[MoreWhisky]

My Squashes are now off great guns  Especially the uchi kuchi and Hooligans.

What i would like to know is do i let them have as many 'branches' (cant think of the correct word sorry) as they like?

Also how many Squashes should i allow to grow on one plant? should i limit them?

Any advice be great as i dont want to mess them up, now that i managed to get them all this far 

Cheers MW.

[Trillium]

I grow the first one, aka red kuri, and I let each vine have about 4 squash each (not 4 flowers, but 4 actual fruit) then pinch off the tip. If I let the vines grow on, I'd have too many young squash that would never ripen before frost hit, plus the vines would bury everything within a quarter mile it seems  I load my plants with lots of manure and compost and will water as needed, and I get very good squash that will last most of the winter in my cold cellar storage room.
Not familiar with the other squash but I suspect it would be similar to above.

[MoreWhisky]

Thank for replying again   Trillium.

Just to clarify you say you would allow 4 fruit on one vine before u pinch out, well on my Uchi it now has 3 vines so far , so would you allow those vines to have 4 fruit as well??

If so thats 12 squashes times 15 plants 

[Trillium]

Yes, 4 fruit on each vine otherwise I'd need a field to grow enough. And by keeping the plants well manured and watered, they can support this amount of fruit.

If you don't want 12 X 15 fruits, then pinch them off after 2 or whatever, but I've found 4/vine is a growable amount that will realistically mature if you need a lot and a good-sized fruit.

[PennyS]

That's really helpful.  I have squashes threatening to take over the whole site, not jus tmy allotment.  I'm going to go up tomorrow and do a bit of pinching out!
 

[titch]

Would the same apply to butternut squashes?

[kittenkirst]

[What does it mean to pinch out, do i break off some of the stems or...? Sorry slightly confused by terminology!

[Yorkie]

Pinch the leading tip between finger and thumb, and remove.  Or use secateurs if you have wimpy fingers and thumbs 

[Trillium]

Would the same apply to butternut squashes?

Yes, it would be the same for butternuts. Our climates just aren't long enough in summer to ripen all the fruit that would try to form otherwise. By pinching out the tips after four, you should have some respectable hernia makers 

[fatbelly]

I grew BNS last season and only got one small cob per plant.
The season I have watered regularly, and fed once  on top of planting in soil that was well manured and the plants are growing like triffids.

[compostqueen]

don't pinch out too early though as you'll get some goodly-looking fruits that fail to develop and will wither. I only stop the plants when I'm very sure the fruits look well established and are achieving a good size

[madcat]

The early ones often drop off because they weren't properly fertilized - not enough male flowers around.  Mine are going like the clappers too - all the sunshine I think compared to last year.