They warm quicker and cool down quicker in the evening, that is the
real draw back. Often night temps are more important than daytime
ones, and in the spring the cooling at night will undo whatever good
the warm day did. Melons love heat and trying to force them a bit
early is bad advice. When I was farming I insisted on trying to
outsmart the old guys who told me to wait two weeks to plant and the
melons would do much better..... they were always right, and while I
might have gotten an occasional melon earlier then thiers, their
plants were healthier and far outyielded my early started ones.

"Dwayne" wrote in message ...
I plant mine in rows and water with soaker hoses. I have had real good luck
this way, but have never tried it any other way, so I dont know any better.

Also, if you water them too much when they are ripening, they will split.
Have fun. Dwayne

"Beecrofter" wrote in message
om...
(Fleemo) wrote in message
. com...
I plan on growing melons this year, and have heard it's a good idea to
plant them in small mounds of dirt. I happen to water my garden with
a drip line, which is buried an inch or two beneath the soil surface.
This being the case, wouldn't planting the seeds in a mound prevent
the seeds from getting water?

The mounds warm quicker than the surrounding soil giving you a jump on
germination and growth.
Once they have a few leaves they will have roots enough to reach the
water.