The melon hill:

When we first came to Heathen Estate Vineyard we scouted the property and found a good spot for our first "plot",  a sloped area just north of the main house.

Our total operating area is about 1/4 of an acre.  This includes our main plot, the melon hill and our greenhouse.  There was a grass and wild weed covered hill of fill dirt left over from an old excavation.  We decided to put this hill to use!

We went through a slightly laborious process to remove the thick grass and weed cover.  Due to the slope of the hill and lack of time to let it sit covered with tarps we tried our hand at hoeing and chopping it out with shovels.  With three people working after about an hour in the heat, I made the decision to save our backs and energy and rent a sod cutter to give us a hand.  I've never used a sod cutter before and it was quite an interesting project!  We had to go over the area quite a few times to get the thick mat out.  

Here is a little video of me trying my hand at the art of grass removal:

We covered the hill with tarps for a little over a week and hand pulled the rhizomatic grass roots to help keep the majority of weeds and grass from re-sprouting.

Next was preparing for planting time!  Adding Lime to adjust the pH and compost to add nutrient.

And there it is, phase 1 complete.   In the center of the hill we planted the cucumbers alongside a row of radish companions.  We also added in some bush beans, summer squash and lettuce.  All of our various melons (Amarillo Oro, Sugar Baby Watermelon, Cantaloupe) and other pumpkins, summer squash, and winter squash plants went in a ring around the outside of the hill.  Since the transplants were still quite small we planted in some lettuce where there was room.  Lettuce enhances the flavor of fruits and can be harvested before the plants grow too large.  The extra shade from the cucurbit leaves will hopefully keep the lettuce from bolting in the heat.  I left some of the tarp (black side up) to not only keep weeds and grass down on the edge of the hill but also to reflect heat to the melons.

We wound soaker hoses through the beds and planted nasturtiums on the hillsides for pest control.

Here is the melon hill now, thriving and happy.