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 Walla Walla 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 Downtown Walla Walla Farmers Market (the Pavilion, 106 W. Main St.) runs Saturdays, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., from the first Saturday in May through the last Saturday in October. The 2027 dates below follow that pattern: May 1 to October 30. Check the market's published schedule each winter.
2027 is an outdoor year. Washington 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.
Walla Walla's season is long and hot. Tomatoes, peppers, melons and sweet corn all ripen outdoors, and the valley's sweet onions are famous. The tunnel's jobs here are different from western Washington's: an early start in spring, a late finish in fall, and shelter from wind. In July and August the tunnel can overheat, so roll the sides up, add shade cloth, and plan for tomato flowers to drop in the hottest weeks.
These crops pay best when the tunnel puts them on the table weeks before outdoor growers have them. 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 Walla Walla 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. Walla Walla's heat is closer to Missouri's than most of the Northwest, but plan with local records.
Why tunnel: outdoor tomatoes here start ripening in mid to late July. Tunnel tomatoes planted in early April can pick from late June, when shoppers pay the most, and keep going after the first October frost kills outdoor plants. 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 in quantity for opening day in May, when outdoor beds are just getting started. Greens sown in September fill the last October markets. Cornell ranks greens with tomatoes as the most profitable tunnel crops.
Why tunnel: spring winds and cold nights slow outdoor greens, and summer heat makes them bolt. In the tunnel they grow fast and clean. 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: early. Planted in the tunnel in late April, cucumbers bear by early 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 Walla Walla nights stay that cold into May. The tunnel puts basil on the table for opening month.
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 wind. Buy plugs; don't start them from seed.
Price check: ________
Peppers ripen outdoors here, so the tunnel's only advantage is earliness; Cornell found colored peppers only marginal for profit because they take so long to ripen. Baby ginger sells for $7–25/lb, about $8 of sales per square foot in warmer places, and needs soil above 55°F for 4–5 months, which a Walla Walla tunnel can supply from May to September. Grow a few plants, track hours and sales, and decide from the records.
Why tunnel: both need warm soil early and a long season, and the tunnel adds weeks at each end.
Price check: ________
Melons, sweet corn, winter squash and sweet onions 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 Walla Walla 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 and shade cloth for summer heat, and run drip irrigation all season. 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 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 overwintering onions and garlic after cold snaps. | |
| February | Closed | Sow spinach, salad greens and radishes mid-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 early in the month. | |
| March | Closed | Sow more greens every two weeks. Start cucumbers and basil indoors late in the month. Keep row cover on cold nights. | Sow peas and spinach mid-month. Plant onion sets. Start early brassicas (broccoli, cabbage, kale) indoors. Plant potatoes late in the month. | |
| April | Opens May 1 (est.) | Plant tomatoes early in the month once the tunnel soil stays near 55°F, with row cover on cold nights. Plant cucumbers late in the month. Harvest greens to build up customers' first-week orders. | After about Apr 5, sow lettuce, carrots and beets and transplant brassicas. Cold nights are still possible; keep row cover handy. | |
| May | May 1, 8, 15, 22, 29 | Sell greens and radishes from opening day. Plant basil and peppers early in the month. Prune and trellis tomatoes weekly. Open the sides on warm days and close them at night. | Early in the month, plant tomatoes, peppers, squash, beans, sweet corn and melons once the soil warms. Sell greens, radishes and green onions. | |
| June | Jun 5, 12, 19, 26 | First cucumbers early in the month and first tomatoes late in the month. Pull bolting spring greens. Roll the sides up; add shade cloth on days near 90°F. | Harvest sweet onions (from fall sowing), peas and early carrots. Lettuce bolts as heat arrives; sow heat-tolerant varieties in partial shade. | |
| July | Jul 3, 10, 17, 24, 31 | Peak tomatoes, cucumbers and basil. Keep the sides open day and night and shade cloth on during 100°F spells; expect some blossom drop. | Harvest garlic (if planted fall 2026), zucchini, beans and new potatoes. First outdoor tomatoes and sweet corn late in the month. Start fall brassicas indoors early in the month. | |
| August | Aug 7, 14, 21, 28 | Tomatoes, cucumbers and basil. Start fall greens and spinach in trays late in the month. | Peak melons, sweet corn, tomatoes and peppers. Transplant fall brassicas early. Sow overwintering sweet onions late in the month for harvest next June. | |
| September | Sep 4, 11, 18, 25 | Tomatoes keep going. Transplant fall greens and spinach into cleared beds mid-month. Take the shade cloth off and close the sides on cool nights. | Harvest winter squash, potatoes, carrots and the last melons. Sow a last round of spinach and radishes early in the month. | |
| October | Oct 2, 9, 16, 23, Oct 30 closes (est.) | Tunnel tomatoes keep picking after the first frost ends outdoor ones (about Oct 24). Greens for the last markets. Sow spinach to overwinter. | First frost about Oct 24; pick green tomatoes and cover late crops. Plant garlic mid to late month. Cover crop or mulch empty beds. | |
| November | Closed | Pull tomato and cucumber vines. Keep spinach and kale under row cover for early-spring harvest. | Mulch garlic and overwintering onions. Drain and store drip lines before hard freezes. | |
| December | Closed | Check row cover after wind and cold snaps. | Clean and store tools. | Write the annual report: plan vs. actual, what to change for next year. |