How I Grew Watermelon in an Open Field of 10 Plots at Aladura Community in Akure North LGA, Ondo State, Nigeria Using a Drip Irrigation System (Series Intro)

I’ve been meaning to document this journey for a while, and now feels like the right time to do it properly.
This series is about how watermelon was grown on an open field of 10 plots at Aladura Community in Akure North Local Government Area of Ondo State, Nigeria, using a drip irrigation system.
This is not a textbook guide.
It’s not theory.
And it’s definitely not a perfect farming story.
This is a real field experience, told as it happened the good decisions, the limitations, the adjustments, and the lessons that came with managing a real farm under real conditions.

Why Watermelon?
Watermelon is one of those crops that attracts interest easily. Many people want to grow it because of its market value and relatively short production cycle. On the surface, it looks simple.
But once you step into the field, watermelon quickly teaches you that it demands precision.
Spacing matters.
Water management matters.
Soil condition matters.
Timing matters.

A small mistake shows up clearly on the plant, and when you’re working with multiple plots, those mistakes multiply fast. That was one of the reasons I found this project worth documenting, watermelon doesn’t hide errors, it reveals them.

Why Open-Field Farming with Drip Irrigation?
The decision to run this production cycle using drip irrigation in an open-field environment was driven by practicality.
Water management is one of the biggest challenges in vegetable production. Drip irrigation helps reduce water wastage, delivers moisture directly to the root zone, and allows better control when nutrients are applied through fertigation.
In an open field, drip irrigation also makes it easier to observe how crops respond to natural factors like rainfall, temperature, and pest pressure, while still maintaining some level of control over water supply.

About the Farm Site
The farm was located at Aladura Community, Akure North LGA, Ondo State, with a total size of 10 plots, all cultivated for watermelon production during this cycle.
Before I resumed my role as the farm manager and junior agricultural consultant to the farm owner, the site had already been selected and cleared. The location and initial preparation were not decisions I personally made. My responsibility was to manage production and make the best possible use of what was already available.
The location itself presented some challenges. The farm was quite far and close to a remote village, which affected logistics, supervision, and access to certain resources.
One of the major challenges was water availability. The site did not have a reliable water source capable of conveniently covering all the plots. There was also no electricity supply, which meant water pumping depended solely on a generator. Fuel costs were high, and running the generator continuously was not sustainable.
Because of these limitations, water could not effectively serve all 10 plots at once. This made irrigation planning very critical and influenced how the drip system was managed throughout the season.
However, there was a helpful second option. The farm had access to a weekly supply of water provided by the Water Department under the Ondo State Ministry of Environment. This served as a crucial backup and made it possible to keep the farm running despite the challenges.
This experience reinforced an important lesson early on: sometimes, you don’t get perfect conditions, you get real constraints, and your skill shows in how well you adapt to them.

What This Series Will Cover
This series documents the watermelon production process from start to finish. I’ll be sharing practical insights on:

• Land condition and preparation status
• Soil considerations and amendments
• Drip irrigation materials, layout, and challenges
• Seed variety selection
• Planting method and spacing
• Watering and fertigation scheduling
• Pest and disease pressure
• Growth observations and field decisions
• Harvest outcomes
• Lessons learned from the entire cycle

I’ll also share what didn’t go as planned, because farming is not about presenting perfection, it’s about learning, adapting, and improving.

Who This Series Is For
This series is for:

• Farmers and farm managers
• Agripreneurs
• Agriculture students
• Anyone interested in watermelon production
• Anyone curious about drip irrigation in open-field farming

Whether you’re already farming or just trying to understand how modern farming systems work in real environments, this documentation will give you a practical perspective.

Why I’m Sharing This
I believe agriculture grows faster when experiences are shared honestly.
Too often, we only see the results, not the process. But the process is where the real learning happens, especially when conditions are not ideal.
This series is my way of contributing practical knowledge, documenting real decisions made in the field, and creating room for discussion, feedback, and improvement.

What to Expect Next
The next post in this series will focus on the state of the land and preparation status before planting, including what was already done before I resumed and the adjustments that followed.
This is documented agriculture; real, practical, and unfiltered.

If you’re interested in following the journey from field to harvest, you’re welcome to follow along.