If you find root maggots...yeah there goners, but you can prevent them if you do a fall crop by covering the plants with remay cloth. You have to remember to leave enough space over the plants with the remay for them to grow but the remay will prevent the fly from laying its eggs. You can hold the remay down with stones or good size rocks or some how make like a cage over the plants and making sure all sides and top are covered with the remay. Water will easily go through it as will sun. Alberta

Lilacs, I had good luck with that for tomatoes, but you need to re-apply after every rain. Also if you apply too close to harvest you will get spicy peaches. I don't know how much before harvest you need to stop. I found I could not maintain the needed coating and so I switched to other control methods. Take a look at the thread on squirrels and peanut butter for a better method to try. Scott

The hot wax concept was that it would help the material sprayed stick to the plants better, however, there is some research that indicates the wax can also prevent, or slow, both photosynthesis and transpiration by the covered leaves. One means of repeling insects, both pests and beneficials, is to mix 1 medium sized onion, 1 garlic bulb, and some hot peppers in about a cup of water in a blender and let that steep for at least 24 hours. Then you can strain it and dilute, as necessary, and spray around. Of course this would need to be repeated every so often. Better would be to work on your gardens soil to make that good and healthy so strong and healthy plants will grow there that will be less susceptible to insect pests, and create an environment that attracts and holds bneficial insect, predators, that will also aid in controlling any pests that might show up.

make your own http://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Chilli-Pepper-Garden-Spray http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf48030912.tip.html http://www.bukisa.com/articles/46711_how-to-make-an-organic-garden-spray disolve a tiny bit of parafin wax in hot horticulrual oil for more permanence, use this sparingly in your mix, but it helps to stay on the plants even when it rains. what kills your insects is either the hot peppers (buy hottest spice available) or garlic. You can also use tobacco butts, soaked in warm water onernight, strain and spray, very strong, but not chemical. But this kills also your good guys, so use only where needed. Does anyone know where to buy everbearing strawberry plants, like Quinault or Tri Star have a lots of methods from mastergardeners Uschi