“Break out the burlap and bed sheets, it’s rodeo weekend.” 

No, we weren’t hosting barrel racers, my guy’s annual giddy-up referred to the sudden, brisk overnights to come. Each year the late August chill that would put a damper on lake activities also put me into a frost-fearing frenzy.

Jasper’s Environment Canada weather station is at Sixth Bridge. Townsite temps tend to hover a few degrees warmer, but best to be prepared. With each frost warning, I water lightly because wet soil holds more heat than dry. Hydrated plants also cope better with frost “burn”—the result of moisture pulled from the foliage to protect the main stem and roots. Together, the Warden and I drape burlap over the garden.

But it’s been six years since we’ve busted out the bed sheets in August. Whereas most years saw seven or more frigid nights before our final harvest; in 2023 and 2024 we only covered our tender plants once, in mid-September—the month Jack Frost now appears to favour. At the time of writing this, the burlap and bed sheets have not been out of the gate at all this year.

I started gardening in Jasper in the 1980s. To my senior Italian mentors I’d lament that even growing beans was challenging. Summers were cooler, wetter, and it seemed only greenhouse owners were growing tomatoes larger than cherries. I was green with envy of the Robson Valley gardeners across the border. Dozens of summers later, with sunnier seasons and warm nights deep into autumn, Jasper’s revised ranking as Zone 3b is working wonders for the production of produce, and for new gardeners growing that produce. 

From balcony herbs to front and backyard vegetable plots, stunning hanging baskets and community gardens, a bounty of food and flora is feeding families and delighting passersby. Annuals are holding their own throughout October. And beefsteaks are ripening on the vines—under the sun, not under glass. 

And then we get bucked-off. While annuals benefit from late season fertilizer and “the grateful deadhead,” it is the beginning of October, we are growing on borrowed time. If you’re delaying your final harvest, picture chilly hands chipping carrots out of rock-hard soil for Thanksgiving. It’s more pleasant to reap what you’ve sown while the weather’s still fair.

“Putting up food,” was often heard from my mother and aunts, all raised on farms, hence my urge to put up food being well-nurtured. Not a grower? You can take advantage of harvest season in the produce aisle before winter’s price spike. 

Tie-down the fresh flavours of herbs with a simple purée, frozen into cubes. Wrap each in wax paper or plastic so the cubes don’t fuse together. Try this with arugula and chives to add a kick to winter soups and sauces. 

And stocking up on seasonal produce will ease winter’s grocery bills. Future soups will be nutritionally enriched with blanched kale, collards and spinach, frozen in freezer bags. Most vegetables require blanching in order to freeze well. Chopped onions and bell peppers, however, do not. Raw cherry tomatoes freeze brilliantly whole, those ‘marbles’ will serve you well come January when punnets are $8 each.

But what if you’re looking at using unripe tomatoes now? Andrea Ziegler makes a gorgeous green tomato relish and Kim Callihoo treats her family to her take on the famed fried green tomatoes. For me though, I want to enjoy our tomatoes, colourfully ripe, for months to come.

Tomatoes fascinate me. Over my most ambitious season I grew more than 30 varieties, delighting in the contrast of sizes, shapes and colours, each delivering remarkably different flavours. Come winter though, store-bought tomatoes just taste like disappointment. I grow in volume because I want to preserve pizza sauce, salsa and Jenni Hayrinen’s original Uunifetapasta sauce. But eating fresh tomatoes months after harvest? That calls for crafty storage which delays ripening. 

I gently pack unwashed, unripe tomatoes in single layers in cardboard boxes or paper bags and store them at room temperature, away from direct light. Ours are in the basement, others opt for under a spare bed (away from a heat vent) or in a closet. Check the stored tomatoes regularly.

On regular rotation at The Warden Cabin is the delicious, hearty, Roasted Tomatoes and Cipollini Onions with White Beans. Here’s my “heavy on the garlic and chilis” take on a simple comfort food recipe:

Roasted Tomatoes and Cipollini Onions with White Beans

Ingredients:

1 lb cipollini or pearl onions (or yellow onion cut into large chunks)
1.5 lbs cherry, grape or small Roma tomatoes
1/4 c olive oil
Coarse salt, generously
Chili flakes, to taste
8 large garlic cloves, halved
One can large white beans such as Great Northern or Cannellini (white kidney), drained, rinsed
Handful of basil leaves, slivered (or 1 cube frozen purée)
Two ciabatta buns, halved crosswise
1 extra garlic clove to anoint the toast

Method:

Blanch cipollini onions for 30 seconds, plunge into cold water, make a slit in each with a paring knife to slide outer skin off. 

In a roasting dish, toss together the tomatoes, onions, garlic, olive oil, chili flakes and salt. Bake uncovered at 375F for 45-55 minutes, stirring once at 30 minutes. With 15 minutes left on the timer, fold in the white beans and basil. With five minutes left, place the ciabatta halves in the oven to lightly toast them. 

Rub ciabatta with the reserved clove, cut into croutons, distribute into bowls. Spoon the tomato bean mixture and pan juices over the croutons – don’t waste a drop, it’s mighty flavourful. Tuck in and enjoy.

Su Young-Leslie // info@thejasperlocal.com