I'm on the 18th floor of a hi-rise so I certainly have no access to water other than in the kitchen or bathroom. I haven't pulled out the hose yet but did about 10, 2 gallon luggings on Saturday to get it all done. Once the veggies go in, that'll be another couple.

The one thing that I have done through summer is that since I have some window ACs (to supplement the sorry blowers) and the units hang out over the balcony, I can collect the condensate drip into buckets. On hot/humid days like today, I can get about 4 gallons of condensate a day out of my livingroom AC alone and I use that to water the plants since the buckets stay out on the balcony. I run a tube from the AC to the bucket (one of my ACs has a nice spout for a tube and the other I use a gerry-rigged funnel with a tube and position that under the drip hole to catch the water).

Alternately, I will pull out the hose for deep watering. The one I have is called a "RealEasy", it's 50ft, small diameter rubber type, and rolls up into its own carrying case. The connector fits on standard faucets (you can get adapters to screw on to match the threads) and the nozzle end takes standard nozzles or watering wands. It looks like this:

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They sell those coil hoses (either the thin ones for indoor or standard width for outdoors), but I have found that the thin ones can clog very easy - even before the end of one season and the bigger coils can be somewhat of a pain to drag.

One of the biggest helps for me is mulch. Whether it's a big honkin' container or a window box or even a 1-gallon nursery pot. It can give you some extra time between watering. I have some self-watering pots but you have to check how they are constructed as I've noticed many nowadays have no wick and some have no overflow drainage hole for the resevoir. And if your soil is not well draining, it can stay sopping wet. Alternately, if you need to retain moisture, you can add materials to the soil mix like vermiculite, bark chips, etc., or try one of the water gel crystal products like "SoilMoist". Read the directions carefully on how to add these as they will swell up and can pop out the soil. However when mixed in correctly, they will gently release moisture back into the soil over time.

Thanks for the suggestions.

I think there is a thread on this forum where a poster suggested or asked about a rain barrel, which could be filled periodically but used right there on the balcony (they sell hand pumps to fit on such). That's another idea although the weight factor will definitely come into play in that instance (1 gallon water = 8 pounds).

Thank you for that suggestion but I do not think the rain barrel would work for me as I do need to consider the weight. I suppose I will need to get the attachment for my faucet as suggested. and a hose thing as suggested. Thanks for all suggestions.. If anyone can think of anything else please post.

Wow, AC condensate. I love it! So ingenius! We have a giant central air unit on the deck with pipes attached to it. Wonder if I can tap into that somehow. Hmmm...

As it is I go back and forth with a half-gallon watering can to my self-watering containers. Gotta figure out something else, though, because that takes a looooong time. At least the kitchen sink is only about 20 feet from the deck. Don't want to rig a hose, though, because that would just be too bulky in the kitchen.

About to transfer the 2 gallons collected in the bucket overnight from the AC to my watering can right now! LOL I watered my lilacs, dogwoods, and windowboxes last evening with the 2 gallons collected during the day yesterday.

My upstairs neighbor has lovely plants on her patio and I appreciate the ocntribution to making our community prettier. HOwever, she waters almost daily and very heavily - she has about 10 large containers with 5' to 8' plants in them. The water pours down onto my patio below. When I asked her to not do this, she says I should have thought about then when I bought a ground floor unit that of course she has every right to do this and I should have expected the water to come down on my patio.

What is everybody's opinion on this? If you are on the ground floor, should you just expect things to rain down from the balcony above and suck it up and live with it?

You should expect no such thing. That very issue is why they make saucers for planters/pots. Your neighbor sounds like an extremely inconsiderate individual.

Perhaps you could suggest to her that she get some saucers for her pots; if that doesn't get any consideration from her, then you should make a formal complaint to management.
You have the right to enjoy your outdoor space as much as she does - ground floor or not.

PV

I second PV. I have a third floor balcony and I bought a large outdoor rug just so I wouldn't have to put every single plant on a tray or saucer. I worry about water dripping as well as soil falling through the cracks when I'm repotting. I know it has happened occasionally, but I really try to be careful! If I had an upstairs neighbor, I'd certainly want them to do the same.

i am on a second floor and i bought sham wows to soak up the run off since i am growing peppers and need to fully soak at each watering, i was going to post on here asking how people would suggest doing this, unlike the lady above the other poster i love my ocean view and dont want to loose it or have an angry neighbor below who could beat on thier ceiling and i would hear it! since my pots are all in the 14" terra cotta and #5,7,15 plastic pots i was thinking of buying a 5 gallon home depot bucket and seeing if the lip of the terra cotta will get caught so i can water and the run off will be in a bucket and i can then reuse the water for the next and then at the end i can go dump the water into the flowers of the complex!
thanks,

Eric

I got a mini greenhouse for my balcony for $70 on amazon, and put a tarp underneath it to prevent leaking. works flawlessly and i plan to keep planting in the winter!