BIGFOOT grows thousands of cultivars of cacti and other succulents adjoining the redwood rainforest in Humboldt County, Northern California. With over 60 inches of rain per season (November to May) and humidity running 50% and up, Blue Lake is hardly prime desert territory. At 41 degrees latitude and near sea level, there are several freezing spells, a few dipping into the mid-twenties. Summers tend to be warm (60-80 degrees) and dry, although river fog is common mornings and sometimes for stretches of days.

After starting seeds over bottom heat in February, most seedlings are moved outside for keeps. Most Opuntia, Echinopsis and Echinocereus and many types of succulents are exposed to all the winter elements (with good drainage) while the rest are kept outside but dry (though the humidity is high). Any tropical succulents are heated. In 3 to 5 years, they are ready to sell as seedlings. Plants are grown hard to make them tough and ornery, occasionally with slight scars, without excessive shading (BIGFOOT uses 0-30% shade-cloth in the summer) or feeding (BIGFOOT uses mainly trace minerals derived from kelp meal).

Grown slow, plants have to be efficient or die, and they look more like their wild brethren than the bloated succulents usually seen from typical commercial liner production. Picky, habitat-specific seedlings die out before they can be listed here.

BIGFOOT tries to aid preservation through propagation and dissemination, and does not sell field collected plants, only field collected seed. If you live in the north above 37 degrees latitude and have difficulty acclimating seedlings from southern, prime desert nurseries, try BIGFOOT.