Every time I plant something new in my garden, I quickly find out there is a pest that just loves to eat this new veg! Before I grew cucumbers, I thought, cucumbers have no pests, because I have never heard of any. Until I planted them! As soon as I planted cucumbers, I learned about cucumber beetles! I do believe there is a pest for each fruit and vegetable. But there are a few vegetables that I do not cover with any garden mesh for protection, I do not spray them with anything and they do well.
Unfortunately, vegetables that do not have pests do not exist. All vegetables have some kind of pests attracted to them. But garlic, leeks, bulging onion, and green or bunching onions are the least affected by the pests.
How much the vegetables are affected by pests also depends on the area where they are grown. Some areas might have more pests than others. For example, living in central Europe we hardly had any cucumber pests, while here in the eastern side of the USA, we have lots of cucumber bugs. I met them the first time I planted cucumbers here. When I spoke to home gardeners in central EU they did not have any idea a cucumber beetle existed.
Vegetables in my climate in the northeast USA, that have the least pests are allium vegetables including garlic, onions, and leeks. I do not cover these and can plant them anywhere in my garden without worrying any pest would attack them. I fear for all my veggies but not for these. I cover most of my veggies with netting but I do not cover alliums and they are doing fine.
Should I talk to home gardeners from the UK, they would tell you a different story regarding allium veggies, as they fight leek moss. Leek moss is a pest that host on allium vegetables.
While one gardener has no problem with some pests the other gardener located in a completely different climate, might fight multiple pests for the same vegetable.
If you hear that there is no pest for some vegetables, do not believe it. There is a pest for it but might not thrive in that specific area.
Sometimes I hear from other gardeners that they did not have any problem with certain veg, but just last year the pest for that veg appeared. So, the situation regarding pests might change from year to year.
What are pests?
Pests are any animal, or plant that is harmful or damaging to humans or anything that is of human concern including damage to plants in our fields, gardens, orchards, homes, or other structures.
I am blessed to live in an area with wildlife and lots of greenery. While it is a blessing to live in a beautifully wild and green area, it is a fight to grow a home garden. I do not only fight small pests but wildlife as well, which is also a pest just large in size compared to other regular garden pests. While other gardeners somewhere else on the planet or in the city setting might fight some tiny pests, I also fight black bears, smart raccoons, tall deer, wild rabbits, sneaky chipmunks, deep-digging groundhogs, and all the tiny insects added to it. I cannot have a garden without garden netting protecting it. All my vegetables are covered during their whole life cycle from the seed to the harvest because in each stage they could be eaten by something other than me or my family members.
Vegetables with the least pests
Some vegetables have fewer pests than others. Garlic, onions, leeks, and chives, along with tomatoes, peas, cilantro, parsley, basil, parsley, celery, radish, mint, thyme, rosemary, beans, and sweet corn, have fewer insect pests, but still, wildlife will eat many of them if not protected with a cover or fenced in.
Is disease resistance the same as pest resistance?
Disease resistance of the plant is not the same as pest resistance. Disease resistance is when the plant is less susceptible to diseases common for that certain vegetable. Just because the plant is disease resistant it does not make it a pest-resistant plant. There is no such thing as pest-resistant vegetables, although some vegetables are tougher for the pests to invade, while other are less attractive to the pests.
Sometimes I just smile watching gardening videos in which gardeners in a suburban setting talk about how they do not cover their veggies because they are healthy and do not attract any insects. I only wish to have this kind of problem. If I left my veggies uncovered for one night the wild rabbits, deer, bear, and who knows what else would devour it all up by the down. Nonetheless, I am happy for those who have fewer pests to fight. It must be much easier to garden in an environment like that compared to the one I have to deal with. I hope one day I will experience that too.
I even cover my fruit trees, as chipmunks, raccoons, and all the large and tiny pests that could eat them. Because my fruit trees are covered with a garden mesh for a couple of months, they suffered a misshape. This year I plan to use individual mesh covers for each fruit. Will see how that will go! This is the fruit tree mesh cover with a drawstring on the bottom I used in the picture below, https://amzn.to/3KgIgMW. It is a good quality, strong mesh tree cover. It is suitable for small to dwarf trees and bushes, with measurements of 72″ by 84″. The drawstring on the bottom is a big plus as it is adjustable and provides easy closure. It is easy to put this tree cover on as it is spacious and with a wide opening on the bottom. If living in an area with lots of wild life, and birds that constantly eat and damage your fruit, I would recommend protecting them using this fruit tree mesh cover.
Reagrding the invididual mesh fruit bag covers I plan to use this year, are the ones with the drawstring that cover each fruit individually. I will most probably get these a try in stead of the whole tree covering. They are only $15.99 as I write this, for 100 bags. Eeach bag has a draw string and they totally look like made of the same material as my whole tree covers. The individual fruit mesh bags with draw string can be purchased here. But will for sure have the whole tree coverings handy as well, just in case. Both covers, the individual ones and the full size dwarf tree covers are multi-purpose, I would use them for any fruit including large tomato plants, tomato fruit, grapes and large bushes to keep the birds away!
Still, there is a pest I am so glad we do not have in our area, but some gardeners do! It’s monkeys! I also think that there are areas in which it is almost impossible to grow a garden because of wildlife and vast pests. I any of you live in an area where it is nearly impossible to grow a garden, please share with us what is that prevents it.
As for others, please share with us, what pests are just so prolific in your area that it creates a constant fight for you to deal with.
Easy vegetables to start from seed indoors
What vegetables need the least space?
