winter squash question

I live in zone 4 and I have heard that when the end of summer has come you have to prune squash vines back so that as many squash will ripen up as possible. High School was a long time ago, but I'm wondering if it would be better not cut the vines in order to leave the squash leaves on the vines so that they can do their photosynthesis thing and remove all the tiny squashes that have no hope of ripening. Or is there something in between that I should be doing? If It's good to cut the vines back, how far back do I cut them? I would love to have a plan because I planted my squash a little late this year.

Helen, I've never done that myself -- I usually just wait until the vines get killed by the first frost, then bring the squash or pumpkins in and let them cure for a while in a warm room, then store them in a cool, dry area. What kind of squash are you growing? I wasn't planning to grow any this year but this "Golden Hubbard" planted itself in between my 2 hoop houses (new to me this year, a big experiment to try to extend the season) and i didn't have the heart to pull it out.

I'm growing a kabocha squash. I got the seeds from Johnny's Selected Seeds. The variety is called Cha Cha. I noticed that Johnny's has even more varieties of kabocha squash then they did when I placed my order year before last. The kabocha squashes are supposed to be from Asia. I LOVE them because they're sweet, dry, have excellent flavor and can be stored longer than buttercups. I highly recommend them.

I've been doing the same with my squash as you yours. I just wondered if there's a trick out there that might give me more ripe squash.

I love Johnny's -- might have to check out those Kabocha squash, are they a hybrid? Want to trade seeds for Golden Hubbard?

Weedwacker I looked up Cha Cha and it is an F1 hybrid. I only planted 4 seeds and 2 came up and then 1 died. However, the one plant I have is producing a lot of squash. It's just DH and me at home now. I find it hard to cut back on the size of my garden, but I just don't need a ton of veggies now. My body is also telling me it's time to cut back too. DARN.

Helen, if you are producing more veggies than you and DH can use ivwoukd suggest you give the excess to your local food bank. They love getting donations of fresh food to give away. If it is something special print off some recipies to go with the veg.

That's a great idea and I have done that. However, my mom and sister love squash so the extras I have will be quickly spoken for. Also, I have to save a few for pies for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Squash pie is sooo good because the squash is sweeter and tastier.