I decided to visit the San Diego hydroponics shop today on a whim, just to see what they offer. Naturally, I ended up getting a bunch of equipment to help out my balcony garden. When Rachael and I are not here, there is basically nobody to water the plants, and if left on their own a few days, they essentially die. So, I bought some tubing, an aquarium pump, and a bucket, along with a valve and some connectors and a timer, and now I have a nice little self-watering system (drip irrigation) that can last a week or so without depleting. (pictures once Rachael returns from NorCal with her camera)

The next upgrade will definitely be the lights: for now, two different spectrum fluorescent lights are all the supplemental lighting I have, and considering that the balcony faces North, it's just not enough to grow fruiting vegetables. My tomato plant has grown tall and strong, but the flowers never become fruit. On the other hand, my onions are growing nearly out of control, and since I can never bring myself to throw away fresh herbs/vegetables, I am always needing to come up with novel uses for green onion clippings. The sage and mint are thriving as well, but the pineapple is also having trouble fruiting, as well as the peppers. Interestingly, our honeydew vine produced a small melon, and was actually starting a second, but I think the environment was too hard on it, and the second was aborted, while the first doesn't seem to be expanding anymore.

I guess I have a bit of a thing for plants (especially food plants); I bought a small satsuma tangerine tree last week, and now have it growing on the balcony as well. I have been amazed at the preponderance of new leaves that the tree has put up in just a few days, and without direct sunlight. I imagine that the lack of sunlight and transplantation spurred the plant into a rapid growth cycle, but its speed and size do not cease to amaze. Perhaps this week I will get some berries as well...