Traits: persistence, creativity, are you fucking kidding me?
I bought the zucchini when my cucumber died. I figured, hey, everybody says zucchinis take over everything and produce a ton of vegetables, etc etc. I wanted something I couldn't kill; it seemed like a logical choice.
I set it, still in the plastic pot, on top of the dead cucumber's container. By the time I thought about replanting it, there were roots into the larger pot, so I put it off. And then I put it off some more.
I mentioned talking to the OSU Master Gardeners, right? I asked them what I should do about the zucchini and they said not to replant it but that I should cut the plastic pot off with scissors. That sounded reasonable.
I went outside with my scissors to where it sat, just off the side of the tiny deck. I started clipping with it on the ground, but that got awkward fast, so I tried to pull it up onto the deck. No dice. It had grown over the side of the pot and rooted into the ground.
The plastic and bark-covered, non-garden ground.
I did eventually manage to get the plastic pot cut off. I "planted" the exposed roots as best I could in the cucumber pot. It's a hell of a reminder that nature can tell me to fuck off whenever it damn well likes.
And if I ever need to pick a spirit to teach me persistence, I'm going to the zucchini.