You just couldn’t resist, could you? That’s OK — I couldn’t either.

It seemed like such a good idea back in the spring to grow a few things in the backyard, didn’t it? So you went ahead and planted those zucchini or set out a few (or six or eight) little tomato plants.

I blame it on the seed catalogs that dazzle us out of the winter doldrums with their full-color pages of lush gardens.

But now look what’s happened.

Your zucchini plants have been blooming like mad, haven’t they?

And all those cute little cherry tomatoes are starting to ripen. All at once.

For me, it’s cucumbers. There are so many blooms on those plants that I’ll be making pickles until Halloween.

Unless, of course, I give some away. Or maybe even swap them for a little basil. And that’s where a new Web site comes in.

VeggieTrader.com is a new national site that enables registered users to list the produce they have and what they’d like to receive in exchange.

So, in case you do end up with extra zucchini (what a surprise) and you’d like to sell it or swap it for a little sweet corn, you can post your listing. Or you can search by ZIP code and see what folks nearby have available.

The first time I visited the site, I found local member Nan Algieo, who had fresh herbs to swap. She hadn’t received any veggies in exchange yet, but she’d been able to share her bounty.

“I have been able to send off some of my extra herbs that have come in early, and have had two people stop by and pick up herb starts for their own garden,” she said earlier in the summer.

A more recent search of the site didn’t reveal any local postings, but Algieo hoped that the site would bear fruit, so to speak.

“I think it’s going to be a great help this summer,” she said. “Who doesn’t end up with too much of something from their garden or not enough space to grow everything they really want?”

Another Web site, IndianaMarketMaker, an interactive system from Purdue, connects growers and consumers across the state. But while VeggieTrader focuses on connecting backyard gardeners, the more businesslike MarketMaker links to farmers, retailers, restaurants and wineries too. Check it out at http://in.marketmaker.uiuc.edu/.>