Pathways ForwardWhen to start, plant and harvest each crop in the high tunnel and the outdoor beds, lined up with Saturday market days. The shaded column is for the team to fill in during the season. Next year's annual report compares what happened with this plan.
2027 market dates are estimates. The 2026 season ran Saturdays from April 25 to October 3, with the Holiday Market on November 21. The 2027 dates below follow the same pattern: April 24 to October 2 and a Holiday Market around November 20. Check the dates when the market announces them, usually at the April vendor meeting.
Tunnel timing depends on NRCS. Nothing can be built before the EQIP contract is signed. If the tunnel goes up during 2027, start with the fall tunnel rows (greens for October and the Holiday Market) and use the full tunnel calendar in 2028. Outdoor beds run in 2027 either way.
The problem for warm-season crops here isn't just frost. Cool nights (36°F) last into June and return in late September, which gives tomatoes, peppers, melons, basil and ginger a short, slow season outdoors. The tunnel adds warmth at both ends. That extra time is what earns its keep.
These crops pay well at market but do poorly or can't be grown outdoors in Bonners Ferry. 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 Bonners Ferry and Sandpoint market prices in 2027.
Cornell's high-tunnel research ranks tomatoes, along with winter greens, as the most profitable tunnel crops for retail sales. 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.
Why tunnel: indoors, transplants go in about 6 weeks earlier than outdoors, and picking runs into October. Tunnels also keep leaves dry, which cuts blight. Trellis them tall: in Cornell's example, trellising raised yield from 6 to 7.8 lb per plant.
Price check: ________
Sells at markets for $7–25/lb, typically about $16. Yields about 0.5 lb per sq ft, and 1 lb of seed ginger produces about 10 lb. That works out to roughly $8 of sales per square foot, more than tomatoes, before costs. Few local growers have it, so it helps the booth stand out.
Why tunnel: it needs soil above 55°F for 4–5 months after planting. Outdoors here that can't happen. Order seed ginger early, sprout it indoors on heat mats for about 2 months, and harvest before tunnel nights turn cold. Turmeric grows the same way.
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 are ready for sale well before outdoor fruit.
Why tunnel: cucumbers stall in cold nights and are hurt by 36°F weather. Grow parthenocarpic (seedless, no pollination needed) varieties bred for tunnels.
Price check: ________
Spinach, salad mix and baby kale sown in late summer are ready from October through the Holiday Market, when little else is for sale. Cornell ranks winter greens with tomatoes as the most profitable tunnel crops. Spinach sweetens in the cold and can overwinter for early-spring sales.
Why tunnel: outdoors, growth stops by mid-October. Inside, with row cover, harvest continues into late fall. This is also the first crop a newly built tunnel can grow.
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, so outdoors here it lasts only from mid-June to mid-September.
Price check: ________
Bouquets carry a high price for the space and draw shoppers to the booth. Snapdragons tolerate cool weather and flower early in a tunnel. Lisianthus is slow and fussy but brings premium prices.
Why tunnel: tall, clean stems depend on shelter from wind and rain. Buy plugs; don't start them from seed.
Price check: ________
These produce reliably only under cover here. Cornell found colored peppers and cherry tomatoes only marginal for profit because they take so long to pick and ripen. Grow a few plants, track hours and sales, and decide from the records.
Why tunnel: they all need warm nights for most of the season.
Price check: ________
These figures come from other states' markets. Treat them as starting points for the season business plan, not promises. Sales at Bonners Ferry 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. 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 | Order seed, seed ginger (it sells out early) and flower plugs. Plan beds and spacing. Draft the season business plan. | Order seed. Map beds and rotation. | ||
| Early Feb | Sprout ginger indoors on heat mats (about 2 months). Start snapdragons. | Start onions and leeks indoors. | ||
| Early–mid Mar | Start tomatoes, peppers and eggplant indoors (about 7–8 weeks before tunnel planting). Uncover overwintered spinach. | Start early brassicas (kale, broccoli, cabbage) indoors. | ||
| Late Mar–early Apr | Sow early salad greens and radishes in the tunnel. Start cucumbers, melons and basil indoors (about 4 weeks before planting). | Prepare beds once soil can be worked. Harden off brassica starts. | ||
| Mid–late Apr | Apr 24 opens (est.) | Plant tomatoes once the tunnel soil stays near 55°F, with row cover on cold nights. Sell overwintered spinach and early greens at opening day. | Sow peas, spinach, lettuce, radishes (they tolerate light frost). | |
| Early May | May 1, 8 | Plant ginger when tunnel soil stays at 55°F or above. Plant peppers and eggplant. | Transplant brassicas. Sow carrots and beets. Frost watch until about May 16. | |
| Mid–late May | May 15, 22, 29 | Plant cucumbers, melons and basil. Trellis tomatoes. Harvest tunnel greens. | Harvest radishes and first greens. Hold off on squash and beans. 36°F nights are still likely. | |
| June | Jun 5, 12, 19, 26 | Prune and trellis weekly. Open sides on warm days (keep below about 90°F). First cucumbers. Snapdragons bloom. | Once past about June 8, sow beans and transplant squash and outdoor tomatoes. Peas and lettuce for sale. | |
| July | Jul 3, 10, 17, 24, 31 | First tunnel tomatoes, weeks ahead of outdoor ones. Cucumbers and basil every week. Hill ginger. | Harvest garlic (if planted fall 2026), beets, carrots, kale. Sow fall carrots and beets. | |
| August | Aug 7, 14, 21, 28 | Peak tomatoes, peppers, melons. Start fall greens in trays late in the month. | Beans, squash, outdoor tomatoes begin. Sow fall spinach and radishes. | |
| September | Sep 4, 11, 18, 25 | Sow or transplant spinach, salad mix and baby kale for fall. Harvest baby ginger from mid-September on. Outdoor growers are winding down now, so tunnel tomatoes sell well. | First 36°F nights around September 22. Cover or pull basil and tomatoes. Harvest winter squash. | |
| Early Oct | Oct 2 closes (est.) | Finish ginger before cold nights. Pull tomato vines once production falls off. Row cover over greens. | Killing frost around October 4. Plant garlic for 2028 in early-to-mid October. Cover crop or mulch empty beds. | |
| Oct–Nov | Holiday Market ~Nov 20 (est.) | Harvest spinach, salad mix and kale for the Holiday Market. Leave spinach in to overwinter for April. | Beds put to rest. Clean and store tools. | |
| December | Close the tunnel for winter; check the cover after snow. | Write the annual report: plan vs. actual, what to change for 2028. |