I used to grow Lithops and other mesembs and some dwarf cactus in my mid-town apartment, I used bookshelves that had 2-ft banks of fluorescent lights screwed into the undersides, and had the plants within 2-3" of the lights themselves - if the distance were any greater the light is not enough, you can do this for small species like the ones I mentioned, but something more leafy like bursera will not look very good under anything other than HID lamps, which are not practical in an apt. I also kept a small fan running 24-7, it built up black soot in about 3 days after cleaning it, just think of what the NYC air is doing to our lungs. There's nothing wrong with a sunny windowsill, you don't need supplements as long as you get about 3 hours of sun, just be careful not to knock the plant off! I used to go to the NY Cactus & Succ Society meetings, they were every other month on E 72nd, but it was mainly older folk, I did not fit in to that crowd and it was pretty lame.

Joyce Count me in on a few of your tomatoes and brussel sprouts. I have beefsteak, but not the others, so those would be nice to try. I haven't grown brussel sprouts in years, so will be good too to try. I remember last year your's and someone else's tomato plants were fabulous, and I enjoyed growing them in my veggie garden! Thanks Sandy

Hi Dizzy, I used to have to zone out also when I was sitting especially in the early afternoon, but no longer since I have been standing. There are a lot of articles now on using standing desks. Here is one. http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2012/04/confirmed-he-who-sits-the-most-dies-the-soonest/256101/ We actually have five monitors (four high resolution) on our electric desks at work with two computers, probably 12+k equipment when it was purchased. The desks were additionally 3k each. All those prices have come down significantly in the last 5 years. I raise and lower the desks every day without problem. Of course you have to use some common sense in setup with cord management. The old defunct Mayline digital drafting table was $150 on craigslist but the electric rise still works. We changed out the nonworking digitizer top for a wood table top, also purchased from craigslist ($100 for the table, we discarded the legs) . The mayline tables are angled but we had the metal supports shaved so that the table top is now horizontal. It goes up and down very smoothly. I would personally hesitate to sink so much money into extensive cabinetry for an office that I would spend most of my life in without taking care of safety and health. However I understand that you have limitations. Best wishes whatever you decide and hopefully someone will chime in on the layout.

Is it gushing out of the tub faucet? Can you not turn the main water off because you need to keep at least a trickle moving through your lines? If so, could you shut the main MOSTLY off but let a trickle through such that only a little is coming out of the tub faucet?