um

I got some mold on the dirt now, making it likely that chives will not join the mold at the surface.  Another attempt with this bucket will happen in short order, cause this one failed so efficiently.

There was only one attempt at gardening in the off season this year; given the weather I didn't feel like it warranted a post.  I was correct to assume that the plants would die in a flash, and thus didn't post anything about it.  The dirt lay fallow for about a year in the kitty litter bucket where it is currently.  I wrapped the bucket in part of our shower curtain liner which I trimmed off (the trimming was to make the shower less crowded- I didn't steal from our bathroom to make my [potential] plant container look very slightly better.)  This time, the seeds in there are chives because I've killed all the basil seeds I had.  This is the biggest container I have ever tried, but it is only the second one with no drainage. The last time I had a container without drainage, there was a complete lack of germination, so I hope that the ample rocks in this one and its size might provide enough drainage to result in a different outcome.  Another thing that is different this time is that I didn't spend hours and hours on the internet looking up the best way to grow chives.  Maybe I had too much information when I planted the basil; ignorant people are happier, so maybe they are better gardeners too.

So the seeds have sprouted, and seem to be languishing in the pre-true-leaves phase, as all of my previous little sprouts have done.  And don't get too excited about those couple of tall plants in there; those are just the results of seeds left from the previous attempts to grow several varieties of plants last time. I see no evidence that these sprouts will do any better than those that came before them.  My failures have been so consistent that even the way I write about them is becoming repetitive; there are only so many ways to say Julia planted seeds, they sprouted and died within the month. There are many ways for this pattern to play out, but its description can only be titillating so many times.

Seeds have been planted in the 4 chia sponges a second time.  All seeds come from a packet that claims basil will grow from said seeds.  I expect to prove the packet wrong, despite my calculated efforts to do the opposite.

dead plants.  hot damn.