Melons that I have had great success with here in eastern PA are Iroquois muskmelon and Minnesota Midget muskmelon. Both look and taste like store "cantaloupes". Minnesota Midget is compact (3' vines) and matures early. About the size of a softball. It works great in a large container with a tomato cage for a trellis. Iroquois is large. The vines are about 8-10' and the melons are pretty heavy. I harvested my first one today. It weighed in at 7 lbs. 5.8 oz. Big. Both are open-pollinated so you can save seeds from year to year.

A good, small watermelon is Bush Sugar Baby. It's vines are around 3' as well. This is great if you have limited space.

Here is a link that might be useful: Kim's Garden

thanks for your reply! i grew some kind of muskmelon this year, i can't remember the variety, just picked up a seed packet and had a whack at it.

i started harvesting them around the beginning of august, but if they tasted good, they were too mushy, and if they were of a good consistency, they tasted bland. they did indeed slip right off the vine. i attribute the taste issues to all the rain we had this summer, as well as the relative coolness.

will try the minnesota midget next spring, as well as a charentais type i think. i am doing square-foot beds, but will grow the melons in a different area, and let them spread across the backyard, so size is not so much of an issue.

thanks again!

-eric

Eric,
I agree with the rain statement. It definitely did water down the taste of the melons this year...tomatoes too. :(
Kim

Here is a link that might be useful: Kim's Garden