sustainablemelon is a working journal from a small high-latitude farm. We share what we try, what we measure and what we would do differently — drip lines, compost, hoop houses, pollinator strips and honest season reports.
This season's focus
Metered drip irrigation & mulch trials
We log every irrigation cycle and share the numbers, including the seasons that did not go to plan.
Cover crops, compost and minimal disturbance — described as we practise them, not as a formula.
Everything here is our own experience on one farm. Conditions differ, so treat it as a starting point.
The journal
Four posts from this year's melon beds. Select any card to read the full note in place.
How we moved from overhead watering to metered drip lines, and the moisture readings that changed our schedule.
Our winter rye and vetch rotation, compost rates by bed, and what our simple soil tests actually told us.
Which flowering plants stayed in bloom through our short season, and how we counted visits by hand.
Reading the field spot and tendril, plus a low-energy shaded store we built from salvaged lumber.
These notes describe our own measurements on one small Alaskan farm and are published for general information only. They are not professional agricultural, food-safety, legal or financial advice, and no result is guaranteed — see our .
Gallery
Photographs of melon growing, soil work and harvest days. Select an image to view it larger.
About
sustainablemelon began as a spiral notebook in a hoop house on the Kenai Peninsula. We grow melons in a short, cool season, which means every choice about water, warmth and soil matters — and most of them have to be tested rather than assumed.
This site collects those tests. You will find irrigation logs, compost recipes, variety comparisons, mulch experiments and the occasional failed bed. We publish measurements as we recorded them and describe our methods so you can judge whether they suit your own site.
We are growers sharing experience, not agronomists or advisors. Nothing here is a guarantee of yield, and local climate, soil and regulations will always shape your results. If a post helps you ask a better question in your own field, it has done its job.
Documented trials
Method, dates and results for each bed.
Reused materials
Salvaged lumber, repaired lines, mended covers.
Reader questions
We answer what we can from experience.
Contact us
Send a note about a post, a growing method or a correction. We read everything and usually reply within two business days.
Farm address
44661 Sterling Hwy
Soldotna, Alaska 99669
Phone
(907) 420-0483Visits
By appointment only, Mon–Fri