Pathways ForwardWhen to start, plant and harvest each crop in the high tunnel and the outdoor beds, lined up with Saturday market days. It goes with the proposed Albany market-garden team plan. The shaded column is for a team to fill in during the season, and the next year's annual report compares what happened with this plan.
2027 market dates are estimates. The Albany Saturday Market (Water Ave. & Ferry St.) runs Saturdays, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.; the 2026 season ran from April 18 to November 21. The 2027 dates below follow that pattern: April 17 to November 20. Check the Corvallis-Albany Farmers' Markets schedule each winter.
2027 is an outdoor year. Oregon NRCS funds tunnels only on land already producing food sold directly to consumers, so a new team grows and sells from outdoor beds in 2027 and applies for a tunnel that fall. The tunnel column is the plan for the first full tunnel season, likely 2028.
The Willamette Valley grows almost anything, but its cool nights and wet springs and falls slow heat-loving crops and spread disease. The tunnel's jobs here: keep rain off tomatoes to hold off late blight, add warmth for tomatoes, peppers and basil, and keep greens clean through the wet months at both ends of a market season that runs into November. Vent well; damp, still air inside a tunnel invites mold.
These crops pay best when the tunnel puts them on the table weeks before outdoor growers have them, or keeps them coming after the rains return. Tunnel space is limited, so give most of it to the top two. The price check line is for the 12–14 group to fill in from Albany market prices in 2027.
Cornell's research ranks tomatoes, with winter greens, as the most profitable tunnel crops. A Missouri Extension budget for a 2,000 sq ft tunnel assumes 15 lb of marketable fruit per plant, sells 75% at retail for $3.30/lb, and nets about $4,000 after all costs, with a break-even around $1.79/lb. Willamette Valley summers are cooler than Missouri's, so plan with local records.
Why tunnel: outdoor tomatoes here usually start ripening in late July or August, and fall rains bring late blight. Tunnel tomatoes planted in mid-April can pick from early July and keep going under cover into October. Trellis them tall; in Cornell's example, trellising raised yield from 6 to 7.8 lb per plant.
Price check: ________
Spinach, salad mix, baby kale and radishes sown in the tunnel in February are ready for the April opening, and greens sown in September fill the rainy November markets, when November stall fees are half price. Cornell ranks greens with tomatoes as the most profitable tunnel crops.
Why tunnel: rain splashes mud onto outdoor greens and slugs thrive in wet beds. Under cover they grow clean and fast. This is also the first crop a newly built tunnel can grow.
Price check: ________
Climb a trellis, so they produce a lot per square foot of floor. Tunnel-grown cucumbers are straighter and cleaner than outdoor ones, and they come in weeks earlier.
Why tunnel: cucumbers stall in cool nights. Planted in the tunnel in early May, they bear by late June. Grow parthenocarpic (seedless, no pollination needed) varieties bred for tunnels.
Price check: ________
A dependable market seller, and it's easy for the youngest team members to help harvest. Plant it in small blocks between tomatoes.
Why tunnel: basil blackens below about 40°F, and Albany nights can stay that cold into June. The tunnel puts basil on the table weeks sooner.
Price check: ________
Outdoor peppers ripen slowly in the valley's cool nights, so tunnel peppers, especially red and colored ones, reach the market well ahead of outdoor ones. Cornell found colored peppers only marginal for profit in the Northeast because they take so long to ripen; in a cool-night climate the tunnel's warmth matters more, so track results.
Why tunnel: warmth. Peppers planted in the tunnel in early May set fruit weeks sooner.
Price check: ________
Bouquets carry a high price for the space and draw shoppers to the booth. Snapdragons tolerate cool weather and bloom early in a tunnel. Lisianthus is slow and fussy but brings premium prices.
Why tunnel: tall, clean stems depend on shelter from rain and wind. Buy plugs; don't start them from seed.
Price check: ________
Garlic, winter squash, potatoes, berries and brassicas do well outdoors here and don't need tunnel space. These figures come from other states' markets. Treat them as starting points for the season business plan, not promises. Sales at Albany prices are what count.
"Indoors" means seed trays under lights in a house or shop. Tunnel dates assume a tunnel with row cover available inside. Keep row cover (frost cloth) on hand for spring cold snaps, bait for slugs, and run drip irrigation from late June through September. Fill in the shaded column as you go: actual dates, weather, problems, pounds harvested, sales.
| When | Market | High tunnel | Outdoor beds | What actually happened |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | Closed | Harvest spinach and kale overwintered under row cover. Order seed and flower plugs. Plan beds and spacing. Draft the season business plan. | Order seed and seed potatoes. Map beds, rotation and drip lines. Check that winter beds drain; keep off wet soil. | |
| February | Closed; CAFM applications open Feb 1 | Sow spinach, salad greens and radishes early in the month under row cover. Start snapdragons indoors. Start tomatoes and peppers indoors late in the month (about 6–8 weeks before tunnel planting). | Start onions and leeks indoors. Apply to the market or file a consigner application. | |
| March | Closed | Sow more greens every two weeks. Start basil and cucumbers indoors late in the month. Keep row cover on cold nights. | Sow peas and spinach once the soil can be worked. Start brassicas (broccoli, cabbage, kale) indoors. Plant potatoes late in the month if the soil isn't soggy. | |
| April | Apr 17, 24 (opens Apr 17, est.) | Plant tomatoes mid-month once the tunnel soil stays near 55°F, with row cover on cold nights. Sell greens and radishes from opening day. | Sow lettuce, carrots and beets and transplant brassicas and onions. Frost is possible until about Apr 27. | |
| May | May 1, 8, 15, 22, 29 | Plant peppers and cucumbers early in the month and basil mid-month. Prune and trellis tomatoes weekly. Open the sides on warm days and close them at night. | Mid-month, once the soil warms, plant tomatoes, squash, beans and sweet corn; wait until late May for peppers and melons. Sell greens, radishes and green onions. | |
| June | Jun 5, 12, 19, 26 | First cucumbers late in the month. Pull bolting spring greens. Roll the sides up on warm days. | Harvest peas, early carrots, strawberries and garlic scapes. Start drip irrigation as the rain stops. | |
| July | Jul 3, 10, 17, 24, 31 | First tunnel tomatoes early in the month; peak cucumbers, peppers and basil. Keep the sides open for airflow. | Harvest garlic (if planted fall 2026), zucchini, beans and new potatoes. First outdoor tomatoes late in the month. Start fall brassicas and leeks indoors early in the month. | |
| August | Aug 7, 14, 21, 28 | Tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and basil. Start fall greens and spinach in trays late in the month. | Peak tomatoes, sweet corn and beans. Transplant fall brassicas early. Sow fall carrots and beets early in the month. | |
| September | Sep 4, 11, 18, 25 | Tomatoes keep going. Transplant fall greens and spinach into cleared beds mid-month. Close the sides on cool nights; vent on damp days. | Harvest winter squash, potatoes and the last melons. As the rains return, watch outdoor tomatoes for late blight and pick them clean. | |
| October | Oct 2, 9, 16, 23, 30 | Tunnel tomatoes keep picking after the first frost ends outdoor ones (about Oct 20). Greens for the late markets. Sow spinach to overwinter. | First frost about Oct 20; pick green tomatoes and cover late crops. Plant garlic mid to late month. Cover crop or mulch empty beds before winter rains. | |
| November | Nov 6, 13, 20 (Nov 20 closes, est.; half-price stalls) | Greens, spinach and radishes for the last markets. Pull tomato and cucumber vines after the last pick. | Sell storage crops: squash, potatoes, garlic, kale and leeks. Drain and store drip lines. | |
| December | Closed | Keep spinach and kale under row cover for early-spring harvest. Check the cover after windstorms. | Clean and store tools. | Write the annual report: plan vs. actual, what to change for next year. |