I wouldn't alternate. Plants seem to set up their own desired microclimates and my guess is the cukes would shade out the melons (maybe that's desired in z10). I grow 5 cantaloupes/pumpkins/squash in a 4x4 square 2-3 go up a fence, 2-3 run into the potatoes/corn. I would say one every 18"-24" to run up the fence. Don't forget you will probably need to support each melon. Even if they're not slip types they can pull the vine down. I think cukes are 4"-8" spacing. The seed packet should tell you.

As the shell of the bitter melon's seed is thick and contain Wax, can't absorb water quickly, the method of sprouting as below: *. Soaking the seeds in 50-60 centigrade degree water for 10-15 minutes, stiring while soaking untill the water's temperature reach the room's temperature, take it out 10-12 hours later *. Get the seeds under the temperature 25-30 centigrade degree for pregermination for 48 hours, the seeds begin to germinate slowly, the speed depends on the room's temperature. (One thing should be paid attention: the mucus on the shell surface of the seeds must be cleared by clear water everyday, prevent the mildewing and rotting, improve the germination environments before germination) *.After germination, broadcast the seeds to the seedbed or nutrient pot, watering timely till the seedlings come up totally.

last year I did around 500 tomato plants and around 450 pepper plants. This was for 2 farmers markets and a farm store. I will do around the same this year as I am dropping one farmers market and replacing it with a CSA. I am also counting on the peppers doing a lot better this year. Last year 95% of the plants did not get ripe fruit on them before the first frosts. they were about 5 weeks late in setting fruit and I have no idea why. The 100 peppers in the hoop house produced early as they were supposed to but over 75% got sunscald and than bacterial rot. I grow mainly sweet peppers with a mix of hybrid green to red bells (by far the best seller) along with green to orange, green to yellow and purple to red bells. i also do some funky heirlooms for those who like an adventure in food because the taste is generally better than the hybrids. I also do a small amount (less than 25 total) of hot peppers, mainly jalapenos and cayennes as those sell the best for me. Last year I did 27 different types of tomatoes, mainly heirlooms. Red maters are the mainstay but I also do purple, black, white, green, yellow, orange, etc.. I also do around 50 cherry tomato plants (do not go hog wild on cherries as they take a lot longer to harvest than the big maters)

Thanks for the reply. I did, after posting, do a little more reading on the summer squash and realized those were bush plants. I'm trying those in 7gal containers outside the bed, leaving the bed only for vining plants that I can train up a trellis. I settled on a smaller number of plants, but it does still include two large pumpkins and another winter squash. From what I've read, I can prune the growing tip off of the vines if they get too long and the result might be smaller pumpkins, but that's fine with me -- I'm not trying to win any competitions. I've also got a watermelon and two muskmelons in there. Just because I had extra seedlings, I added a tomato plant, a bell pepper, and some herbs, all of which I'm willing to sacrifice if things get too crowded. I may even put in some bush beans, since this should grow quickly while everything else is still getting going, and I can probably harvest them before it's too crowded. I guess I'll see how it goes. I'm considering this bed an experiment, and if the entire bed fails, I'll have learned something.