Cucumbers are a cinch. They can be started in a cold frame in early May, two or three weeks before setting out, but they grow fine when direct sown in late May. Just poke your finger into well-worked soil making dibs spaced about twelve inches apart. Drop in two or three seeds and, once sprouted, thin to the strongest seedling per hole.

The plants will grow robustly in most Hudson Valley summers. Be sure to harvest cucumbers regularly--at least every two days--to keep the plant setting new fruit and to avoid monstrous, less tasty cukes. Almost universally, cucumbers will succumb to wilt as they age. They will still yield harvestable fruit, but their production will decline. It's best to sow a second round of plants in late June or early July to have good, tasty cukes available until frost.

Got vertical space? Trellised cucumbers produce straighter fruit and are a good choice for those with limited garden square footage.