Weekly Flood Irrigation vs Daily Automated Watering

Q. The church lot that we have has water rights to the canal adjacent to the property. We can have flood irrigation scheduled for up to an hour once a week. I know you have dealt with flood irrigation with your other projects. How are you able to control the water access when the mittleider technique requires daily watering. Did you have to set up a water reservoir in order to maintain the moisture for the plants? Also, what is the best resource for seeing pictures of the Mittleider technique in detail. I know the Mittleider technique works best with a linear design but I was wondering if has been used with any other shapes that look a little more natural. A. Flood irrigation is not ideal for several reasons, not the least of which is that plants get more then they need or want on one day and then do without for 6 days. It also waters the weeds, and even brings in weed seeds in the water. Etc., Etc. If I was serious about growing a garden I would buy a large water tank of sufficient capacity to water four or five times each week. For example, a 2,500 gallon tank will water 25 - 30'-long soil-beds 5 times, with water to spare. There are hundreds of pictures and graphic illustrations in the books; the Photos section of the MittleiderMethodGardening@yahoogroups.com Group has hundreds of pictures; we have 70 training videos in a 2-CD set, with a few thousand picturss. Take your pick. And your rows can be any shape or size you want. You just want to make certain that the planting areas are level. Jim Kennard

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