Last week, the first picking of the Dixon melon harvest started, and it was quickly dispersed to Charlo and St. Ignatius grocery stores and the Polson Farmers’ Market. 

Of course, the 30-minute wait in the long-stretching line at the Polson Farmers’ Market didn’t dampen patrons' urge for the sweet melons. That truckload of melons won’t last very long at the markets during the beginning of their harvest season, explained Faus Silvernail, the Dixon Melons farm owner and operator. 

Silvernail explained that he knows people are anxious for the melons, but he advises them to “remain calm,” because this is only their first wave of the harvest. 

“We'll be where we usually go as soon as we got the melons,” Silvernail said. 

Silvernail said the melons take 80 to 90 days to mature and that they space out plantings so they have a consistent harvest throughout the season. As long as there are no weather events, the melons will be harvested until mid-September. 

Dixon Melons is owned and operated by Faus and his wife Cassie. In total, they typically plant around 50- to 60,000 plants, which can sometimes grow multiple melons. 

Silvernail said once they have a good amount harvested, they will open the local farm stand in Dixon and do several farmers markets over the coming weekends. The farmers markets they visit include Polson, Missoula, Helena, Butte, Columbia Falls and sometimes Bozeman. 

Silvernail said the wildfire smoke slows the harvest down a bit, with the lack of sunlight reducing the melon growth and making the watermelon turn out a bit slimmer. He added that cloudy days can also reduce the melon sweetness a little bit too. 

However, the overall crop is looking better than last year, Silvernail said. 

For updates on where Faus and Cassie will sell the next harvest of melons, visit their Facebook page: Dixon Melons Inc. 

    Marsha Hettick grabs a melon for one of the many customers who waited in the long line at the Polson Farmers’ Market on Friday, Aug. 7. (Emily Messer/Leader)