For instance, after battling earwigs in corn and artichokes, I don't grow either anymore. I also don't plant corn because I hear it attracts raccoons, and we have raccoons in our neighborhood.

I won't plant leafy vegetables in the summer like chard or lettuce because they get overrun with aphids. Aphids also keep me from planting brussel sprouts.

I stopped planting a fall crop of broccoli and cabbage because the caterpillars are a big problem late summer. I do plant a spring crop because they're relatively pest free that time of year.

Can't grow sunflowers beyond containers--slugs mow them down.

I'm curious if anyone else has had certain vegetables driven out of their gardens because the pests simply made it not worth it.

I'm probably going to be trying a lot of vegetables I haven't grown in awhile, so ask me again in a few years. [g]

We used to love eating fresh corn, but it is really work-intensive......planting in furrows, then hilling it up, but still having it fall over in storms. And then there's the coons.........

I've never had much luck with most heirloom tomatoes, so I just stick with Rutgers now.

Gave up on eggplant because of the bugs.

Over the years, I've pretty much narrowed down what varieties of which veggies are the best to grow around here. I'm content. (Except I would love to grow some different cucs........but it's just not possible).

A couple thoughts on some of the above troubles: I tried beneficial nematodes this year, and they worked a treat on the onion maggots (and a number of other pests). Also, corn that gets blown over in storms usually rights itself given time.

Nice to know I'm not the only one giving up on some things.

Between flea beetles (I think) and grasshoppers, my kale looks like lacework in midsummer, but it tends to recover by early fall as the insect populations die off. I'm happy to let the bugs have it in the heat as it's too bitter for me then anyway and it keeps them off the plants I do want.

I have all sorts of problems with squirrels (tomatoes) and rabbits (everything else) but electric fencing has taken care of them so far (knock wood), for the most part. I'm not willing to give up tomatoes nearly so easily as I am squash.

Eggplant - I've tried several varieties, in the raised beds and in containers, and they get almost instantly overrun with aphids.

Squash is ironically on of the better crops for me. The first year I had my garden boxes the buttercup plants turned downright megalomaniacal. I'm growing both zucchini and pumpkin this year, and have yet to see a squash bug. (They come later in the summer, but are pretty easy to keep in check by picking them off.) Never had a problem with SVB. The cooperative extension just sent out a bulletin on stink bugs invading, so we'll see how that goes.

There are many other plants that I usually don't grow for reasons other than pests.

Rodney

We had a mulberry tree that unfortunately was too large to contain in a net. The birds would eat almost all of the berries and then poop on the cars, the house, the garden... etc. and before we knew it there were mulberries everywhere. We've selected a few of the growers to grow as small bushes, but chopped the tree down so it would regrow smaller.

Cucurbits are becoming more and more difficult... it seems our yard is a nesting ground for SVBs ever since I had a very successful pumpkin crop once upon a time.

We have PLENTY of dragonflies, so mosquitos are rarely an issue. That's something I'm glad for.

Edie

Also potatoes, because of Colorado potato beetles. And because my soil is heavier & higher in pH than their preferred range, scab is a problem too. Much of Wisconsin is potato country, they are cheap & plentiful here. Too bad really, I wish I could grow some of the fingerlings. There is a Bt for CPB, I might try it one of these years.

Bt has been very effective for me on corn, since it only needs to be applied when silks appear. Two sprayings a few days apart, sprayed directly into the silks, will eliminate nearly all corn ear worm. Some years the borers are bad, though, and I would have to spray the entire plant to stop them (I don't).

I'm surrounded by farm fields, and they often grow Bt corn. I'm not a fan of anything GM, but I've got to give credit where due - borers are not the problem now that they once were.

Dave

For those saying cabbage family plants, if you don't want to use row covers/tulle or use BT, try growing kohlrabi. The leaves can be holey since you aren't usually eating them, although you could if you want. And IF there is any damage to the outer surface of the "bulb" (which is rare) it's superficial and a non-issue since you peel it before eating. Although I'll admit that wasps usually do a pretty good job of getting rid of my cabbage worms so your experiences may vary.

Rodney

Bird netting protects the strawberries.

Pediobius wasps for the mexican bean beetles.

Row covers over cukes work for cuke beetles but occasionally they encourage too many aphids.

May try protek net over the corn for the stink bugs

I kill so many japanese beetles they nay have to convene a war crimes trial against me.

Trying BT on the brassicas for worms this year and will use the BT on the corn as well.

I am way too stubborn.

Scott

I don't grow bok choi anymore because of flea beetles. I can't be bothered to grow lettuce, which attracts a ridiculous number of aphids, when I can grow spinach instead. I still get aphids on my dill, but I deal with those because the dill is necessary for pickles.

Artichokes are the biggest challenge for me - aphids love them more than any other veggie and they manage to go through Proteknet. I use insect barrier row covers but they are a pain to use.

I also use insect barrier row covers briefly in the spring to protect early brassicas from flea beetles.

Never have to worry about SVB in zone 2b.
CPBs - I scout and kill.

I don’t know how you all do it with the covers. I’ve been reading about using tule or other fabric, but I have seen a couple of photos of very well covered rows, clipped onto plastic hoops and weighed down with bricks and it just seems like a lot of trouble.

Then I imagine you might have to pollinate every single plant under cover by hand?

I’ve also read that sometimes the bugs still manage to get under the covers, aphids and others get under there somehow. Why is that? Is it when you have to get under there to pollinate?

And does using row covers cut down on sunlight? I don't get a full day of sun as it is, so I wouldn't want to add to that problem.

Bird netting is always suggested for strawberries, but you need a framework to put it on and that also has to be weighed down properly, I’d think?

But maybe as with many things, it's just a trade off and it's one kind of effort against the effort of dealing with bugs and ending up successful with the covers vs losing crops without them?

Those of you who have problems with aphids, don’t the aphids attract lady bugs that take care of that problem?

Covers are a little inconvenient to use, but they save time in the long run. Spraying Bt or spinosad, or worse, cleaning worms off of veggies, is time-consuming as well.
Insect-barrier grade row cover cuts only 10% of the sunlight out. For most leafy greens, this is even a good thing - it increases leaf size as well as leaf quality by decreasing toughness.
Tulle is even better.