Planting in Winter in Hopes of Spring Blooms

After getting the lay of the land for 2 years working endless hours building garden beds, fencing, bringing electricity and water out to the garden, a high tunnel was next on the list. With the help of her husband David and Shari built a high tunnel completing it in October 2024. Many hours of research went into selecting the perfect tunnel for the brutal North Dakota climate. After settling on a Rimol high tunnel greenhouse, the inside work began. Building and installing 6 inch raised beds allowed for a few things. Our soil is quite compacted so being able to control the soil structure in the raised beds was the easiest way to go. As an added benefit, we laid small grid chicken wire underneath the soil in hopes of protecting high dollar crops from becoming gopher and vole snacks. Growing on sandy soil has its benefits, but it also allows vermin to easily tunnel through the garden causing devastating losses. 2025 was an especially difficult year of trials with vermin damage. Having experience growing in low tunnels for 5 years in raised beds, I had much better success in keeping the soil from freezing solid when the soil was elevated with the aid of heavy duty frost cloth.

After getting my beds filled with native soil and added amendments, it was time to start thinking about planting. With the aid of low tunnels in the past I was about to plant 8-10 weeks before last frost but growing in a high tunnel I was willing to bend the rules and take chances and I planted 16-18 weeks before last frost. *This method would not work with most crops, but the crops I chose to grow require a long and low temp grow period to allow for strong root development under the soil surface- in turn throwing up large and thick stemmed flowers. I'm not necessarily exposing the soil to sunlight until mid-February. Can growing high-end, florist grade flowers be grown in our harsh climates? Absolutely, but it will take many more hours, labor, and high cost measures to protect the crops from our bitterly cold winters and absolute frigid overnight temps. Remember our Feb 2025 -40 stint for 8 days??? One thing we have on our side is our bountiful SUNSHINE here in the Northern Plains. Because I can capture sunlight during the day, I feel comfortable leaving the beds uncovered during the daytime because it can easily be 65-70 degrees inside the tunnel on a sunny 0 degree day. Of course, it is still limited daylight hours during February and March- again my goal during these months is achieving strong root growth and nice bushy foliage on top. Once daylight hours extend into Spring that's when the bud formation will be triggered on the plants.

In hopes of Spring blooms, in our cold and unpredictable North Dakota climate, it’s always a guessing game when it comes to predicting bloom time when not in a controlled growing environment. This spring I was successful in achieving my goal of Mother's Day (the crops started to produce the 3rd week in April) In years past, I was close by 1 or 2 weeks but could never meet the goal date because for an example I was using my low tunnels and a very cold or windy 10 day streak was in the forecast, I would never feel comfortable exposing the plants to the elements because of potential cold damage or in the case of our famous Spring 50mph never-ending wind events- think of the film "Groundhogs Day" but with our wind. I would never feel comfortable venting my low tunnels, because there is a good chance the whole structure would blow away. Now during our wild spring wind events, all I have to do is turn on my exhaust fans!!

One thing I learned as well this spring was that I could extend my season of Spring crops over a longer period of time. My high tunnel greenhouse is in East- West orientation. Because of this, I could plant different varieties that have varying bloom times- certain varieties of ranunculus are known as being early and late bloomers. If I were to plant the same variety in my south bed vs. my north bed, they could easily have a 2-3 week delay in blooming thus making it a true succession planting. Now knowing this, I have all kinds of ideas in my head about how I could still have my spring time best sellers blooming in 1 half of the tunnel but still have the flexibility to flip beds that have completed their growth cycle and plant with summer crops.

I am aware 1 tunnel doesn't seem like much for many large scale growers, but for me and my business my tunnel did wonders for me. It was a constant source of blooms for my business late April through late October. It really allowed me to keep my costs down for weddings and events because I was able to grow high-end florals that are susceptible to temperature fluctuations, wind, and hail damage. I didn't have to rely so heavily on outsourcing my flower orders and keeping the florals I used as local as possible .

I grew the best, high quality spring blooms I have ever grown because of my investment in a high quality high tunnel. I must admit too, being able to work in the tunnel during the cold months and I was able to soak in the sunshine daily definitely helped with seasonal depression. Lots of Sunday afternoon naps and family 'picnics' were enjoyed during the cold months in there.