Walchli Organic Farm

“I have been working the fields and farming all my life, being organic gives me the opportunity to give back to the land we have taken from for so long. Making the soils better and happier will continue to produce for the future of our kids.” –Teresa Walchli

Phillip and Teresa Walchli, with the help of their daughter Dru and a small crew of farm hands, produce some of the most candy-like, melt in your mouth melons to have ever graced our co-ops with their presence. The Walchli name is known all over the Northwestern coast – from farmer’s markets and produce stands to large grocery retailers. When in season, Walchli melons are in high demand. The Walchli’s began farming on their 140 acres in 1989, growing peppers of all varieties conventionally. In 1998 after Dru was born, they began to transition the land for organic farming with just one 6-acre field. The Walchli’s stopped growing peppers and started growing organic muskmelon, watermelon, and a small variety of other crops.
 
By the time 2014 rolled around, all six fields, the entire 140 acres, was certified organic by Oregon Tilth. Walchli Organics lies just south of the Washington/Oregon border within the Colombia Basin in Eastern Oregon. This growing region is a very significant agricultural production area. The long growing season due to warm days, cool nights, well-drained soil, and superior water and air quality create the perfect environment for exceptional growing conditions. There is not another growing region like it in the world. The sugar content of these muskmelons, at 15-16 Brix (measurement for the sugar content of an aqueous solution), consistently surpasses cantaloupes and other melons grown elsewhere in the world. 

Walchili melons are on sale at the co-op for .79/lb through 8/7!