June and visited quite a few palenques and I believe we can make it work on our farm. I'm hoping to utilise wild agave as well as out of control populations growing around my area. I am hoping to utilise your far more experienced brains to help identify what I have spotted while out and about.
I'll start with this beauty that I bought my wife for her birthday a couple of years ago. It's currently thriving in our garden at the farm.
Can't wait to chat.
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DonQuiote wrote: ↑Fri Jan 05, 2024 7:23 pm
G'day all.
I've just stumbled across this forum while searching for agave identification assistance. I've recently bought an 80 acre farm and I am planning to plant agave throughout the more sloping paddocks with the view to making Mezcal (I know I can't call it that. Agave spirit then).
My wife and I took a trip to Oaxaca last June and visited quite a few palenques and I believe we can make it work on our farm. I'm hoping to utilise wild agave as well as out of control populations growing around my area. I am hoping to utilise your far more experienced brains to help identify what I have spotted while out and about.
I'll start with this beauty that I bought my wife for her birthday a couple of years ago. It's currently thriving in our garden at the farm.
Can't wait to chat.
It is still wild to me to hear of all these places with out of control wild agaves spreading everywhere. Never would have guessed.
What were your favorite towns in Oaxaca? I love Mexico, but haven't made it to Oaxaca yet.
Hello and welcome! I've often thought agave would be a good crop to grow here in California and an agave spirit distillery would be a nice divergence from all the small breweries and wineries we have. I know different species have varying fructose content. I imagine each palenque is expert at working with the specific varieties they grow. Fascinating stuff
nsp88 wrote: ↑Fri Jan 05, 2024 9:53 pm
It is still wild to me to hear of all these places with out of control wild agaves spreading everywhere. Never would have guessed.
What were your favorite towns in Oaxaca? I love Mexico, but haven't made it to Oaxaca yet.
I've travelled a fair bit around Mexico and Oaxaca is my pick of the places - just the most amazing city from pretty much any perspective. History, culture, food (man, the food!...) scenery, flora, climate. It's got it all. My last trip there was planned to coincide with the Day of the Dead celebrations - what an experience!
nsp88 wrote: ↑Fri Jan 05, 2024 9:53 pm
It is still wild to me to hear of all these places with out of control wild agaves spreading everywhere. Never would have guessed.
What were your favorite towns in Oaxaca? I love Mexico, but haven't made it to Oaxaca yet.
I've travelled a fair bit around Mexico and Oaxaca is my pick of the places - just the most amazing city from pretty much any perspective. History, culture, food (man, the food!...) scenery, flora, climate. It's got it all. My last trip there was planned to coincide with the Day of the Dead celebrations - what an experience!
Nice pictures! Looks fun. The first bromeliad photo and the first atrovirens looked real nice. Yeah I love the places we have been in Mexico. we debated going to Oaxaca on our last trip but I wanted to wait until it was day of the Dead.
So did you give up on Mexico or did you ever end up going back?
Paul S wrote: ↑Sat Jan 06, 2024 8:35 am
No, that was the last time. Having guns pointed at me in the middle of nowhere was a sobering experience.
I am sure. Reminds me of these guys:
When we went there were some roads that were being blocked by gunmen somewhat regularly. Thankfully I saw people sharing info on it before going so we were able to avoid those routes. And obviously some entire areas we just completely avoided. Still took some risks, but nothing wild. Still some sketchy times driving. Now that I have kids I will definitely play things a little safer
Paul S wrote: ↑Sat Jan 06, 2024 8:35 am
No, that was the last time. Having guns pointed at me in the middle of nowhere was a sobering experience.
It is funny how people here think that encountering gun toting and pointing people is a Mexico thing... Plenty of areas here in the US where you can run into the same thing... likely for somewhat different reasons, but just as uncomfortable.
When I still regularly did fieldwork all over the western US while working for the DOE Geothermal Energy program there would not be a trip where I did not have at least one encounter where someone would approach me with gun or rifle pointed at me - on public lands mind you. The message usually was get the fuck out of here and well when someone is pointing a gun at you, you are unlikely to argue that you have a legal right to be there.
There definitely has been some road violence in Mexico, so I get it. I love the place and will always go, but just try to research routes and locations before going.
My mom is one of these fox news addicts who has always been terrified of Mexico. Now they have her terrified of big cities in America. Not trying to minimize crime in those areas, but she has taken it to all new irrational levels. There are so many crazies in rural America that she should be just as concerned there.
mickthecactus wrote: ↑Sat Jan 06, 2024 6:23 am
Welcome! Where in Oz are you? It’s a big country....
Virtually anything that can be cultivated can be grown somewhere in that climate rich continent. And I must also point out that because of the diversity, of rainfall patterns, it's possible to farm the old fashioned way - employing virtually no supplemental irrigation.
What I could do with 80 acres ....
Welcome to the Forum.! You've arrived at the best site for learning more about a variety of xerophytic plants!
DonQuiote wrote: ↑Fri Jan 05, 2024 7:23 pm
G'day all.
I've just stumbled across this forum while searching for agave identification assistance. I've recently bought an 80 acre farm and I am planning to plant agave throughout the more sloping paddocks with the view to making Mezcal (I know I can't call it that. Agave spirit then).
My wife and I took a trip to Oaxaca last June and visited quite a few palenques and I believe we can make it work on our farm. I'm hoping to utilise wild agave as well as out of control populations growing around my area. I am hoping to utilise your far more experienced brains to help identify what I have spotted while out and about.
I'll start with this beauty that I bought my wife for her birthday a couple of years ago. It's currently thriving in our garden at the farm.
Can't wait to chat.
It is still wild to me to hear of all these places with out of control wild agaves spreading everywhere. Never would have guessed.
What were your favorite towns in Oaxaca? I love Mexico, but haven't made it to Oaxaca yet.
We we're travelling with a 9 month old baby so we stayed just outside of Oaxaca City and just did day trips from there. We hired a car from Mexico City and drove either way. Stopped in Puebla on the way down and back. The erupting volcano stopped much sightseeing around Puebla. I anticipate a few more Mexico trips before the Mezcal venture really gets going.
Azuleja wrote: ↑Sat Jan 06, 2024 12:12 am
Hello and welcome! I've often thought agave would be a good crop to grow here in California and an agave spirit distillery would be a nice divergence from all the small breweries and wineries we have. I know different species have varying fructose content. I imagine each palenque is expert at working with the specific varieties they grow. Fascinating stuff
Brisbane is full of craft breweries and gin distilleries. There are only a couple of people attempting agave spirit in Australia.
Paul S wrote: ↑Sat Jan 06, 2024 8:35 am
No, that was the last time. Having guns pointed at me in the middle of nowhere was a sobering experience.
I've travelled to a lot of sketchy places around the world. Calculated risk is always my motto. It helps that my wife is half Iranian and looks like she could be a local just about anywhere in South America
mickthecactus wrote: ↑Sat Jan 06, 2024 6:23 am
Welcome! Where in Oz are you? It’s a big country....
Virtually anything that can be cultivated can be grown somewhere in that climate rich continent. And I must also point out that because of the diversity, of rainfall patterns, it's possible to farm the old fashioned way - employing virtually no supplemental irrigation.
What I could do with 80 acres ....
Welcome to the Forum.! You've arrived at the best site for learning more about a variety of xerophytic plants!
The lack of irrigation is exactly what brought me to agave. Too many farms force the conditions to match the crop rather than plant crops that suit the conditions.
DonQuiote wrote: ↑Sat Jan 06, 2024 10:48 pm
We we're travelling with a 9 month old baby so we stayed just outside of Oaxaca City and just did day trips from there. We hired a car from Mexico City and drove either way. Stopped in Puebla on the way down and back. The erupting volcano stopped much sightseeing around Puebla. I anticipate a few more Mexico trips before the Mezcal venture really gets going.
Nice! On our last trip we were going to have a busy two day stop in Puebla while driving from cdmx to a wedding in xalapa, but instead we spent those two days stuck in airports thanks to mass airline delays. Made it to the last half of the wedding, though. Our luggage took a few more days to catch up to us.
Puebla, Oaxaca, and Merida are my top 3 I want to visit next. Poking around inaturalist, the mountains near Nuevo Leon look like they would be fun for agave and echeveria sightseeing, but I don't see my wife enjoying that too much.
Anyways, are you going to replant the wild agaves into rows or leave them be?
If you explore where Hidalgo, Queretaro and San Louis Potosi converge there are a number of national parks/mountains with some totally cool plants but also interesting places historically. For example, and not that I am at all religious, there are five huge old mission churches built in the late 1700s that are fantastic to see, main one at Jalpan (which is a great place to stay) Pretty safe, too, I would imagine. Las Pozas, the surreal garden of artist Edward James, is there or thereabouts. Same area (ish) is the high peak of Cerro La Laja, home to the southern population of Agave montana. That is interesting because it grows alongside Agave mitis (a very high population!) and produces natural hybrids, should you be lucky enough to find seeds.
The last time I was in the mountains of the Nuevo Leon/Tamaulipas borders looking at Agave montana, 9 years ago now!, we were stopped by paramilitary police in an armoured truck - they had automatic weapons and kevlar armour. That was actually quite reassuring. What I took from that is an area I had always thought was safe to travel in was suddenly off the agenda - they weren't there looking for agaves.
Perceived risk is a strange thing. Long ago, in a galaxy far away, I used to be a police officer. I don't scare or intimidate easily and have been in some 'sketchy' situations many times. But looking down the end of a few rifle barrels 2hrs from the nearest town in a country where life is cheap and reknowned for violence was, for me, a game changer. They didn't shoot first. They could have done. It's only plants, after all.
DonQuiote wrote: ↑Sat Jan 06, 2024 10:48 pm
We we're travelling with a 9 month old baby so we stayed just outside of Oaxaca City and just did day trips from there. We hired a car from Mexico City and drove either way. Stopped in Puebla on the way down and back. The erupting volcano stopped much sightseeing around Puebla. I anticipate a few more Mexico trips before the Mezcal venture really gets going.
Nice! On our last trip we were going to have a busy two day stop in Puebla while driving from cdmx to a wedding in xalapa, but instead we spent those two days stuck in airports thanks to mass airline delays. Made it to the last half of the wedding, though. Our luggage took a few more days to catch up to us.
Puebla, Oaxaca, and Merida are my top 3 I want to visit next. Poking around inaturalist, the mountains near Nuevo Leon look like they would be fun for agave and echeveria sightseeing, but I don't see my wife enjoying that too much.
Anyways, are you going to replant the wild agaves into rows or leave them be?
I would replant into rows. There aren't any agave currently on my property so I will have a clean slate. I'll be purchasing a tractor soon so I can slash the areas I want to plant out and plan the best layout for harvesting and maintenance.
There are Agave fields near Sacramento. The hot summers come with winter much colder than Australia. If they can make it work there, Australia should be perfect.
Paul S wrote: ↑Sun Jan 07, 2024 1:44 am
If you explore where Hidalgo, Queretaro and San Louis Potosi converge there are a number of national parks/mountains with some totally cool plants but also interesting places historically. For example, and not that I am at all religious, there are five huge old mission churches built in the late 1700s that are fantastic to see, main one at Jalpan (which is a great place to stay) Pretty safe, too, I would imagine. Las Pozas, the surreal garden of artist Edward James, is there or thereabouts. Same area (ish) is the high peak of Cerro La Laja, home to the southern population of Agave montana. That is interesting because it grows alongside Agave mitis (a very high population!) and produces natural hybrids, should you be lucky enough to find seeds.
The last time I was in the mountains of the Nuevo Leon/Tamaulipas borders looking at Agave montana, 9 years ago now!, we were stopped by paramilitary police in an armoured truck - they had automatic weapons and kevlar armour. That was actually quite reassuring. What I took from that is an area I had always thought was safe to travel in was suddenly off the agenda - they weren't there looking for agaves.
Perceived risk is a strange thing. Long ago, in a galaxy far away, I used to be a police officer. I don't scare or intimidate easily and have been in some 'sketchy' situations many times. But looking down the end of a few rifle barrels 2hrs from the nearest town in a country where life is cheap and reknowned for violence was, for me, a game changer. They didn't shoot first. They could have done. It's only plants, after all.
I love visiting old Catholic churches in Latin America. That all sounds cool! Yeah, the mountains near NL have ovatifolia and what looks like hybrids, and possibly some somewhat cold-tolerant echeverias that interest me. But I doubt we'll go to any of those areas any time soon, so I'm not planning on anything as of now. So I don't know about what you ran into, but when we have been there have been cops in flak jackets in the back of trucks with mounted guns in quite a few places. Even more so in touristy areas. To keep up the visible presence to deter crime is what I was told. Yeah, there are so many variables that would affect how we all would take it, and who knows until we are in the situation. It is easy to not be as afraid of it without experiencing it. Also, having some kind of advanced warning changes things. There are definitely things and places I won't do/go there.
@DonQuiote I don't know about public land rules there and all that, but would you be able to go grab some of the invasive/wild agaves from non-private land there and plant on your place so you can have a head start on their starting size?
