Some friends of mine were doing a co-op here a few years back (that's how I met them), and they would get Sarah's Choice from johnny's. They were pretty excellent. I can't say the particulars of how they grew the melons, but they introduced me to using row covers and drip in general. I've grown some, but for the most part they don't make it for me organically.
The problem we have here is absolutely the bugs. Anything that gets through to ripe is sweet. We have an excellent clay soil here that will take all the lime or compost you care to give it. The problem is the striped cucumber beetles and the wilt they cause.
This year I tried to hide the cantaloupe from bugs in rows, uncovered, with other crops, and there are some coming about ready now. They are not big though. Sharing the beds, they don't get as much sun or space. I have two rows of peppers with cantaloupe running through it, and some more under corn. I would not call it a success at this point, but they were small, late transplants too. I saw one plant today, or at least one vine, looked all wilted up, but I didn't get a chance to trace it back to see if it is broken or poisoned.
I will admit the hit or miss cantaloupe has been bugging me. Next year I may try some rows devoted just to melons and keep them under cover the entire time. Maybe net some bees and put them under to pollinate when the time comes? Or hand pollinate, but that would mean uncovering, kind of a pain.
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