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    Heavy clay,sandy loam or any other type of soil should grow good melons 
as long as the nutrients are well balanced and there is enough silicon in the 
soil. This is one of the reasons sandy soils are good for growing melons. 
Most sands have a high silica content. Watermelons concentrate silica and are 
a good source for silica in the diet. 
   Regarding the comment"Fruit sweetness comes from sun on the leaves" Along 
with decreasing temps towards the fall this may very well account for the 
lack of sweetness in melons. Since at this time of the year at least, in the 
east, leaf diseases such as mildew start taking its toll on the leaf cover. 
The man in MS who puts ammonium nitrate on the melons maybe increasing the 
foilage cover which in turn helps bring on the sugars. This might not work 
for everyone since nitgrogen could be his limiting factor and not yours.

Mark