First of all stop treating with even organic pesticides. (Except for the target ones like BT) You're killing the good bugs. It takes 3 times as long for them to reproduce to any quantity as bad bugs. They will catch up and give you a fighting chance.......trust me.

You are not going to stop the SVB. Replant now because they are not active much. Fall actually has less bugs. They are winding down too and our heat slows everything down except squash bugs and grasshoppers.

Next weak plants are a bug magnetic. So are over-fertilized ones. Start replanting and amend the soil with compost. It takes a couple of years for everything to get working together but if you keep doing it organically it does work out.

Also remember that the variety of the vegetable can make a big difference in how well it does. Keep trying until you find one that does well in "your" environment.

Keep working at it. Next year treat your onions more like lawn and less like carrots. They need nitrogen to grow lots of leaves that make big onions. Rabbits love chard so cage it. Same with spinach. Both can take good fertilizing since the leaves are the stuff we eat. Both do well in fall and usually go right through winter with just a sheet for protection. Corn is tough to grow unless you have a big area but there are good bugs that can control some of the problems. You just have to let them get a good start.

Ultimately the soil has alot to do with it. Keep adding compost and amending with organic fertilizers each spring and fall. Side dress the plants at critical times like bloom and fruit set to give them some a little boost. Don't over do.......slow and sure wins the race. Don't overwater in the spring and then underwater as it gets hot.

It sounds like you've got it. Your timing might be off just a bit but experience will come. I know it's hot and frustrating and I even have to push myself to do the little things but hang in there. Replant tomatoes and such in the blistering heat and follow the planting date calendar. Come late October, you'll be eating chard and spinach again and looking forward to cabbage.

Just remember.........behind every great gardener are a ton of dead plants. The difference is they learned from their mistakes and kept plugging along.

I agree with all above. I have gardend for years mostly flowers and a few veggies. 2 years ago we put in 16 raised beds and this year a 32x50 ft. hoophouse and plowed up 2 *fields* the same size. So far it has done remarkably well considering I haven't had time to enrich the soil etc. I have started compost bins and plant things that attract beneficials to my yard. I don't kill any bug unless I know for sure it is a pest. A little hand picking can go a long ways too. Planting *trap crops* can help also. This year I palnted radishes in some of my lettuce beds, the flea beetles destroyed the radishes - left the lettuces alone. Just keep working at it, thats gardening.

I feel like there are way more than there should be.

That may be your main problem - mis-perception about the numbers and the nature (good or bad) of the "bugs".

Many new gardeners are convinced that ANY bug is bad, that 10 of them and the loss of even one plant is horrendous, and that 50 bugs in their garden is the end of everything. That simply isn't true. Thousands of bugs go hand-in-hand with gardening and if one cannot accept that then gardening just may not be their "thing". ;)

90% of so called bugs in gardens are beneficials or at worst neutral, and are needed in your garden. The first step to growing organically is recognizing that fact and learning to live with the good bugs and the little bit of plant damage they may do while doing their main job of controlling the bad guys.

The second step is learning to tell the difference between the good guys and the bad guys and which need to simply be somewhat controlled and which few have to be eradicated. One cannot garden without that knowledge, much less do it organically.

Then learn about the organic treatments available for controlling the bad guys - and yes, there are some controls for any of them but controls are very specific to the pest. There is no blanket application of anything available except lethal pesticides.

But as already said by others, trying to grow a garden that is totally bug-free, totally undamaged, and with totally perfect plants is not only impossible but harmful to the environment and you as well.

So ID the problem pests, and treat them specifically. EX: if you are sure you had SVB then research organic controls for SVB. (And bowling pin sized zuke were left far too long on the vine and slowed production). So what pest "destroyed" your corn? What specifically ate your chard and spinach?

Dave

Thanks everyone! This was a HUGE help!!!

A birdbath in or beside the garden will attract natural bug controllers. My squash bug population dropped dramatically when I put mine up.

I understand your bug issues having gone through the same thing in the past few years. This year I bought a species of wasp that attacks bean beetles. The Mexican bean Beetle had devastated my beans in the past. At the first site of the beetles I released the wasps and the bean beetles were all gone within a week.

Last year I also had problems with Japanese beetles so I applied milky spore to my lawn and released beneficial nematodes. This year the Japanese Beetles are down by 99%.

The point I'm making is that the best answers are often the most natural answers. The problem with pesticides are that they kill the good bugs and worms often as well. They upset the balance of the ecosystem. The approach ought to be to identify the specific bug and then use the internet and this forum to see if there is a natural solution.

Good luck.