At first I was hopeful about the slug population, in that there wouldn't be any this season. I thought Mt. Redoubt's ash would slow them down. Perhaps the lack of rain early in the season would do the trick.

Nope. Here they are. Add rain and you get slugs, pure and simple.

Your job is to mitigate their impact on your garden. I am focusing on your vegetable plot. The perennials can take care of themselves. The first line of defense is to harvest. It really is that simple. Why leave food for the slugs when it could be in your freezer? What about your compost pile? There really is no shame in pulling all the lettuce that has bolted, chopping it up and tossing in on the pile. Cover it with grass clippings and manure and you are all set to go.

I am managing the artichoke plants by cutting off the lower leaves (which are gigantic) so the slugs will not climb aboard.

I have ceased to grow regular cabbage, mainly because I dislike it, and have red instead. Although I find the flavor more interesting, the slugs do not. Whatever it takes.

Keep your paths clean of garden debris, pull spent plants, and if this fails, trap them. Use shingles or similar sized pieces of board, and flop them down in the garden paths. In the morning turn them over and, using a spray bottle with a vinegar solution, spray them. They will die. Fast.

But really, most of our slugs are indigenous. We have created the perfect habitat -- gardens and lawns -- for them. The idea of wholesale killing of these pests seems a bit unfair. If you follow the above guidelines you can keep their numbers down.

Deadheading is the order of the day.

I have Lauren's grape poppy growing all over the perennial beds. They have self-sown for the most part and although I do like them, I really do, there are too many. They are the whole show, they are eclipsing the Asiatic lilies and I really do not want that to happen. When friends see the garden, the first and only thing they remark on are these particular poppies. My daughter put pictures of the garden on her Facebook and immediately got replies asking about the poppies. Me thinks I have a problem here. There are several other poppies, lots of lilies, still some veronica, the delphiniums are waning but still there, day lilies and lots of thalictrum, filipendula Kehome is starting to bloom. But the Lauren's grape poppy is what catches the eye.

Do I leave them all there? Do I pull them up and give other blooms a chance to shine? Will anyone but me care?

And there you have it. Whose garden is this anyway? Mine. If those poppies are annoying me, I have every right to remove them. This happens to me every year with these poppies. They are stunning and they overshadow everything else.

So, I did some selective thinning. Now I can see the lilies, which are planted in groups. And I am deadheading the poppies.

If you do not want to be overwhelmed by any one thing, you will need to cut off the seed head. This goes for the forget-me-nots that have taken over the perennial beds. The problem there is getting to them. They have themselves tucked into each and every nook and cranny that exists in the garden. They are in the lawn. Good grief.

If you intend to plant garlic this fall and are interested in mail ordering, you will need to make that happen. I still have not pulled my spring planted crop. I started the individual cloves in the greenhouse and set out the starts and am very curious to see what I have there, but I am giving them as much time as possible.

We have had such an excellent growing season that everything looks really magnificent. The Stuttgart onions are the biggest I have ever raised. These too were started from sets in the greenhouse and set out as seedlings. The leeks and most of the shallots were started from seed and gorgeous. I am still in awe of these two vegetables, at how well they grow here in the Far North. It makes it seem like anything is possible.

But then I am reminded of just how far-fetched that thought is. The hydrangea paniculata is not going to bloom this year. Plus I had a diseased branch on it that had to be sawed off. I was amazed. How can a plant that barely grows get a disease? And what disease is it? But two friends were here, both accomplished gardeners and both of them said to cut it off immediately, so I did and all looks a good deal better.

I sometimes wonder what I would do without my gardening friends. There is only so much in books that pertains to the Far North. And there is a lot of information in the heads of those who have gardened here for years.

I am grateful for them.

Note: Keep harvesting, keep deadheading, keep gardening.

Rosemary Fitzpatrick has been gardening with gusto in Homer for 30 years. This year marks the 19th anniversary of her column.