For those who stopping growing vegetables, why did you stop?

[KnowNth]

When I read old posts about vegetable gardening, I noticed many replies with "I used to grow vegetables...", so for those of you who grew vegetables but stopped, why did you stop?

I just started growing vegetables two years ago. The first year was a disaster, the few produces I grew were all eaten by bugs or rabbits. Last year was better after I build a fence to keep and rabbits out. So far I liked veg gardening: I don't mind the labor and time, and watching seeds growing to harvest was very satisfying. But before I invest too much to turn all my backyard to raised beds then realize it's just a fad, I want to find out why people stopped doing it after a while?

[bob60014]

Why did we stop, downsized to a condo. No space to play.

[the_wiki]

It comes down to work vs yield. Sometimes you put in 3 months of effort and get 2 small bell peppers and 4 raspberries.

[homebuyer6426]

I stopped for certain plants.

Peach trees - in my area they get overtaken with oriental fruit moth larvae. The last year I grew them, followed a spraying regimen as religiously as I could, and it still didn't solve the problem.

Potatoes - I don't grow many of them because they are so cheap from the store. Although they do well.

Regarding rabbits/mice/groundhogs/voles, I have a solid wooden fence, and I make sure that plants I start from seed get somewhat big before planting them, so that it's too thick for a mouse to hurt it much.

My favorite things to grow: "sweet million" cherry tomatoes, "boston pickling" cucumbers, "california wonder" green bell peppers, "blue scotch curly" kale. And herbs.

[stan1]

It is a lot of work, bugs/animals/birds, irrigation water if needed, weather.

In many cases it is more of a hobby or even major lifestyle choice to enjoy rather than cost savings for a family of two or even four people.

Some people will decide to spend their time in a different way.

[treypar]

Not enough sun in my yard now

[sc9182]

Not growing vegetables- instead making rooftop Solar PV ; lot less work, mostly passive - you can get 30% tax-rebate too.

[celia]

The kids needed more attention, especially when they went to different schools from each other.

Aiming to build raised beds this year since we’re retired now. I don’t grow the things commonly found at the markets. I have some seeds from Baker Creek and am also growing California native plants (non-veggie).

[stoptothink]

It comes down to work vs yield. Sometimes you put in 3 months of effort and get 2 small bell peppers and 4 raspberries.

It's also significantly more expensive than just buying them from the store.

[barnaclebob]

Weve been growing vegetables for almost 15 years now with no plans to stop. The trick is to know when to give up on certain plants. We tried Brussels sprouts for several years. One year the plants got huge but no good quality sprouts. Even if we did have success with 2 plants, that would take up half a bed for 4 or 5 nights worth of brussel sprouts, not worth the space.

If you feel like its getting to be too much, concentrate on easier to grow plants. For our area that's peas, asparagus, garlic (got 40lbs last year in 2 4x8 beds), green beans, tomatoes, bok choy, and cabbage. Fruit also does well here for the most part, blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, just cover them with bird netting when they are fruiting.

I highly recommend investing in drip irrigation with a smart controller that adjusts for your local temp and rain based on weather data over WIFI.

12" deep raised beds with another 12" of hardware cloth around the outside keeps the rabbits out. We've had deer stop by last year for the first time, if they don't go away that could really make us reconsider this hobby.

Sluggo for slugs and BT for caterpillars are a necessity and if you have wire worms from putting your beds where grass used to be, then permethrin will be needed to kill them, no organic solutions will work. Wire worms will not come back in big numbers after they are removed however.

[8301]

I didn't stop growing vegetables, but vegetables stopped growing.

[Devil's Advocate]

When I read old posts about vegetable gardening, I noticed many replies with "I used to grow vegetables...", so for those of you who grew vegetables but stopped, why did you stop?

I just started growing vegetables two years ago. The first year was a disaster, the few produces I grew were all eaten by bugs or rabbits. Last year was better after I build a fence to keep and rabbits out. So far I liked veg gardening: I don't mind the labor and time, and watching seeds growing to harvest was very satisfying. But before I invest too much to turn all my backyard to raised beds then realize it's just a fad, I want to find out why people stopped doing it after a while?

I haven't stopped, but I can see why one would. It's a ton of labor and when you can buy it at the market less expensively than what it takes you to grow it, it can be a downer.

DA

[SmileyFace]

Started working more hours - life got in the way.
Plus - I got tired of doing battle with various beetles/bugs and especially hated the horned tomato worm (would climb across an entire tomato vine just taking bites out of each tomato - why not eat one and leave all the rest for me!). Rabbits and other small critters were also getting harder to keep out. My town also had outdoor watering bans during the summers for a few years so it was kind of hard to grow vegetables without water.
The last factor was some great smaller farms and famer markets came into being in my area. So - I was happy to buy fresh produce paying someone else to labor and do battle with the critters.

[JupiterJones]

• Work involved wasn't really worth it.
• Made the mistake of putting the garden near the back of the yard. Too far for the hose to conveniently reach.
• Neighborhood cats kept mistaking the (raised bed) garden for a litter box. I eventually made a big ol' mesh cage to go over everything, but that just made gardening more of a hassle.

Maybe in the future, once I've reached FIDWIP (Financial Independence, Doing What I Please), I'll give it another shot. But with a better location and maybe elevate the raised bed to reduce attractiveness to critters!

We do still keep up with a few herbs, right off the patio, steps from the kitchen.

[Dregob]

When I read old posts about vegetable gardening, I noticed many replies with "I used to grow vegetables...", so for those of you who grew vegetables but stopped, why did you stop?

I just started growing vegetables two years ago. The first year was a disaster, the few produces I grew were all eaten by bugs or rabbits. Last year was better after I build a fence to keep and rabbits out. So far I liked veg gardening: I don't mind the labor and time, and watching seeds growing to harvest was very satisfying. But before I invest too much to turn all my backyard to raised beds then realize it's just a fad, I want to find out why people stopped doing it after a while?

Squirrels. Birds. Rabbits.

[quantAndHold]

We still do, but we’ve had gopher problems the last couple of years, which has kind of sapped our enthusiasm.

[ncbill]

When I read old posts about vegetable gardening, I noticed many replies with "I used to grow vegetables...", so for those of you who grew vegetables but stopped, why did you stop?

I just started growing vegetables two years ago. The first year was a disaster, the few produces I grew were all eaten by bugs or rabbits. Last year was better after I build a fence to keep and rabbits out. So far I liked veg gardening: I don't mind the labor and time, and watching seeds growing to harvest was very satisfying. But before I invest too much to turn all my backyard to raised beds then realize it's just a fad, I want to find out why people stopped doing it after a while?

Squirrels. Birds. Rabbits.

Deer.

Nearby neighbors feeding the deer who refuse to stop feeding the deer.

Though not as bad as the pet food salesman who would dump excess product out in his backyard.

[tooluser]

1) I may have accidentally poisoned myself. I had a compost bin and had been putting hedge trimmings in it, amongst other things. I used the compost for my vegetable garden. One of the hedges is a series of yew trees, which turn out to be poisonous. After consuming many of the vegetables I'd grown, I developed several severe neurological issues (all but one of which have gone away over time). The cause was not conclusively found, and there were several other confounding factors. But as a result I can't trust the ground I was growing in.

2) That same year I grew wonderful tasting tomatoes, and one on the vine was huge, nearly as large as a cantaloupe. I went out one morning to see it finally starting to turn red, but a bird had pecked a hole in it to get the juice. My prize was ruined.

I am moving to another state soon, and might try gardening again after I get there.

[AnnetteLouisan]

It comes down to work vs yield. Sometimes you put in 3 months of effort and get 2 small bell peppers and 4 raspberries.

So true!

[beyou]

It comes down to work vs yield. Sometimes you put in 3 months of effort and get 2 small bell peppers and 4 raspberries.

This

[MathWizard]

My wife still grows tomatoes and asparagus.

Joints are getting creakier, and those vegetables are the best
from the garden.

[retired recently]

Deer took over...

[dcabler]

We stopped because it's wintertime. Tomatoes in a few short months!

Cheers.

[KnowNth]

Thanks all.

Growing Romano beans was the main reason I started. They were hard to find in stores, the few times I saw them in farmers market, they sell for $5 per pound. If I am able to buy them cheaply, maybe I will lose interest growing myself.

[cheesepep]

I used to grow veggies but stopped because I now live on the sixth floor of a nice building. Has two balconies but both are covered. Tried growing veggies but to no avail. I’m stuck with potted plants now. I grow bean sprouts in my dark oven but that is about it.

[OnLevel]

-Deer, squirrels and other pests
-Drought in our area (Southwest)

First two years were fun, 2022 was very stressful and didn't get much despite putting in more work than last two years.

Not stopping completely, but will be downsizing quite a bit or at least taking a break.

[baconavocado]

Drought - no water.

[Beensabu]

I stopped trying to grow them on purpose. But I try to help them when they decide to grow on accident from veggie scrap discards. Mostly peppers, berries, and potatoes. If potatoes go bad, I'll bury them. And lo and behold, up pops a plant. But then you have to dig them up later. Bell peppers have a bazillion seeds inside, and some will grow just from being tossed under a tree. If you didn't get to some berries on time and throw them in the shade, they will grow - but then you have to move them into half sun if you want them to give you berries. Planning on purpose cherry tomatoes this summer - those are so easy, and every time you think it's dead, it gets green again and gives you more yums. Also, if you buy the butterleaf lettuce that has the rootball, you can plant that once you're done eating the lettuce. And then it will give you more lettuce. And if you're lucky, half of a red cabbage will decide to sprout in the fridge - you can plant that too, and it will turn into this weird giant frost-resistant thing that keeps making more cabbages.

[adestefan]

Not enough sun in my yard now

Same happened here. The tree canopies grew back out and now I only get mottled or about 3 hours of full sun through most of my yard.

[gavinsiu]

My house is surrounded by trees. Vegetable grows poorly in the shade. Animals tend to destroy my plants so most of my plants are the toxic ones.

[Sprucebark]

Growing season is too short. I can’t even get greenhouse grown tomatoes to turn red.

Last time I did potatoes and got back out about the same weight as the original potato seed I put in- after hours of work and months of care.

I just do perennial plants now.

[bwalling]

Between bugs and my dog, they rarely lasted long enough to become ripe and ready for us to eat.

[mtnlover]

Simple. Flopsy, Mopsy, Cottontail and Peter

[Skiffy]

Hail has wiped out many garden crops! We haven’t given up yet. We’re still eating onions from last fall’s crop. Can’t beat a garden tomato. We compost coffee grounds, egg shells and fruit and vegetable scraps.

[Conch55]

I didn't stop but I have slowed down by planting less. I still donate fresh produce to a local food bank which keeps me motivated. I have had various challenges as others mentioned but there's something about eating what one grows that is gratifying. I am a summer season gardener only and stick mostly to the usual favorites (tomato, cucumber, squash, peppers, basil, etc). As others have said it is work and not always rewarding.

[Sage16]

There are so many neighboring trees around our yard that we only get limited direct sunlight so that cuts down the types of vegetables that we can grow. Combined with our an increase and length of travel in the spring and summer months we just have planted anything for a couple years.

[windaar]

A lot easier and cheaper to get nice veg. at the market or store. We downsized to an herb garden. Chives and oregeno come back every year. We plant potted basil from Trader Joe's in the spring. Critters don't eat those herbs. They will eat many other such as dill. Fun to go out and snip some chives for the baked potato or basil for the salad or pasta sauce.