Squash, melons, and cucumbers take lots of space to grow -- Space which I didn't have in my traditional garden. My solution was to put a hydroponics system on the roof of my suburban ranch house. I'm providing a link to a two-part blog posting about the challenges of doing this and the results so far for those interested. (My wife thinks I've gone mad.)

Here is a link that might be useful: Roof Top Vegetable Garden