I'm not planning on planting melons, squash, and pumpkins in the garden I'm planning on growing this fall. As for the space, there's a huge yard where I'll be relocating to. I have no intention on growing things such as squash and melons in raised beds. I know they're vining plants and that they take up lots of space; this is precisely why I asked how you make hills. When I said hills, I wasn't referring to a literal hill; to my knowledge that's how they're referred to with gardening. When I say hills, I mean small mounds. Unfortunately with the explanations given, they were way too complicated and confused me even more. All I want to know is, how big in inches should the hills (mounds) be across (horizontally). I am also wondering if I should use portions of fertilizer and topsoil to form these hills. If so, what is the ratio of each to one another that I should use with the topsoil and fertilizer?
One more question I have to ask and that is this. Is it feasible to grow melons, tomatoes, squash (zucchini and pumpkin) in raised beds? If so, how? I'm just asking this for the sake of curiosity more then anything else. As to why I'm requesting this information, it's for future reference.
The only other questions I have are how far apart do you space the seeds when you plant them, and
do you have to put them in any particular shape (circle, square, triangle, etc.). How many seeds should be planted per hill, and how many do you thin them down to when they've germinated.