Reduce your risk of squash burnout by filling your garden with a variety of different shapes and colors.
Summer squash are so productive that most gardeners need only a few plants to provide all the squash they need. 
This female flower bud shows a tiny squash between the flower and the stem. Only females set fruit, but not without help from pollen from male flowers (to right), which is spread by bees and other insects.
Harvest zucchini while the skins are still glossy.
As butternut plants turn yellow in the fall, gather the fruits and wipe them clean to reduce spoilage. Move indoors for storage before freezing weather.Start with assorted varieties and you can fearlessly grow many, many squash in a surprisingly small space as they have a reputation for burying gardeners with their prolific output. By planting a buttery Yellow Crookneck, a prolific Yellow Straightneck, and a Black Beauty zucchini in peak season in the same 6-foot-wide bed, you could be picking a manageable 3 to 4 squash a day in peak season.
There is no hurry to harvest nutrient-rich winter squash like Acorn and Butternut, which ripen to full maturity before they are picked. Butternut is a vining plant that needs space to run, but because it is resistant to squash vine borers (an all-too-common pest) and because it stores at normal room temperatures for months, many gardeners find ways to make room for Butternut.
Soil, Planting, and Care
Squash need plenty of sun and good drainage, and they love wrapping their roots around bits of decomposing leaves or other compost. Prepare the ground for squash by mixing in a 3-inch layer of compost along with a timed-release or organic fertilizer at the rate recommended on the label. Set 3 transplants in hills spaced at least 30 inches apart. A light mulch is sufficient because squash leaves are so broad and dense that mature plants minimize weeds and provide cooling shade. When setting out squash seedlings in sunny weather, you may cover them with an upside-down flowerpot or other shade cover for a couple of days after transplanting to help prevent wilting.
Squash bears both male and female flowers. The female flowers are easy to identify by looking for a tiny squash below the blossoms. Male flowers are borne atop a bare stem. To help female flowers develop into squash, bees and other small insects pay numerous visits, leaving behind trails of pollen brought from male blossoms. Male flowers often drop to the ground at the end of their life; don’t be alarmed, as this is normal.
Troubleshooting
If at first your plants produce all male blooms, that is normal. You'll see blooms drop and think that something is wrong. Be patient. It may take a week or two before the female blooms begin appearing.
Squash bugs, squash vine borers, and cucumber beetles often injure squash, with damage most severe late in the season, when plants are failing anyway. In areas where pest pressure starts early in the season, grow plants beneath floating row covers, or use covers made of wedding net placed over hoops. Remove the covers to admit pollinating insects when the plants start to bloom.
Harvest and Storage
If you've heard that squash blossoms are edible (they are!) and you want to try them, go ahead and pick the first blossoms that appear. Remove the inner parts, and use the petals to add color to appetizers and salads. Harvesting the first flowers won't hurt the plants' production, because the early flowers are males, which bear pollen but not fruit.
You may harvest yellow squash, zucchini, and other types of summer squash as baby squash, or you can cut them larger, up to 6 to 8 inches long. Use a sharp knife to gather your bounty at least every other day while the plants are producing. Should you miss a picking or two, remove the overripe squash as soon as possible to reduce demands on the plants for moisture and nutrients. If you find yourself with a bumper crop, squash pickles are easy to make, or you can grill marinated slices before storing them in your freezer. Summer squash also work well when dried.
When the rinds of winter squash are tough enough to resist being punctured with a fingernail, cut them with a short stub of vine attached. Be patient, because only fully ripened squash will keep for months in storage. Wipe fruits clean with a damp cloth, and store them in a basement or other cool place. Until you are ready to cook pretty acorns or butternuts, it's fine to include them in fall table decorations.