There is a wealth of knowlage here. Please take it. PLEASE, for i feel slightly guilty for all the help i got in the beginning, am i eager to repay that. I have selected 3 posts for people starting new, though i will try to put as much info as i can in this post. If it is not sufficient, search the forum thorugh the search box, or scroll pages. There is someone new asking for help in every three pages or so, give or take a few. Here are other threads: http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/citrus/msg1211183927904.html?8 http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/citrus/msg0416064414357.html?31 http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/citrus/msg112344197872.html?6 Okay. Fertilizer. Mikes is good. I go with something close to that, and he has more expereince than me soo.... Most people here use white vinegar to make the ph of soil more acidic. That is needed. I have used both, but i use lemon juice packets that i pick up (steal?) from a subway near my house. Same idea, getting the Ph acidic. I water once a week. My standered is i use a bottled water bottle ( i re-use it so no waste :) ) that is 16.9 fl. oz. i think. Sometimes i will water less, and sometimes i will do it less often (especially in winter) just to keep it different. I never water when the soil is more than the far dry side of damp. A wooden dowel rod (similar to a chopstick) is good for seeing if it needs water. U stick it in the potting mix and wait a sec then pull it out, if its wet, dont water. I never go more than 2 weeks without watering. Of course, i do sometimes water it a little more often than normal, but no more than a day. When citrus's roots stay damp, they rot; which has a good chance of killing your tree. Your the judge on this, but they will try to make flowers and lemons on you real quick. (they are traumitized and are seeking to make offspring because they fear death). Getting those off will encourage leaf and root growth. If the soil mixes arent in those threads i put, search Al's mixes, ull find them, they pop up everywhere. I know theres alot, but really, once you get used to it, its not to hard. And its very fun an rewarding. I hope i havent discouraged you, citrus are great. Mike was right when he said you came to the right place. Many, MANY people here are extremely eager to help. Because i don't know your extense of knowlage with these, i have outlined the basics, if i am repeating knowlage you already have, im sorry, im not trying to make you look like an idiot or something. We really would love to see pictures of your trees. Heres how, its hard to figure out. Once you get them saved on your computer (through various means) upload them to photobucket, and go to your album. When you see the picture/s in your album you want to post, click on the 3rd choice it gives you for copying your pics, i think its the HTML code, its will change, and it says copied. PAste that code into your post and hit preview message at bottom of posting scree. If you did it right, you will see the pic there. Tell us if you have any more questions, and feel free to search the forum for the answers too. Wishing you luck -Andrew

I use PictureTrail for my photos - they make it real easy with their codes to "click" and then "paste". You just open an account with them, upload your photos to the site, then when you're ready to use one in a post here, go to the "Image URLs" tab and click the top URL and "paste" it here in your text. I have a paid subscription over at PictureTrail because I have so many photos uploaded, but if you stay under a certain number/total MB size, it's free (or at least it used to be!) Denise in Omaha Here is a link that might be useful: PictureTrail

I'm learning too, so take my (extremely spammy) advice with a grain of salt. I start seeds early so I can transplant them into my garden, so hopefully my advice will help. When using seeds from last year, depending on the type of plant, the amount of seed that may still be viable will vary from type to type. Some seeds last seemingly forever, while others need to be planted the same year they were collected. Do some research online to find out. Be careful with potting soil. Many brands can be too thick in texture and full of things like fertilizer, which can affect your seedlings' ability to grow. It's better to get seed starter soil, or soil that's lighter in texture. As for florescent lighting versus LED: not all light from bulbs will work for growing. It all depends on your setup, what you're growing, what sort of budget you have, and if you're growing indoors or just starting plants to place outdoors when spring arrives. The last one is important because the larger and more mature the plant, the more light you'll need. If you're just starting seeds indoors, most types of florescent lights should do the trick, though more experienced people here may have better ideas. Florescent lights are generally inexpensive and widely available, which is probably why that site recommended them. Since this'll be in a greenhouse, you'll have to consider things like moisture (ie, will the light fixture be okay being in a greenhouse year after year?), how you'll hang your lights, and how you'll space them around your seedlings. I grow in the basement, so I use a wire shelving unit and raise the seed beds to the light. If you can't hang your lights from the ceiling, you can possibly affix your lights to a frame (you can make your own with wood, pipes, repurposed shelves, buy kits, etc) and put them on small chains with s-hooks, so you can bring them up as the plants get higher. I plug my lights into a timer so that they're not on 24/7, which saves electricity.

Hi Michael, a big factor in what you can grow is how much sunlight reaches the balcony. You can grow plants in any container as long as it has holes in the bottom (don't let it sit in a full tray of water for too long either). I avoid clear containers because light hitting the roots can be bad for them. Some edible plants you can grow in containers that require less light include lettuces, carrots, beets, radishes and most herbs like basil, mint, rosemary, and cilantro. You generally want at least 2-4 hours of sunlight to hit those plants leaves during each day, and having ambient/reflected light helps too. If you can't get them enough light on the patio you can always get a grow light. Pretty much all of these plants need the soil to remain moist so make sure you don't let them dry out too much, but also be careful of over watering. If you can squeeze the soil and water comes out, it has too much water.