If I could do it over again, I would definitely put the drip tape down before I started planting in any of the rows. It would have made things so much easier. We were still able to get the tape laid, but I was afraid to stake it down where the dahlias were because I didn’t want to accidently hit a tuber, and the lisianthus rows were already a crooked mess so navigating through that Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride was a pain in the rear. The rest of the beds were not yet planted so it was easy to evenly space the tape and get it stapled down, but this is another one of those things that seems easier watching others do. Of course, we didn’t have enough ends and valves, so connecting all the tape will have to wait until we get the right parts. I so grateful this step is mostly done. I know it will make watering easier in the long run.

With the tape down, wildflowers seeds spread, lisianthus plugs planted, and dahlia tubers in the ground. It is time to continue filling out the planting beds, so I planted celosia seeds. How on earth does anyone direct sow celosia seeds??!!! These teeny tiny specs were nearly impossible to handle let alone effectively plant in the ground. I can only hope that I got one seed into each hole, but it is completely possible that there are none to 7. I now understand why some things are better started in seed trays then planted out as baby plants. Celosia is definitely one that I don’t know that I would direct sow from seed again. I do plan to succession plant celosia, so I planted a quarter of one of the beds. Another quarter will be planted in a couple of weeks. The other half of the bed will be planted with basil seeds, but next up are zinnia seeds!