I haven't done this with melons, but we did our cucumbers in a raised bed & on a trellis. We used wire fencing for our vines to run up. It was less than 7' and worked great for our needs. It was, though, a good deal taller than 36" - probably close to 5' in height.

Our trellis had an east/west alignment with morning sun and by mid afternoon shaded. The cucmbers were happy, but green peppers will not grow in the same bed - I guess too shaded.

Good luck - hope it works out for you.

By using a 7-8 ft. high trellis, you can get the most production per square foot. The plants will be using "air" space and not as much ground space. Also,since the first couple of feet of growth on most cururbits only produce male flowers, there will be no fruit formed there. A north/south orientation of rows generally produces the least amount of shading, but for a 4 ft x 4 ft area, the direction of the rows probably will not make much difference.

Pantyhose is the key to this problem.

;)

I fail to see how wearing pantyhose will help and i am simply not that desperate to try it myself.
:-)

poppa,

Wearing the pantyhose first is optional, however all I can say is that it may stop bugs biting your legs if you wear shorts.... (I can tell you that the holes in fishnet stockings whilst gardening do not provide sufficient coverage to deter the average bug)

Back on topic!

arjo_reich,

No matter what system you use to grow your plants vertically the fruit will need support. The vines are not strong enough to support a full grown melon.

So!... Do a search on +pantyhose and +melon and you will find quite a few good ideas.

:)

Arjo:
My own experiences in Ontario zone 3/4, during hot summers, require sturdy, 7' trellises for growing sugarbaby watermelons vertically.
Pantyhose was required. :>
See link.

Here is a link that might be useful: See