Update, I played awhile more and managed to beat it :)
I think the wandering healer is probably the most important part of the game, so I just kept making sure I had full health as I progressed to take down the other enemies. Once I did that it was easier for me to handle and I had an overflow of cacti picked up haha
I think you did a great job, it was a really fun game and the duration was just nice too
