I'm growing bush type summer squash for the first time in many years. When I had grown it in years past, the plants didn't get all that big. This year however, I'm following some advice of a relative on how to grow them, and the plants are already huge, compared to earlier years. They were planted the last week of May, and each one is already 5 to 6 feet wide and 3 to 4 feet tall, and getting bigger by the day.

In most years we have a lot of bees. However, this year there are very few bees around, I think due to a neighbor overusing pesticides on her flowers. So, I have to pollinate the squash by hand. Because of the size of the plants, many of the lower leaves and leaf stems are accidentally getting cracked and/or stepped on, as I work my way to the center of the plants where the blossoms are. Many of the leaves are 1 to 2 feet wide with 3+ foot long stems. The leaves overlap with hardly any gaps at all between them, so I have to push them out of the way. Occasionally, they crack instead of bending.

Is it better to leave the damaged leaves on, or cut them off near the base? I'm thinking that the damaged leaves will just invite disease in, but I may be wrong.

Thanks for any replies.