Yeah growing outside is always a gamble. I thought I was lucky so far only losing one plant, but now I have 2 more that are at the verge of falling over. The stems are nice and strong, but the fan leaves are getting so big they are acting like sails and pulling them right out of the ground. Gonna try to get back out there tomorrow and stake them down, but a few strong wind gusts and they are done for. Imagine, losing plants because they are growing TOO well...haha, only my luck...
Seems like my combination of moth balls, soap, red pepper, and garlic worked in keeping the pests away for now. I was having problems with bug a few weeks ago and picked up some Ortho ecosense 3 in 1 bug spray. Maybe you can try that out. It has sulfur in it, which I imagine doesn't taste too good to any mice or rabbits that want to nibble at your plants. I've been using it every 2-3 weeks and it has stopped my bug problem almost immediately. It's suppose to be safe for flowering plants, fruits, and vegetables, but I'll probably stop using it a few weeks before harvest.