A tour of the Napa Farmers' Market and my garden indicates that canning season is here. The pickling cucumbers are ready to go, and in another month or so, paste tomatoes will be ready.

I've been canning for many years so that what I grow can be enjoyed year round. The only bad thing about being a serial canner is that people assume they will continue to receive a few jars of pickles, catsup, pasta sauce or whole tomatoes from you every year. Try stopping and see what happens. It could be ugly.

When I first started canning, I made dill pickles and marinara sauce strictly for home consumption. I wasn't being greedy or selfish by not sharing. Rather, I did not want to be blamed for the death of a friend or family member after they consumed something I made. I faithfully followed the Ball Blue Book Guide to Preserving, and in a few years, I grew more confident. I started sharing with friends and family members I didn't care for and then eventually with people I liked.

When it comes to canning, I follow the KISS principle: Keep it Simple, Stupid.

I have always been a devotee of water-bath canning. It's simple and practically foolproof. Besides, I'm canning pickles and tomatoes, which are high enough in acidity to kill pathogens without the high heat of pressure canning. I own a pressure canner, and every year I think about using it so that I can expand my repertoire to low-acid veggies (which is just about every vegetable except tomatoes). A pressure canner heats food to high temperatures (240°F to 250°F or higher), which destroys the spores that produce the botulism toxin. A water-bath canner heats food only to 212°F, which is not high enough to safely can most vegetables and other low-acid foods.

Pickling cukes are easy to grow and fun to harvest as they are good at hiding in their own foliage and making you search for them. The biggest challenge is to not let them get too large. Once they reach four to five inches in length they are ready for harvest. Any larger and they start getting mealy.

For canning, paste tomatoes like Roma and San Marzano are preferable to beefsteak types. The paste varieties have less water, thicker flesh and fewer seeds. Juicy beefsteak types are great for salads and sandwiches, but they're not meaty enough to make great sauce.

A bushel of paste tomatoes is to a canner what a blank canvas is to an artist. To can whole tomatoes, all you have to do is skin them. To can tomato sauce, tomato paste, catsup, barbecue sauce or pasta sauce, you need to transform raw tomatoes into tomato puree. Quarter the tomatoes, place them in a 4-quart glass bowl and pop in the microwave. In 30 minutes you will have a bowl of water, skins, seeds and tomato pulp. Discard the water and pass the solids through a tomato mill or food mill to remove the seeds and skins. The result is tomato puree.

Canning is not high tech. I still use the basic tools and equipment I started with years ago. The one addition I made a number of years ago was a tomato mill. I discovered mine in a kitchen store in Florence, Italy, and it was love at first sight. When I saw this bright-red contraption, I knew I had to have it even if it meant schlepping it through Italy for the next two weeks. Of course, like many products travelers discover in Europe, these tomato mills are now available locally. I'm still glad I brought mine home.

It's time to get out the canning tools and equipment, review favorite recipes, and make sure you have all the spices and herbs you'll need to start canning.

Tomato Catsup

20 to 25 pounds ripe paste tomatoes

4 cups apple cider vinegar

2 cups dark brown sugar

2 medium yellow onions, diced

2 tablespoons minced garlic

1/4 cup kosher salt

2 tablespoons ground black pepper

2 teaspoons dry mustard

2 teaspoons ground allspice

2 teaspoons ground cloves

2 teaspoons ground mace

2 teaspoons ground dried ancho chile (optional)

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon celery seed

Quarter the tomatoes and place them in a 4-quart microwavable bowl. Microwave on high for 15 minutes. Remove the bowl, stir, return to the microwave and microwave on high for 15 minutes more. Strain the tomatoes and discard the watery juices. Pass the pulp through a tomato mill or food mill. Discard skins and seeds. You should have about 4 quarts of tomato puree.

Combine the tomato puree and the remaining ingredients in a large pot. Bring to a simmer, then adjust the heat to maintain a simmer and cook, stirring often to prevent scorching, until the catsup is thick, 2 to 3 hours. For a smooth catsup, blend with an immersion blender. Taste and adjust the seasoning.

Divide the catsup among sterilized half-pint jars, filling to within ½ inch of the rim. Top with a new lid and screw band. Close tightly. Process in a boiling-water bath for 10 minutes, following standard procedures for safe canning.

Makes 12 to 14 half-pints

Workshop: U. C. Master Gardeners of Napa County will conduct a workshop on “Food Preserving” on Saturday, July 23, from 9:30 a.m. to noon, at University of California Cooperative Extension (address below). Preserving your garden's bounty and knowing exactly what's in your food are just two reasons for preserving or canning foods at home.  Canning is an important and safe way to preserve food if it's done correctly. Learn the basics of preserving using a boiling water-bath canner and a pressure canner, and when to use each method.  Also learn other easy techniques for saving your bounty for consumption later.
On-line registration (credit card only) Mail-in/Walk-in registration (cash or check only) 

Workshop: U. C. Master Gardeners of Napa County will conduct a workshop on “Landscape Tree Appreciation and Care” on Wednesday, July 20, from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., in the Napa County Library Community Room. Learn how landscape trees enhance our lives, how to choose the best trees for your site and how to keep your trees healthy.  

The talk will be followed by an optional guided tree walk at Fuller Park in Napa from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. The walk will be repeated on Saturday, July 23, from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. There is no fee for the workshop or tree walk. For more information, call the Napa County Library at 707-299-1481 or U.C. Master Gardeners at 707-253-4140.

Master Gardeners are volunteers who help the University of California reach the gardening public with home gardening information. U. C. Master Gardeners of Napa County ( http://ucanr.edu/ucmgnapa/) are available to answer gardening questions in person or by phone, Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 9 a.m. to Noon, at the U. C. Cooperative Extension office, 1710 Soscol Avenue, Suite 4, Napa, 707-253-4143, or from outside City of Napa toll-free at 877-279-3065. Or e-mail your garden questions by following the guidelines on our web site. Click on Napa, then on Have Garden Questions? Find us on Facebook under UC Master Gardeners of Napa County.