Crop · strawberries · not a yield

Growing strawberries in a high tunnel

Growers search high-tunnel strawberries when they want a rain shelter, a longer season, and cleaner fruit — then plastic mulch, 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 yield table, and not a USDA payment.

Extension PDFs retrieved 19 September 2026, about 03:17 UTC. Featured Amazon prices copied 19 September 2026, about 03:20 UTC. Grower's Solution mulch Shopify JSON copied 19 September 2026, about 03:20 UTC. EQIP language is the structure-only FAQ already on what EQIP will not pay for. No payment dollar or pounds-per-plant 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. Cut flowers: high-tunnel cut flowers. Winter lettuce: high-tunnel winter lettuce. Insect / SWD exclusion netting: high-tunnel insect netting. Floor cover / woven fabric — plastic-mulch ASINs stay here: high-tunnel ground cover. County inspection: EQIP checklist.

Why strawberries go in a high tunnel

UAEX MP586, fetched tonight, names annual strawberries as a crop that has been produced inside a tunnel. The same guide says the plastic is a weather roof — frost, hail, heavy rain, and wind — and that blocking rainfall cuts splash-spread anthracnose on drip irrigated strawberries. UKY and Purdue say the same rain-shelter idea in their own words. This page does not invent a yield.

In some instances, annual strawberries have also been profitably produced within a tunnel.

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 19 September 2026, about 03:17 UTC.

Anthracnose, for example, is an economically damaging fungal disease on strawberries and, in the open field, is quickly spread by splashing rainfall. The incidence of anthracnose is greatly reduced on drip irrigated high tunnel strawberries, even without the use of fungicides.

It is important to mention that diseases dispersed by other methods occur often inside a high tunnel, particularly diseases that thrive and spread in high humidity conditions. Botrytis gray mold, leaf mold, and powdery mildew are common and potentially devastating fungal diseases in high tunnels.

Source: University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture — High Tunnel Production Guide for Arkansas and the Southeast (MP586). Cleaner fruit here means less splash-spread anthracnose, not a grade table.

High tunnels provide protection from unfavorable weather conditions, including wind, hail, frost, and excessive rainfall. This can translate into a better survival rate of strawberry plants, as well as earlier berries.

Some states report higher yields in tunnels; however, that has not consistently been the case in University of Kentucky research trials.

Source: University of Kentucky Center for Crop Diversification CCD-CP-061 — High Tunnel Strawberries. UKY is warning that yield gains are not automatic. This page does not invent a pounds-per-plant figure.

Growing them in high tunnels, however, provides protected cultivation and makes it possible to extend the Alabama strawberry growing season beyond the normal 4- to 6-week period in the spring and possibly into seasonal markets such as Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Source: Alabama Cooperative Extension System ANR-2729 — High Tunnel Strawberry Production: Tips for Getting Started. Alabama season language, not a national harvest calendar.

Previous studies found high tunnel production systems reduced the production risk associated with extreme weather conditions, increased fruit quality, and extended overall harvest duration compared with open-field production.

Source: Guan, Haseman, Ingwell, and Egel — Strawberry Cultivar Evaluation for Fall-planted High Tunnel System (Purdue / HortTechnology, Southwest Purdue Agricultural Center).

Strawberries can be grown in low- and high tunnel structures as well as in tabletop greenhouses (not shown) to protect from weather impacts.

Source: Southern Regional Strawberry Plasticulture Production Guide, Second Edition, 2024 (AG-645; Auburn / Arkansas / Florida / Georgia / Mississippi State / N.C. A&T / NC State / Clemson / Tennessee / Virginia Tech). Low tunnels and tabletops are named in that sentence. CPS 325 still excludes low tunnels; that comparison stays on caterpillar vs high tunnel.

Footprint — research house, not a bed plan

Kit width × length stays on the size pages. Purdue’s fall-planted cultivar trial sat in a 30×96 gothic. That is the house they used. It is not a required strawberry size, and it is not a plant count for a 14×20 or a 20×40. Alabama ANR-2729 describes bed width, not how many beds fit a commercial kit.

The high tunnels are 30 ft wide and 96 ft long, with 6-ft-high sidewalls and 15-ft-high centers.

Source: Guan, Haseman, Ingwell, and Egel — Strawberry Cultivar Evaluation for Fall-planted High Tunnel System (Purdue / HortTechnology, Southwest Purdue Agricultural Center). Rimol 30×96 list price and freight stay on the 30×96 cost page.

Plant strawberries in double-staggered rows in plastic-covered beds 3 to 5 feet wide.

Source: Alabama Cooperative Extension System ANR-2729 — High Tunnel Strawberry Production: Tips for Getting Started. Home-garden or Alabama bed width, not a 20×40 plant count. No bed plan is invented from it.

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

Manufacturer mulch, not a kit row

Grower's Solution black and red 1.0-mil embossed mulch pages, live tonight, name strawberries in the annual hill system. 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

Drip tape, tubing, emitters, mulch, aisle fabric, staples, film, and shade. Titles and featured prices copied 19 September 2026, about 03:20 UTC. A missing featured price stays an em dash. Guessed mulch and drip-tape ASINs that 404 stay off the priced table.

As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.

Opened and skipped: B09RQ9RGSH — Opened (One Stop Outdoor 100-ft P1 drip tape, 8-inch spacing). No featured priceAmount tonight.; B00BMSZN74 — Candidate Grower's Solution 4×100 photo-degradable black mulch listing. HTTP 404 tonight.; B00B8C6XQE — Candidate Irrigation Direct 100-ft drip tape listing. HTTP 404 tonight.; B01986HU0E — Candidate Irritec P1 1000-ft drip tape listing. HTTP 404 tonight.

Plasticulture, drip, film, and shade — existing hubs

UKY CCD-CP-061 recommends plasticulture plus drip for high-tunnel strawberries. Alabama ANR-2729 says to lay mulch and drip as the beds are formed. Purdue’s Indiana trial used 1-mil black mulch and one drip tape with 8-inch emitters. The tape, tubing, and emitter rows above are listings — not a fertigation design. Filter, regulator, stakes, and manifold stay on high-tunnel drip irrigation.

A plasticulture system with drip irrigation is recommended when using high tunnels for strawberry production.

Because plants are protected from rainfall in tunnels, the foliage and fruit can remain dry during the growing season, but relative humidity can become high.

Source: University of Kentucky Center for Crop Diversification CCD-CP-061 — High Tunnel Strawberries.

Apply plastic mulch and drip irrigation as beds are being formed.

Drip irrigation allows for the efficient use of water.

Source: Alabama Cooperative Extension System ANR-2729 — High Tunnel Strawberry Production: Tips for Getting Started.

In annual hill plasticulture, a grower plants new strawberry transplants (plug plants, bare roots, or cut-offs) into a raised bed on an annual basis.

Source: Southern Regional Strawberry Plasticulture Production Guide, Second Edition, 2024 (AG-645; Auburn / Arkansas / Florida / Georgia / Mississippi State / N.C. A&T / NC State / Clemson / Tennessee / Virginia Tech).

The beds were covered with 3-ft-wide and 1-mil-thick black plastic mulch (Trickle-EEZ Irrigation Inc., St. Joseph, MI, USA).

One drip tape with 8-inch emitter spacing was placed in the middle of each bed.

Source: Guan, Haseman, Ingwell, and Egel — Strawberry Cultivar Evaluation for Fall-planted High Tunnel System (Purdue / HortTechnology, Southwest Purdue Agricultural Center). Trial method, 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 2023 southern-Indiana report names shade cloth when it talks about continuing an Albion harvest. UAEX MP586 still calls shade cloth necessary for summer production in Arkansas.

Harvest of ‘Albion’ may continue if shade cloth is used for the high tunnel.

Source: Guan, Haseman, Egel, and Ingwell — Strawberry Production in an Elevated Bench Growing System inside a High Tunnel in Southern Indiana (Purdue). Retrieved 19 September 2026, about 03:17 UTC.

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 strawberries

Purdue’s trial houses had roll-up sidewalls. UKY notes that laying plastic mulch is harder unless end walls open for equipment. Whether a listed kit includes roll-up sides, end walls, or ground posts is already sourced on those pages — not invented here.

The high tunnels were equipped with roll-up sidewalls that automatically opened when temperatures were above 70°F in the fall, and 80°F in the winter.

Source: Guan, Haseman, Ingwell, and Egel — Strawberry Cultivar Evaluation for Fall-planted High Tunnel System (Purdue / HortTechnology, Southwest Purdue Agricultural Center). Automatic open-at-temperature is that research house, not a kit-index feature.

Once permanent tunnels are in place, laying plastic mulch, cultivation, and amending the soil can present a challenge unless access for equipment is provided by hinged or removable endwalls.

Source: University of Kentucky Center for Crop Diversification CCD-CP-061 — High Tunnel Strawberries.

• 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 other crop page; clips and twine stay there.
• High-tunnel winter lettuce — the season-extension sibling; row-cover rows stay there.

EQIP is the house, not the crop

Strawberry mulch, 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 — relevant if you are reading Purdue’s elevated-bench paper.

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. Benches and pots are listed on the same FAQ as 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 strawberry mulch, 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. Plastic mulch, 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 strawberries?

Purdue’s fall-planted cultivar trial used gothic Rimol houses 30 ft wide and 96 ft long, with 6-ft sidewalls and 15-ft centers. That is the research house, not a required width × length. Alabama ANR-2729 describes plastic-covered beds 3 to 5 feet wide — not a plant count for a 14×20 or 20×40. 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 mulch under high-tunnel strawberries?

UKY CCD-CP-061 recommends a plasticulture system with drip irrigation for high-tunnel strawberries. Alabama ANR-2729 says to apply plastic mulch and drip irrigation as beds are formed. Purdue covered 20-inch beds with 3-ft-wide, 1-mil black plastic and one drip tape at 8-inch emitter spacing. Those are land-grant sentences, not a SKU mandate. Manufacturer 4×100 rolls and Amazon mulch listings on this page are pack sizes only.

Does EQIP pay for an elevated bench strawberry system?

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. Purdue’s 2023 elevated-bench paper is a research report, not a cost-share document. This page does not invent a bench payment. Rules vary; call your county NRCS office.

Do I need shade cloth over high-tunnel strawberries?

Purdue’s 2023 southern-Indiana bench report says harvest of Albion may continue if shade cloth is used for the high tunnel. UAEX MP586 calls shade cloth necessary for summer production in Arkansas and says a well-ventilated tunnel with shade cloth may still run hotter than many warm-season crops want. That is two land-grant sentences, not a degrees-Fahrenheit drop or a required percent.

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.