Bigger. Limper.

These guys just don't stop growing. I was out for about a week, and when I came back the plants were...well, they were bigger. A lot bigger. I don't know what I expected, but they're really getting pretty sizeable. You don't need me to point out where they are in the picture anymore.

But the bigger they get, the crappier they look. Look at this pathetic specimen. The stem gives practically no vertical support. Its posture is so bad, it's slouching away from the light. And the leaves are limp as wet dishrags. 

The other one's no better.

There's absolutely no sign that these things plan to bear fruit. (Their sibling at home, in an Earthbox in the actual sun, is going nuts with flowers.) I've put in the webbing system (EarthBox calls it a staking system, but it's really more of a webbing) to which I'll strap these sad, flaccid specimens and hope for the best.

A couple possible fixes: 1) The obvious: more light. I'm tempted to throw a few compact fluorescents at them. Sinking big money into another high-power LED seems like overkill. 2) A bigger fan. Maybe that would help stiffen up the impotent foliage.

On the brighter side, the lettuce has gone completely bonkers in my absence.

Both containers are completely full. So, it's harvest time!

I got quite a decent salad out of this first trimming! And it was tasty...if kinda limp. There's that word again. I think those fans aren't cutting it.

Last time, I tried calculating when the cubicle farm would break even based on what I'm not spending on spring mix from Whole Foods at $5.99/lb. This particular salad weighed in at 7/8 oz. That means I saved...33 cents. Yep. One third of one Yankee greenback. Let's not talk about what this experiment has cost so far.

I take some solace from the fact that I can cut another one tomorrow, from the as-yet un-harvested second tray. And we'll see what's grown back by next week.