1. Should I cut the side shoots off my squash plant? (I think it's a Gemstone - can't find the label!)
2. How many fruit should I allow to develop on this plant?
(I'm growing it upwards to save room and it's well fed with potash and water!)
As with the watermelons I wouldn't let any more set on the plant as they can suffer poor pollination (if you have a number set already) and probably wouldn't mature anyway. I'm not familiar with Gemstone but limiting vegetative growth may not achieve much unless the fruit is being shaded- warm weather will be more important!