“I’m way behind,” Nancy groaned. “By this time, I thought I’d have the garden all planted.”

In 2014, there’s been plenty of rain to keep most of us out of the yard. However, some crops prefer to wait until soil really warms.

Melons are one of those crops. They may be seeded in small mounds, or hills which have been enriched with compost or old manure. (Avoid horse manure, which is likely to bring weed seeds into the vegetable patch.) Leave plenty of room for vines to travel.

If, all those weeks ago, you sowed seeds indoors in peat or paper pots, bring them outside and plunk them, pot and all, into your hills instead of dealing with more seeds. Set up wire fences to support those rapidly- growing vines.

Treat cucumbers like those melons. But where the melons may need support (old pantyhose, perhaps), the cukes will probably be ready to pick for salads, pickles or (as my grandmother used to do) peeled, steamed and sprinkled with dill seeds for a supper vegetable.

Pumpkins need planting. Set the seeds in hills, with the tops shaped like saucers to catch any extra rainwater. As with their melon and cucumber cousins, they’ll produce male and female flowers. Males usually blossom first and will fall off. Female blooms have a bulge at their stem ends. Extra blossoms of either sex may be brought indoors, (washed), dipped in batter and fried.

In June’s warmer soil, plant beans, either the shorter bush types or pole varieties. Now corn seeds can go into the ground. Plant in squares so that the wind can rush through and flip the light pollen around to set new corn kernels.    

 Let’s end with a flower. In warmth, zinnias germinate and grow quickly. Zinnias may be tall, middle-sized or short and are now mostly bred to be mildew-free. Choose height and color by reading the seed packets or catalog descriptions. Like everything in this column, grow them in as much sun as possible.

You’re not too late, Nancy!