he Colorado Potato Beetle is our constant companion here at the Meyer Farm.  From the moment the potato plants peek out of the ground  the beetles are on them like flies on stink.

We try to rotate the potatoes into different parts of the garden, and into the back garden 50 or 75 away, but nothing seems to discourage their onslaught.  In a good year we pick the adult beetles, nymphs, and eggs off the plants almost daily.   Yesterday my grandpa offered this tidbit:

When he was a kid they piled their lawn trimmings onto the garden in the fall and when it was covered, they would burn them and till the ash into the soil.  He said those who had enough room to have two gardens, alternated their potatoes from one to the other each year.  But he believes burning the garden is important in controlling potato bugs and blights.