Fast Growing Winter Melon Seedling

The seedling that emerged from the Winter Melon seed that I got from my Mother-In-Law is really fast growing.  The picture below shows snapshots of the seedling in the first 8 days after germination, during which I had to transplant it twice because it outgrew the container.

On Day 1, I transplanted the seedling from the 2 inch APS-24 cell  to the 4 inch APS-6 cell.  By Day 4, the 1st true leaf emerged and by Day 6, the seedling was almost touching the grow light. 

I had too stop using the grow light and take the seedling outside.  Fortunately the weather in Los

 Angeles this week was warm (70 to 75 degrees F in during the day).  By Day 8, the seedling had outgrown the APS-6 and I had to transplant it into a 6-inch diameter round container.

This is the fastest I have ever had a Winter Melon seedling grow.  At this rate, I will have to transplant the seedling into the ground by February 1 (about 1 month earlier than I planned).

One of the other winter melon seedlings is growing at a much more typical rate. The picture on the right  shows the seedling 6 days after germination.  The height is about 1/3 of the height of the fast growing seedling.