Gardenality.com · Gardenality Genius · Zone 8A · 10° to 15° F · Comment About Planting
Grow melons in rows spaced 2 to 4 ft. apart or in "hills" with groups of 2 or 3 plants per "hill". Melons can also be trained to grow on a trellis or fence to save space. Choose a sunny location (6+ hours of sun) and dig a hole about two times as wide as your pot. Remove the plant from the pot and set with top edge of rootball even with ground level. Then backfill and gently tamp soil as you go to remove air pockets.

Gardenality.com · Gardenality Genius · Zone 8A · 10° to 15° F · Comment About Problems
Melons are rarely bothered by pests and disease. It's best to rotate your melon crops each year ensuring that you are not planting melons in the same spot each year.

Gardenality.com · Gardenality Genius · Zone 8A · 10° to 15° F · Comment About Pruning
Melons need to ripen fully on the vine and do not ripen well after they are harvested. Melons develop a wonderful fragrance when they are ready to pick – you can't miss it. The fruit should slip easily from the vine and the blossom end should feel soft to the touch.

Gardenality.com · Gardenality Genius · Zone 8A · 10° to 15° F · Comment About Feeding
I would recommend fertilizing melon / cantaloupe plants with an organic vegetable food after they have reached about 4 inches tall in the garden. Then fertilize them again after the first blooms start to appear. You can also mulch around the plants with homemade organic compost or a product such as mushroom compost. Alternatively you can use a synthetic fertilizer such as 10-10-10 the first feeding and then after flowering begins apply a fertilizer with less nitrogen and more phosphorus and potassium such as 5-10-15.