“Now I’ll show you the watermelon that I want to revive. A genuine Kherson one, from the Hola Prystan Institute of Melon Growing. I used to sow such on ridges, without irrigation”, — smiling, says Volodymyr Kovalenko, owner of a farm located in one of the villages of deoccupied Kherson region.
Once, on the land he is giving us a tour of, there was a real oasis. They grew, perhaps, the only table grape varieties in the steppe zone. Now there are — damaged greenhouses, destroyed equipment, shell craters. Despite this, Mr. Volodymyr returned home and step by step is restoring his life’s work.
The farm is located in the north of the Kherson region. Until 2022 it was a flagship on these lands. From the beginning of the full-scale invasion battles were fought right on its territory, so when after deoccupation Volodymyr Kovalenko returned home, he found ruins.
“There were greenhouses everywhere. Half a hectare of greenhouses, each 100-140 meters. I switched to growing strawberries in hydroponics (a modern method of growing plants without soil, during which the roots receive all minerals from a water solution, — MOST). After the fighting such craters were left, everything got filled in. Three combines were broken, only one was able to be restored. Two tractors were destroyed. The arches. God willing, if there is a good harvest this year, I’ll finally cover all the greenhouses. My previous film had been standing for eight years”, — he tells us.
Before the full-scale invasion more than 20 people worked in Mr. Volodymyr’s greenhouses. Residents of the neighboring village also came to work. Now about 10 employees work here.
Volodymyr Kovalenko is restoring what is still possible. In the greenhouses where strawberries once grew among the grapes, watermelons are now ripening. The man promises that in a week they will be taken for sale.
“Here’s a great variety. Its top is pink, and inside it is light. I had elite varieties growing here, table varieties”, — he shows the remains of the vineyard.
He talks about his work with a smile, and the story of saving the destroyed farm certainly ranks among the most striking stories about the reconstruction of the Kherson region.
“Before the war I always sowed a lot of watermelons. And I never sold the first ones — I always delivered them to pensioners. They ate them, collected the seeds and gave them back to me. I then sowed that seed. These were elite, the biggest watermelons. That’s how I distributed them in 2021. And then the war, the fighting. There was nothing to sow. But one old woman collected the seeds and preserved them. And when I returned, she gave them to me. They survived months of occupation. Now I sowed them”, — the man shares.
He also finally dispelled the myth about early “nitrate watermelons” that people like to scare buyers with. According to Mr. Volodymyr, nitrate is given to watermelons only at the beginning of growth, later — microelements, and at the end — potassium for sweetness.
“ — So the idea that early watermelons are stuffed with chemicals is a myth? — we ask. — Yes, rather so. I don’t think that colleagues who plant early varieties stuff them with nitrates”, – replies Mr. Volodymyr.
While we talk about the farm owner’s favorite watermelon varieties, drones fly above us. After a walk through the green oasis, they are a reminder that the war continues, the danger has not gone away, and Volodymyr Kovalenko has a lot of titanic work ahead so that Ukrainians can once again enjoy fruits and berries grown just a few dozen kilometers from the front line.
“Come after the 25th. You will get to try our watermelons”, — Mr. Volodymyr says in farewell.