When I was young, the end of August was canning time.  My mom's huge ranch garden was loaded with all kinds of vegetables that she would can to last us through the coming year.  I loved to shell the peas.  I would tear the stem end and pull the string down along the pod, it was just like a pull tab. The pod popped open and I would free those bright green  peas with a zip of my thumb.  Mom always canned the peas in pint jars.

My least favorite vegetable to ready for canning were green beans.  There would be a wash tub full of them, and it seemed to take forever to snap both end off, cut them in nice little lengths to fill the many quart jars.  Mom always kept back some of the nice slender ones to can whole.  They did make a pretty sight all lined up like soldiers marching around the inside of the jars.

She also canned beets, corn and many other vegetables.  Carrots, potatoes, and root vegetables were stored in the sand in the root cellar.

By the end of the season our basement shelves were filled with a myriad of colorful jars to tide us through til the next harvest.