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A new bed, holding it in, and nutmeg melons

Square Foot Gardening List - http://www.flinet.com/~gallus/sqft.html

I am convinced from my own experience, a few short months though it may
just be, that building a compost pile in layers of greens and browns is
the fastest way to also increase my sq. food bed space. 

I am very concerned about what I use to contain the piles/beds as they
mound up. Wood just doesn't do it for me. Planks are both heavy, and
difficult for me to take home from the home depot. Sawing and nailing
also is not my forte. I have carpal tunnel syndrome and by not pushing
the limits I have delayed the inevitable surgery.

What I have found that works well for me is the plastic coated metal
hoop fencing. It folds up like an accordion when not in use and is very
lightweight. To make a new bed I just shove the pickets in the ground
around the outline that I want. Then I lay some newspaper down to kill
the sod and start layering. When I first started using the hoop fencing
I had a problem with browns rolling/sliding, through the edge. Using
coarsely chopped twigs around the inside perimeter helps make a barrier
and so the bed contents don't spill out as I am making it.

My last bed was built to enormous dimensions, approx. 18'L x 6'W x 2.5'H
and is certainly going to hold enough water that my tomatoes won't have
problems this year. Last year I was growing them in beds made in kiddie
pools and they dried out frequently in our drought, bummer. I never had
such a poor tomato crop in my life. This bed was  started out as a
compost heap, in full sun as opposed to shade where ideally a compost
heap should be. About the time I started building it I learned about
lasagna beds, I bought the Lanza book and when reading it I remembered
the old show and thought that Square Foot Gardening would work ideally. 

I found a link to this list on one of the Garden Web forums and signed
to join immediately. I ordered Mel's book from Amazon that night and it
came too my door 36hrs later. Viva Amazon, Mel and the GW, as well as
this list which I very much enjoy.

So tomorrow I am off to the stores again for more wire hooping and will
start another lasagna bed/compost pile and in about another couple of
weeks it will be ready to plant, this one is intended for perennial
herbs, as it is backed by a picket fence I'll add some melons and
morning glories. I think it's aesthetically important for me to grow
both flowers and veggies together. It certainly is pleasing to they eye
as well as the palate.

I have received in trade an old heirloom variety of melon called
"Nutmeg" and I am having a bit of trouble finding any reference to them.
As I crashed my old Mac after the trade I lost the info on the sender
and can't write her for help.

I don't believe that these are melons that are supposed to look or taste
like nutmegs (perhaps the skin has some darkish mottling which resembles
a nutmegs appearance?), but rather that they might have come from the
"nutmeg" state, which I think is Connecticut.

Any info on the melons would be very helpful to me, and if they're not
to hefty I'd like to grow them on a trellis in the new bed. Would
spacing one per foot along the trellis be fine, or can I grow them at a
closer distance?

TIA,

Trudi Davidoff


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