I can barely catch my breath. Keeping up with the Italian American gardener is always a challenge, but never more so than at this time of year. Just when the gardening season is winding down for most of us and the tomatoes have been canned and stored, my gardening friends are still planting, harvesting, and preserving. Their gardens are as green and productive as most of us wish ours were in July.

Some are still producing Roma beans from a second or third planting. Escarole, endive, Swiss chard, rapini, cabbage, bulb fennel and peppers are still going strong. In the past week I’ve seen trees heavy with ripening figs, pears, persimmons and chestnuts and the grape arbors are fragrant with the sweet scent of luscious grapes.