Rather than needing the ground space, single vining melon or squash can fully cover a 2' width of a reasonably sized trellis and will fully shade the originating squares s in the process. I plant my trellises to extend 1' on either side of the bed so I can put in three plants on trellis across a 4' bed.

I've never though of trellises as having a front and back, on mine stuff just weaves through, and they are placed mid-square.

I'd have reservations about using screws with the clamps, but small bolts and 2-3 clams per side should work.

Slings are often just a loop of old nylons. This is one of those things where personal creativity rules the day.

I have never had to use a sling to hold anything up on the towers, and I have had 50+ pounds of squash, melons, that are up 7' tall. If you compare a stem of a melon being suspended on a trellis to a stem of a melon sprawling on the ground, you will see a world of difference. The vertical stem is much, much thicker which enables it to hold up whatever you are growing. Mother nature seems to know that is has to be tougher to hold it up and that is exactly what happens.....

On your support for conduit: Just use the 2 hole type conduit straps with the bottom of the conduit seated on the cement. and use 2 straps on each up pipe to prevent pivoting. I am an electrician and I know that will hold. However the longer the span the stronger the pipe you will need. Must keep in mind how much weight will be applied. I have built many things out of conduit of many types. It's easy stuff to work with and very long lasting.

Great... thanks for the info! Has anyone tried putting one melon/pumpkin/squash in ONE square foot along a trellis? If so, what happened, and would you do it again?

How many melons realistically does 1 plant yield? I have heard they aren't as prolific this way and am considering doing them flat and giving them the room (I have the room so that's fine with me.)

Also, has anyone growing melons, can you tell me about how they handle afternoon sun. One thing I read in rodale is that once it's fruiting they really prefer some afternoon shade. But of course, they need full sun to get fruit on them. So I'm trying to figure out the best place in the yard for them.

Thanks!
-k

From what I recall reading, as well as my mother's conventional wisdom, the idea is that they should not be in the direct sun during whatever period is the hottest period of your day.

When I lived up in Detroit the hottest period of the was between 1:00pm & 4:00pm, typically. Here in Nashville the hottest point in the day seems to be around 4:00pm & 6:00pm - which always stuck me as odd because I thought it would be closer to noon the closer you got to the equator but :shrug: what do I know.

Not that it's a huge deal, both vertical and horizontal growth techniques should provide plenty of natural shade for the fruit via the growing leaves.

Just remember, never water the leaves, only water the roots. There aren't many plants out there that make valuable use out of water absorbed through the leaves...

I am growing Sugar Baby melons in tight quarters this year myself. First try at this. In the past I always had a traditional style garden, long rows with paths between. I live on a new property now and don't have the space for that now. I planted seeds for two mounds of melons in a 3 foot space and will trellis them. Due to the odd location 1 should have full sun all day and the other will be shaded around 2-4pm. In my area the hottest time of day is usually around 3-4pm(EDST) during the summer. I have always favored afternoon shade for the garden. Of course thats for personal reasons though. I will mostly pick from the garden in the afternoon. Honestly though, in my area of high humidity I think it best the plant cool down and acclimate a good while before evening comes to reduce the condensation of moisture on the plants. Not sure how bad that is here, I used to live on the coast and that was a constant problem. This is my first year of gardening since I moved and although the humidity is high, it's not as bad as the coast.