Let's try this again

Awhile back I began an ambitious campaign to learn how to cook and to keep plants alive. I haven't burned anything in the kitchen in a long time, so I consider that aspect of the campaign to be coming along quite nicely. The plants thing, however, is another matter altogether. Everything I've tried to grow from seeds has met the following fate: A happy, promising little shoot springs from the soil only to wither and die within a few weeks. What am I doing wrong? How hard can this be? Why can't the little bastards just live already?

The plants I purchased from the UTA biology grad students had my hopes up for awhile. I watered them every so often, and they grew beautifully. I didn't even have to sing to them that much. But then the aphids had to go and spoil everything. Shortly before I moved the plants to the new apartment I treated them with aphid killer. The substance I used is paraffin based. It essentially coats the aphids and suffocates them. It also apparently suffocates the plants they call home. I did everything I could think of. I gently cleaned them with a damp, soft cloth, thinking that perhaps their little stomata had gotten clogged with aphid killer, thereby preventing them from getting carbon dioxide. I gave them plant food. I watered them just the right amount. I even apologized. Nothing worked. Only one aloe and some other plant I don't know the name of survived the aphidocide.

This is all most disheartening, but Rock and Roll Grammarian is an eternal optimist. My thumb will be green, damn it! Tonight I planted some new seeds: basil, spearmint, lavender, oregano, wild flax and Spanish flag. Perhaps with a bit of nurturing and luck they'll take root. If not, I'll try again. Someday the conditions will be right.