Tarolli, in what part of the country (or world?) will you be gardening? Bitter melon has little to no pest or disease issues... but it does need heat (especially warm nights). It will languish in Maritime climates with cool breezes, or in areas where night temps drop below 50 F. degrees. There is a Thai variety that I grow which is more tolerant of cool temperatures, and has a very short DTM... but the fruit are rather small (4-5") and more bitter than most. It has a very heavy yield, though, and has done well even in Seattle.

All of the varieties I've grown are vigorous climbers, some very much so; they will easily cover a 6' trellis. For bitter melon, "good taste" is highly subjective. ;-) It depends more often than not on how much bitterness you are accustomed to in your cuisine. The Chinese & Japanese varieties with smooth warts tend to be milder, IMO, and I gather that is what you are looking for.

The mildest one I've grown was a heart-shaped (!!!) variety from China that I grew last year. It was heavy (up to 1 pound) and thick-walled, but the yield was not impressive. It did have the least aggressive vines, though. Another Chinese variety has robust vines, a very high yield, a DTM just slightly longer than the Thai, and fruit 8-10" long... it is the one I grow most often.

DTM is not as much of an issue if you start the seeds indoors as transplants. You get better & faster germination; this has allowed me to grow many varieties successfully even in my Northern location.

I am in zone 6a in ohio.

Now I am finding information that Baby Delica may not be a kabocha, but a different type of squash: Delicata. I want to grow a real kabocha, but not too enormous a vine.

Zeedman - what are name of the Thai and productive Chinese bitter melons you mentioned earlier? Where can I buy the seeds of those two varieties? I am looking for productive and short DTM varieties of bitter melons to grow. I had tried several types and they were not productive at all.

The Thailand bitter melon was originally offered by Evergreen Y. H. in 2000, but has since been dropped. It has the shortest DTM of any bitter melon I've grown, and the best cold tolerance. A gardener near Seattle (who posts elsewhere) did a trial of about 15 bitter melon varieties, and in that challenging environment, Thailand was the only one to mature. Others have told me that the variety "Ant" is very similar.

The Chinese variety was one of two sent to me by a GW member in a 2006 trade, in their original Chinese packaging. At one point, I had asked for a translation - and received a few answers - but I am still not sure of the variety name, or if it was only identified by the company name. I was told it was a hybrid, but it has been fairly stable over 5 generations.

I have plenty of seed for both, so if you would like to try either one, send me a PM.

Bitter melon does best for me when started indoors as transplants, since that results in faster & better germination. I use peat strips & soil-less seed starting mix. The seedlings need to be placed in sunlight as they emerge, or they quickly become leggy. For short-season areas, I highly recommend that technique.

Zeedman - I would like to grow the Chinese type this year and will PM you. Thanks in advance!