The flies are biting. A sure sign of harvest. For a while now, those who garden have been harvesting the abundance of their work. And many of them have been busy canning and freezing a colorful array of vegetables.

All the while I was growing up, we had a huge garden. The first session of canning was sweet peas and green beans. Dad always planted about four rows of peas because he knew my brother and I would raid them as soon as there were some to eat straight off the vine.

Tomatoes were far from safe from me. When the tomatoes were ripe and my mother wanted me to help her, she first check...