My name is Troy Helle, and I work on my family farm in South Texas alongside my brother and dad. We grow a variety of fruits and vegetables, but this year, our honeydews stood out. When growing honeydew, you are shooting for high yield and high sugars. This year, neither were a problem for us. In fact, they gained a little notoriety being featured on New York news channel. Produce Pete recognized our honeydews, which are packaged and shipped by J & D Produce of Edinburg, Texas. According to Pete, our honeydews were some of the sweetest he had ever tasted.

Keeping our honeydews at the correct moisture was one of our biggest obstacles because of an abnormally hot growing season coupled with a low rainfall. To overcome the shortage of moisture, we used H2O Excel. With the help of H2O Excel, which we applied through our drip irrigation system, we kept our moisture up and had an overall healthier plant. Prior to applying H2O Excel, I was constantly watering to fight the dry conditions and a wilting plant. After applying H2O Excel, it became apparent that the plants were a lot healthier and the soil’s moisture retention had improved.

Without a sought H2O Excel benefited us greatly this year, and it showed at the end of the year. Our honeydews out-yielded and out-performed all while staying super sweet. This was definitely a year for the record books.