By Nick Volesky
In South Dakota, most cut flower farms operate on less than an acre, often in open fields rather than greenhouses, and rely on season-extension tools such as high tunnels to protect crops and extend the short growing season. Many market their flowers directly through farmers markets, CSAs, and agritourism activities, while others supply to florists and event services. These characteristics highlight the need for ongoing research into the localized performance of various cut flower species and production techniques adapted to regional environmental conditions.
SDSU Extension Horticulture and Specialty Crop Field Specialist Nick Volesky, conducted research on delphiniums as a cut flower crop in northern Utah, and is continuing his cut flower programming in western South Dakota, where many of the challenging environmental conditions are similar, including low precipitation, variable soil types, and extreme temperature fluctuations.
Delphinium (Delphinium spp.) is a cool-season perennial cut flower that holds strong market potential, but production on small farms for regional markets remains limited by yield and short harvest durations. This study evaluated low-input practices: high tunnels and unprotected fields, transplant timing, series selection, the use of shade cloth, and first- vs. second-year crop age on yield, quality, and harvest timing over two growing seasons in 2023 and 2024.
First-year, high tunnel–grown plants averaged 22 marketable stems/yd2 in 2023 and 20 in 2024, which included approximately 4 to 10 times more marketable stems than those from the field, and harvests began 2 to 5 weeks earlier. Second-year plants yielded up to 47 stems/yd2 in high tunnels and 17 stems/yd2 in the field. Among series across systems and transplanting dates, ‘Belladonna’ yielded approximately 2 more total and marketable stems/yd2 compared with ‘Magic Fountain’ and ‘Pacific Giant’.
Source : sdstate.edu