I planted a row of watermelons and cantaloupes with okra and it seems to be working well. My rows run north and south, are 90 feet long x 4 feet wide with a 28 inch path between rows. I planted the melons and cantaloupes in the middle of the raised bed with 6 feet between hills with 2 plants per hill and planted the okra at the same time on the west side of the bed about 12 inches from the edge and 30 inches between hills with 2 plants per hill.
My thinking on this was to let the okra provide some afternoon shade for the melons and cantaloupes and also act as a trap crop for cucumber beatles and stink bugs. So far it seems to be working. I turn the vines up and down the row so the sides and path can be mulched with a mower and rotary hoe (weedeater).
The rows on either side of the melon and cantaloupe and okra row are planted with 2 rows of Contender bush beans with some buckwheat planted between each row of beans. Stink bugs don't seem to like the smell of beans either.
I don't use any fertilizer, insecticide or herbicide, just tea made from garlic, red pepper, and sage mixed with a little lacto bacillus, horsetail tea, and Palmolive Orange dish washing liquid. Claud
