You can cut them into spears. They are somewhat tart and taste of dill, not garlicy or spicy. If you want more garlic taste, then add dried garlic, not more fresh. If you want the spicy or hot, add a dried chili to each jar.
I add a pinch of sugar to my jars. Wait about a month to six weeks for the flavor to penetrate the cucumbers.
Be sure to use pickling salt and not plain or other salt.

Junelynn - I love this recipe and it is the only dill pickle that I make now. I've used it with cucumbers whole, halved, quartered, chunked, etc. As linda_lou said, if you like some spice add a pepper or some red pepper flakes. My family loves these!

Can't really describe the taste though. Just GOOD!

~ Tracy

For spears, the wait time for consuming can be down to 3 weeks after canning. If its whole cukes, it will take longer. Adding some Pickle Crisp (Calcium Chloride) will improve crispness. A 50:50 ratio of water to vinegar is marginal, so you may want to consider using a bit more vinegar and a bit less water. There is also a dill pickle that calls for a few whole peppercorns per jar. I don't care for that, but others might. Fresh dill weed is OK, but you can also add fress dill seed heads (swelld green stage) if you like a more powerful dill taste. I like lots of dill taste and use a Mrs. Wages dill pickle mix as the basis, instead of the pickling salt. I also like using all vinegar and no water most of the time. Another option is slices like the 'stackers' from Vlassic, where they slice lengthwise for sandwiches. Keep in mind that any cuts of whole cukes will get soft a bit faster after they are canned, hence, the need for the Calcium Cloride (available from Bulk Foods).

I was wondering if I could make the solution and use as needed to make small batches of these since I do not have enough plants to make big batches?

Also could I use dill seed instead of fresh dill? If so how much seed per pint?

Thx,
Mike

As long as you keep the brine in the fridge it is fine to do that.
Sure, I use dried dill weed or dried dill seed. Normally
2T. per pint.

Sorry to bother you again just makeing sure I have this right. It is ok for the pickle to be whole or slices or anywhere in between? 50/50 brine is ok (do you use white or cider)? And dried spices are ok?

Sorry it is so many questions just dont want to have to throw away.

Thanks again,

Mike

I like cider vinegar. The white is too sharp for me. Yes, use dried spices or herbs. You can use fresh dill, but I actually like the flavor of the dried dill best. If you want a spicier pickle, then put a dried chili in each jar.
You can cut the pickles how you like. I do spears or halves sometimes. My last ones were whole since I got the perfect sized cukes for them. Slices are fine, too.
For cucumbers the 50/50 ratio is fine. Other vegetables often need a higher amount of vinegar.

Thank you Linda Lou

Mike