Who I am
I am Conrad Invictus Smith, otherwise known as the "cactus guy". I am a college student, pursuing a double major in Biotechnology and Biosciences in the Washington D.C. metropolitan area. Although a Washington area native, I re-discovered my fascination with cacti, plants and agriculture after studying for two years in the Chihuahua desert of New Mexico. An interest that began with a small cluster of cacti huddled around a single light bulb
in a dorm, has since grown into two laboriously, self-built, self-designed greenhouses.
Capital Cacti started as a way for me to support my various agricultural projects through the initial waves of the COVID-19 pandemic. Over the last few months however, it has since taken on a life of its own and turned into small business. None the less, Capital cacti continues to support my research, cultivation and development efforts.
Current Issues, Future Solutions
Current Issues, Climate Change
It I was raised, along with many of my generation (Gen Z), on the understanding that the world we know, will not be the world we leave behind. It will change, not only socially and politically, but indeed geographically. Indeed, within the current limited span of my own life, I have witnessed warmer seasons, both wetter and drier climates, rising seas, saltwater intrusion, land subsidence and more severe weather. This is Concerning.
I am a native of the U.S. east coast and knowing it well, never in my life, did I think that there would be droughts so severe, that we had such frequent wildfires in West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland, South Carolina and North Carolina.
Crops destroyed by brush fire in Sykesville, Maryland during 2019 drought. (source)
Never did I think that the Potomac river, which I know so well, would flow through D.C. at such low volumes that it could be crossed on foot.
I watched in slow horror as saltwater crept up through the marshes and robbed the fields and farms their fertility in my home state of Maryland. Now the farming families that have lived there peacefully for some 350 odd years are slowly being displaced, their homes for centuries now dead, salted and unsellable. Smith Island, Maryland, famous for its peculiar accent, multilayer cake and close-knit, multi-generational community is being swallowed by the water, not next century, nor in fifty years, but slowly by the hour.
Left: "ghost forest" killed by salt water intrusion on the chesapeake bay (VA institute of Maine Sciences) Right: High tide rishing over submerged highway Crisfield, MD (2013 Greg Kahn)
Even when we are not faced with droughts, rising seas or salted fields, we must then contend with floods, many of which do not actually replenish aquifers, whether in North Carolina, New Mexico or more locally to myself, Ellicott City, Maryland, which had two "hundred" year floods over the course of one single year.
Future Solutions, Weird Fruit
However, before I go on, I didn't write this to preach from a soap box, so with that dismal picture caused, is undisputable. The more pertinent issue is how to adapt to it. This concern of adaptation is at the heart of my research, cultivation efforts and business practices. My efforts are centered around the development of affordable, more efficient greenhouses, hardier, more sustainable crops, cultivation of hypoaccumulators and the use of entomopathogenic fungi.
The greenhouse industry has the potential to revolutionize how we eat food. I have over the past year built two greenhouses myself, which I will discuss more in another post. Using recycled rainwater, entomopathogenic fungi, automation, and geothermal heating, we can grow vast quantities of cheap food, year-round, with a nearly zero carbon footprint.
Russ Finch standing before one of his geothermally heated greenhouses in Nebraska. (source) For more watch this excellent, short documentary on it.
My efforts on the development of improved, hardier crops, for assured future food security are primarily centered on the development of Dragon Fruit (pitaya), large, cold hardy prickly pear (Opuntia), cold hardy figs and cold hardy kiwis. I have also recently made forays into other niche crops with potential, such as cold hardy passion fruit (Passiflora incarnata), Paw Paw (Asinina triloba) and Hopniss (Apios americana). Most of these plants display a prodigious ability to tolerate adverse conditions, while producing prolific quantities of food. Many more still, produce chemicals useful for everything from pharmaceuticals, biofuels, chemical manufacturing and bio-degradable plastics. All of which will be covered in future content.
Left: Saanichton 2, a variety of cold hardy kiwi. Middle: Prickly pear (possibly Opuntia engelmanii), Growing in USDA zone 7 and below, very moisture tolerant. Right: Paw Paw (asimina triloba) fruit (source).
Hypoaccumulators are a passion of mine, in that they started with mining in mind. A hypoaccumulator is a plant which intentionally uptakes and concentrated heavy metals the likes of Mercury, Cadmium, Uranium, Lead, in their vegetative tissue. They can be used to clean soils damaged by past mining activities, allowing cheap, easy, natural ways to extract the metals from the soil. This opens soil for cultivation of food crops, and as some plants have higher concentrations of metals in them than the ore itself, provides an avenue to literally mine with plants.
Like many cactus enthusiasts I too have from time to time suffered from the plight of mealy bugs. They are terrible, cottony devils, which enjoy nothing more than obliterating your favorite plants. Many, including myself use Neem oil. There is however another, more effective way, using Entomopathogenic fungi, Fungi which have evolved to target, infect and kill specific species of soft bodied insects. They are effective at killing aphids, mealy bugs, spider mites, thrips, white flies, gypsy moths, ticks, mosquitos, and countless other pests. Each species of fungus typically has a very specific species of insect they infect, much like a key in a lock. This specificity allows them to be safely used in the presence of beneficial insects, such as bees, fireflies, and butterflies, to whom they do no harm. They are also far safer than synthetic pesticides for pets and people. Due to their evolved, living nature they are cheaper, faster, safer, more efficient, more sustainable and even future proofed, than any synthetic insecticide will ever be. Unlike synthetic pesticides, the fungi can adapt with their insect hosts, preserving their effectiveness.
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