I use a system similar to Dan's. It consists of ½" mainline tubing along the top of the garden with ¼" dripline running the length of the beds. Works great and wastes very little water. At the head of the system is a timer, filter, and pressure regulator. During the hottest weather I set it to water three days a week, at intervals in the early morning. Mine's from Dripworks. They're very helpful and knowledgeable, and will plan your system for you for free if you give them a sketch of your garden layout. Last year I added a separate set of lines (on a separate timer) that are connected to misters that are mounted on stakes and spray downwards. Between each mister and the mainline is a shutoff valve. This lets me mist freshly-seeded beds often enough to keep them moist until germination  a few times a day in hot weather. They're great labor-savers, and also let me be away from the garden for days or weeks. The biggest drawback is that you can't harvest mechanically, weed-whack, use a garden fork, etc. in beds that have dripline in them (or you'll tangle or cut the lines). So I wind up doing edge trimming, weeding, and harvesting by hand, or pulling out the lines temporarily in order to harvest an entire bed or fork in compost. Elevated sprinklers alongside the beds would reduce these problems, at the expense of wasted water and more chance for disease and fungus due to wet foliage. How do others deal with this trade-off?

That is one of the common problems with Sq Foot Gardening - watering. Everything with totally different water needs is so close together that Mel designed it for hand watering plants individually, not auto or whole bed systems. Of course with such small beds hand watering is easy to do and really works best for the plants. Same with nutrient supplements - different plants have different needs. Why not post this over on the Sq Foot Gardening forum for suggestions from the folks who practice it. They may have figured out alternatives to watering by hand. Otherwise, as John said above, the only alternative is very careful zone planting, lots of different shut off valves along the system, and a whole range of various GPH drippers. Dave

AM, Yes most controllers are not as flexible as you would like. The more money the more flexibility. I am not even aware of a 6 program controller. Someone may know. What was the old one that you used? I just need to gather more information from you to make an informed suggestion. I need to know your flow rate of your water source. Is your system off a outdoor house faucet or the mainline from your house before your house pressure regulator? If a hose faucet, then fill a five-gallon bucket and time how long to fill. Give us the time to fill 5-gallons. Next is the drip ones, how long or how many and what spacing and the type of drip lines or emitters? How many sprinklers and what Brand/type for each zone? What I am looking for is flow rates of drip tape or emitters to calculate the water demand for each zone. This is like a design in reverse which is a water audit. If you don't have all the info give me as much as you can. Finally, what is your water pressure? Buy an inexpensive pressure gauge that fits on your faucet from hardware store. When I can tell what zone uses what amount of what, then you can tell what zones can run simultaneously and the ones that need extra time can be at a later time and duration. You might try buying another Controller and hook three zone to one and 3 zone to another for the 6 programs you need. JMHO Aloha

Well, so far only one problem. I installed a timer, backflow, filter, regulator and splitter, and 2 garden hoses to get the water from side of house to front and back faucets I rigged on stakes. I turned on the water at that point to test for leaks and opened and closed all the faucets and no problems. After I installed the back 100 feet of hose, I turned on the water again and I have a very loud squeal in the pipes in the house, and you can also hear it at the outside bibb. It starts shortly after I turn on the side faucet, and doesn't stop unless faucet is turned off ALL THE WAY. Squealing also stops when I remove the end cap from drip hose. Not sure what do to about that, we've never had ANY water hammering or anything like that in this house (after flushing the toilet, for example). I'm going to install the hose in the front and see if that helps. My thinking is it's a pressure thing, so maybe more water flow will help. I'm putting in 200 more feet. Or maybe I got a bad pressure regulator? Anyone have this problem and a solution? And just fyi for anyone reading this thread after the fact... If I had it to do over again I might spring for the punch that grabs the hose, but I'm getting the hang of punching holes. Finished the back yard with 100 feet of hose and about 40 - 50 emitters and it took about 2-3 hours (includes figuring out the winding route for the hose). I was a little surprised that I used all 100 feet of the backyard hose, but I did need to snake it around alot. Get more hose than you think you need. If you're debating between soaker hose and drip, I would definitely go with the drip. I've never done anything like this before, but as twolips said, it is that easy. At least once you get the hang of it. Just put the hose in the sun for awhile, attach it to the faucet, unroll (trick is to hold upright so it unrolls straight, don't just let it drop from the side), snake, stake as you go, and punch and install emitters. Now I have water exactly where I want it. Thanks to twolips for the great advice!