Crop · cut flowers · not a yield

Growing cut flowers in a high tunnel

Growers search high-tunnel cut flowers when they want a rain shelter, a longer stem, and a fall rotation after tomatoes — then netting, drip tape, fabric, and film after the frame lands. This page copies land-grant sentences and tonight’s live Amazon featured prices. It is not a recipe, not a stem-count table, and not a USDA payment.

Extension PDFs and pages retrieved 20 September 2026, about 03:13 UTC. Featured Amazon prices copied 20 September 2026, about 03:14 UTC. Bootstrap Farmer trellis-netting Shopify JSON copied 20 September 2026, about 03:13 UTC. EQIP language is the structure-only FAQ already on what EQIP will not pay for. No payment dollar or stems-per-square-foot is invented here.

Home: Tunnel Spec. Kit index: commercially manufactured kits. Size map: high-tunnel sizes. 14×20. 20×40. 30×96 cost. Drip: drip irrigation. Film: plastic replacement. Shade: shade cloth. Tomatoes: high-tunnel tomatoes. Strawberries: high-tunnel strawberries. Winter lettuce: high-tunnel winter lettuce. Insect / exclusion netting — this page’s 6-inch mesh is support netting, not SWD exclusion: high-tunnel insect netting. Floor cover / weed mat (Cornell cloth or plastic): high-tunnel ground cover. County inspection: EQIP checklist.

Why cut flowers go in a high tunnel

UAEX MP586, fetched tonight, names cut flowers as a crop that is becoming more common in Arkansas tunnels. Cornell lists season extension, stem length, and fewer disease troubles. Purdue’s Midwest trial says rain shelter keeps flower quality. This page does not invent a stem price.

Cut flower production in high tunnels is also increasing and has proved to be very profitable.

Season Extension: Within a high tunnel air and soil temperatures warm more quickly in the spring and stay warmer longer in the fall. This allows for earlier crop establishment, accelerated growth, and earlier harvests in the spring and extends harvest later into the fall.

A high tunnel’s plastic cover can protect plants from environmental stresses including late spring frosts, hail, heavy rain (particularly during vulnerable growing stages), and wind. High tunnels also allow for crop maintenance and harvests despite weather conditions, such as rain.

Source: University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture — High Tunnel Production Guide for Arkansas and the Southeast (MP586). Retrieved 20 September 2026, about 03:13 UTC.

To extend the growing season in spring and fall.

To improve flower quality and stem length.

To reduce troubles from some diseases and insects.

Source: Cornell High Tunnels — Flowers (why grow cut flowers in tunnels). Cornell also printed 2006–2007 Ithaca net-income figures on that page. Those dated dollars are not copied here.

High tunnels also protect crops from rain and reduce disease incidence, so flower quality is maintained.

In the northern United States, high tunnels offer protection from frost and low temperatures, extending the growing season by several weeks in both spring and fall.

Although crops in high tunnels receive a lower daily light integral (DLI) and altered air temperature compared with crops in the field, cut flowers usually develop significantly longer stems in high tunnels as a result of reduced air movement and irradiance.

Source: Ortiz, Hyrczyk, and López — Comparison of High Tunnel and Field Production of Specialty Cut Flowers in the Midwest (Purdue / HortScience 47:9). Longer stems is a Purdue quality sentence, not a stems-per-square-meter table.

However, the benefits associated with high tunnel production are cultivar-specific, because overall stem quality is a culmination of several characteristics.

Source: Ortiz, Hyrczyk, and López — Comparison of High Tunnel and Field Production of Specialty Cut Flowers in the Midwest (Purdue / HortScience 47:9). Cultivar-specific is Purdue’s warning, not a national variety list.

High tunnels provide opportunities for season extension by granting early and late-season protection from cold temperatures.

High tunnels make it possible to produce profitable crops year-round.

Source: Rudolph, Larson, Sheffield, Shepherd, Mark, and Gauthier — Rotating Cut Flowers Within a Tomato High Tunnel Production System (University of Kentucky Center for Crop Diversification CCD-FS-23). UKY printed example bouquet and revenue figures in that PDF. Those dollars are not copied here.

Tomato rotation, not a second crop payment

UKY CCD-FS-23 is a fall cut-flower rotation after spring/summer tomatoes. UAEX MP586 cites that Kentucky work, names the same species list, and says the economics are still thin. Tomato clips and twine stay on high-tunnel tomatoes.

Using cut flowers as a fall crop (rotated with spring/summer tomatoes) takes advantage of the fall flower market, including farm market sales, seasonal events such as weddings, and holidays such as Thanksgiving.

Source: Rudolph, Larson, Sheffield, Shepherd, Mark, and Gauthier — Rotating Cut Flowers Within a Tomato High Tunnel Production System (University of Kentucky Center for Crop Diversification CCD-FS-23).

Growers with a single tunnel should also consider incorporating non-vegetable crops into their rotation. Cut flowers, for example, are becoming more prevalent in high tunnels in Arkansas.

Several cut flowers, when incorporated into a high tunnel crop rotation plan, can help take up excess nutrients in the soil (lower soil EC levels, see Chapter 10 - Soil Health and Fertility Management) and create a physical and temporal break from common pests and diseases that impact a vegetable crop.

For example, a University of Kentucky study indicated that following an early spring and summer high tunnel tomato crop with a fall cut flower crop could potentially disrupt disease and pest cycles enough to allow annual plantings of spring tomatoes.

Source: University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture — High Tunnel Production Guide for Arkansas and the Southeast (MP586).

Currently, there is little or no data to indicate if rotating cut flowers into a high tunnel rotation plan is economical. As with other profitable high tunnel crops, market demand will determine the economic benefit of high tunnel cut flowers.

Possible options for cut flowers in a high tunnel include sunflower, amaranth, zinnia, cosmos and straw flower, with lisianthus, snapdragons and stock as cool season options.

Source: University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture — High Tunnel Production Guide for Arkansas and the Southeast (MP586). Species list from UAEX, not a yield. Strawflower is spelled as two words in that sentence.

High tunnels can be very useful for extending your growing and marketing season in fall. If protected from an early fall frost, flowers planted for fall harvest can make good growth in the following warm, sunny weather.

Source: Cornell High Tunnels — Cut flowers (soil, irrigation, trellising, fall crop).

Footprint — research house, not a bed plan

Kit width × length stays on the size pages. Purdue’s late-season trial sat in a 26×48 FarmTek gothic-height house. UKY’s example rotation used a 15×45. Cornell asks for harvest headroom, not a SKU. None of those is a required flower size, and none is a plant count for a 14×20 or a 20×40.

The high tunnel (48 ft long • 26 ft wide • 12 ft tall) was constructed with a triple-galvanized structural steel frame (FarmTek, Dyersville, IA) and covered with 6-mm polyethylene film containing copolymer resin with trilayer construction and ultraviolet additives (SunMaster®; Lumite, Baldwin, GA) that allowed 92% light transmission.

Source: Ortiz, Hyrczyk, and López — Late-season High Tunnel Planting of Specialty Cut Flowers in the Midwestern United States Influences Yield and Stem Quality (Purdue / HortTechnology 26:3). Research house, not a kit-index SKU. 30×96 list price and freight stay on the 30×96 cost page.

Scenario based off of a 15 ft x 45 ft high tunnel (675 sq ft) with three 3 ft x 40 ft beds (360 sq ft).

Most flowers can be planted with a between-row and in-row spacing of 9 inches.

Source: Rudolph, Larson, Sheffield, Shepherd, Mark, and Gauthier — Rotating Cut Flowers Within a Tomato High Tunnel Production System (University of Kentucky Center for Crop Diversification CCD-FS-23). Example house and 9-inch spacing, not a 20×40 plant count. No bed plan is invented from it.

Tunnel should be tall enough so that twice-weekly harvesting can be done comfortably.

Source: Cornell High Tunnels — Cut flowers (soil, irrigation, trellising, fall crop). Harvest headroom, not a required peak height.

Size hub: high-tunnel sizes. 14×20 kits. 20×40 kits. 30×96 cost.

Manufacturer netting, not a kit row

Bootstrap Farmer 6-inch-mesh trellis-netting page, live tonight, names cut flowers and a horizontal install for dahlias and zinnias. Those SKUs are not extra rows on the 9-kit index. Kit frames stay on manufacturer product pages.

Amazon parts after the house is up

Netting, drip tape, tubing, emitters, aisle fabric, staples, film, and shade. Titles and featured prices copied 20 September 2026, about 03:14 UTC. A missing featured price stays an em dash. Tomato-clip and strawberry-mulch ASINs that were live tonight stay on those crop pages.

As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.

Opened and left on sibling pages: B0DYP23DP6 — Opened (Pemaly hooks + clips). Featured priceAmount $30.99 tonight. Left on the tomato page — clip hardware, not a flower-netting row.; B08CCXB9M7 — Opened (20-pack roller hooks). Featured priceAmount $27.99 tonight. Left on the tomato page.; B09TRVQYM8 — Opened (6,300-ft tomato twine). Featured priceAmount $14.99 tonight. Left on the tomato page.; B08DXXJX9Y — Opened (Jiggly snap clamps). Featured priceAmount $21.50 tonight. Left on roll-up sides.; B0H1ZMFYBN — Opened (NRWRTY 4-mil red mulch). Featured priceAmount $37.99 tonight. Left on the strawberry page.

Netting, drip, film, and shade — existing hubs

Cornell names 6-inch-square plastic netting. UKY names plastic trellis netting for straight stems. Purdue hung two layers at 8 and 18 inches. The netting rows above are listings — not a fertigation or trellis design. Filter, regulator, stakes, and manifold stay on high-tunnel drip irrigation.

Growing flowers in beds uses space efficiently, and makes weed control and irrigation easier.

Many flowers require support to prevent flowers from falling over before harvest. Plastic netting or wire fencing material with 6-inch-square openings works well:

Source: Cornell High Tunnels — Cut flowers (soil, irrigation, trellising, fall crop).

Plastic trellis netting provides support and keeps flowers growing upright and maintaining marketable straight stems.

Source: Rudolph, Larson, Sheffield, Shepherd, Mark, and Gauthier — Rotating Cut Flowers Within a Tomato High Tunnel Production System (University of Kentucky Center for Crop Diversification CCD-FS-23).

At 2 and 10 d after the last transplanting date, white trellis netting (Johnny's Selected Seeds, Winslow, ME) was secured above the beds at intervals of 8 and 18 inches, respectively, resulting in two layers of plant support.

Source: Ortiz, Hyrczyk, and López — Late-season High Tunnel Planting of Specialty Cut Flowers in the Midwestern United States Influences Yield and Stem Quality (Purdue / HortTechnology 26:3). Trial method, not a SKU mandate.

Utilization of the same irrigation system used for tomato can save time and money.

For a 3 ft-wide bed of annual flowers, two to three lines of drip tape is recommended.

Avoid overhead irrigation, if possible, to help reduce humidity and leaf/petal wetness and thereby risk for disease and damage to blooms.

Source: Rudolph, Larson, Sheffield, Shepherd, Mark, and Gauthier — Rotating Cut Flowers Within a Tomato High Tunnel Production System (University of Kentucky Center for Crop Diversification CCD-FS-23).

The most effective method of keeping the crops in high tunnels well watered is by trickle irrigation.

For weed control in the high tunnel, use black plastic mulch or landscape cloth.

Source: Cornell High Tunnels — Cut flowers (soil, irrigation, trellising, fall crop).

Weed mat is recommended.

If plastic mulch or woven weed mat is used for tomatoes, it may be left in place and reused for flowers.

There are no herbicides labeled for high tunnel or greenhouse vegetable or flower production.

Source: Rudolph, Larson, Sheffield, Shepherd, Mark, and Gauthier — Rotating Cut Flowers Within a Tomato High Tunnel Production System (University of Kentucky Center for Crop Diversification CCD-FS-23).

Drip tape (T-Tape # TSX 515-12-220; John Deere, Moline, IL) was installed in each bed at ≈0.3-m spacing.

Source: Ortiz, Hyrczyk, and López — Comparison of High Tunnel and Field Production of Specialty Cut Flowers in the Midwest (Purdue / HortScience 47:9). Trial tape and spacing, not a SKU mandate.

High tunnels must be placed near a viable source for irrigation. NRCS requires proof that legal access to water exists, regardless of how irrigation is obtained, before a high tunnel system can be designed for implementation. Oregon NRCS has a worksheet that is required to be signed by a verified authority confirming legal access to water. Some farms may be exempt.

Source: USDA NRCS High Tunnel System Initiative FAQ (Updated November 2024; Oregon-branded). Siting rule, not a drip-parts payment.

Film comparison stays on plastic replacement. Shade comparison stays on shade cloth. Purdue’s trial house used 6-mil film. UAEX MP586 still calls shade cloth necessary for summer production in Arkansas.

Other costs include plastic replacement, which will need to be done every three to five years, shade cloth (necessary for summer production in Arkansas), irrigation systems and labor to install these coverings.

Source: University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture — High Tunnel Production Guide for Arkansas and the Southeast (MP586). Arkansas summer note, not a national shade mandate.

Landscape staples that pin aisle fabric are compared on ground anchors. Ground posts for the frame stay on ground posts.

Kit pieces that matter for cut flowers

Purdue’s trial houses had roll-up side walls and end-wall peak vents. Cornell wants harvest height and doors that fit a walk-behind tiller. Whether a listed kit includes roll-up sides, end walls, or ground posts is already sourced on those pages — not invented here.

Ventilation was provided by manually operated end-wall peak vents and roll-up side walls.

Source: Ortiz, Hyrczyk, and López — Late-season High Tunnel Planting of Specialty Cut Flowers in the Midwestern United States Influences Yield and Stem Quality (Purdue / HortTechnology 26:3). Research-house ventilation, not a kit-index feature.

• Roll-up sides — included, optional, omitted, or not stated.
• End walls and doors — steel, zipper add-on, brackets, or left open.
• Ground posts — posts, stakes, or not stated. Not a wind table.
• High-tunnel tomatoes — the rotation crop; clips and twine stay there.
• High-tunnel strawberries — the other crop page; mulch rows stay there.
• High-tunnel winter lettuce — the season-extension sibling; row-cover rows stay there.

EQIP is the house, not the crop

Cut-flower netting, drip, and shade are grower cost. The FAQ already on this site says the practice pays for the structure. The same FAQ allows soil-profile or raised-bed crops and lists benches and pots among uses that sit outside the practice.

Under the High Tunnel System Initiative, financial assistance is provided only for the structure itself. Electricity, venting systems, lighting, etc. can be installed providing the additions meets manufacturer’s designs and specifications. However, the grower is responsible for those costs.

Source: USDA NRCS High Tunnel System Initiative FAQ (Updated November 2024; Oregon-branded).

High tunnels can be used for crops that are grown in the natural soil profile or in raised beds.

Source: USDA NRCS High Tunnel System Initiative FAQ (Updated November 2024; Oregon-branded). Raised beds in the soil profile are named. The same FAQ lists Crops grown on benches or in pots among uses that sit outside the practice; that list is already on what EQIP will not pay for.

Rules vary; call your county NRCS office. Checklist: EQIP county inspection. What sits outside cost share: what EQIP will not pay for.

FAQ

Does EQIP pay for cut-flower netting, drip tape, or shade cloth?

The High Tunnel System Initiative FAQ says financial assistance is provided only for the structure itself, and that the grower is responsible for additions such as electricity, venting, and lighting. Trellis netting, drip tape, landscape fabric, staples, and shade cloth sit with those grower costs. This page does not invent a payment dollar. Rules vary; call your county NRCS office.

What size high tunnel for cut flowers?

Purdue’s late-season HortTechnology trial sat in a FarmTek house 48 ft long, 26 ft wide, and 12 ft tall with 6-mil film and roll-up side walls. UKY CCD-FS-23’s example rotation uses a 15×45 house with three 3×40-ft beds. Cornell says the tunnel should be tall enough for twice-weekly harvest. Those are research and example houses, not a required width × length. Kit footprints stay on the size hub and the 14×20, 20×40, and 30×96 pages. No bed plan is invented here.

Do I need plastic netting over high-tunnel cut flowers?

Cornell says many flowers need support so stems do not fall over before harvest, and that plastic netting or wire fencing with 6-inch-square openings works well. UKY CCD-FS-23 says plastic trellis netting keeps flowers upright and stems straight. Purdue’s late-season trial hung two layers of white trellis netting at 8 and 18 inches. Those are land-grant sentences, not a SKU mandate. Manufacturer 6-inch mesh and Amazon netting listings on this page are pack sizes only.

Can I rotate cut flowers after high-tunnel tomatoes?

UKY CCD-FS-23 is written as a fall cut-flower rotation after spring/summer tomatoes. UAEX MP586 cites that Kentucky work and lists sunflower, amaranth, zinnia, cosmos, and strawflower, with lisianthus, snapdragons, and stock as cool-season options. The same UAEX page says there is little or no data on whether the rotation is economical. This page does not invent a stem count or a payment. Tomato clips and twine stay on the tomatoes page.

Does EQIP pay for benches, pots, or a cut-flower crop?

The High Tunnel System Initiative FAQ says high tunnels can be used for crops grown in the natural soil profile or in raised beds, and it lists crops grown on benches or in pots among uses that sit outside the practice. The same FAQ says financial assistance is provided only for the structure itself. This page does not invent a flower-crop payment or a marketing payment. Rules vary; call your county NRCS office.

Rules vary; call your county NRCS office. Tunnel Spec does not determine eligibility, payment rates, or inspection outcomes. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.