Failing to spring up?

So we hardly share our failures here, but this is one of them. From about 40 to 50 seeds this is the grand 2013 harvest of spring onions! We have had good previous years, but maybe we planted them at a time when we didn't water them enough? Who knows, but luckily we still have red onions from our own harvest, so we haven't bought onions for a while. The good thing also is: if you manage to plant quite a lot, some of the failures won't be sooo depressing, as you should have something else to harvest. Of course, the Head Gardener has been spending hours on growing things from seed in the green house, since January... and the majority in March and April. This proves that gardening is not for those who want to have quick and certain results. When things work out, and the harvest is good, that's brilliant, if things fail to spring up, then that's... sad. CHG