Essential tools for canning?

[MamaJules]

I have a ton of tomatoes in my garden, so I'm thinking of trying my hand at canning some juice and some stewed tomatoes. Obviously you need the jars and lids, but what else do I absolutely have to have? Do I need a special pot or can I just use my big soup pot? Mine are non-stick -- will using them to can hurt them? Can I just stick the jars in the pot, or do I need some kind of special holder? I have a canning book at home that I need to read one of these days, but I know some of you ladies have lots of canning experience!

[rebeccalynne15]

For canning tomato juice there is a couple of links toward the bottom of the page about using a pressure or water bath canner I suggest you read those first.
http://www.pickyourown.org/canningtomatojuice.htm
here's for tomatoes
http://www.pickyourown.org/canning_tomatoes.htm