Wow thanks so much everyone for all of your responses! I never realized there was so much variety in cucumbers! I've only had the large basic ones found in my grocery store. Funny enough, after realizing I'd misspelled the title I also found out my boyfriend meant the opposite of what he'd said: he wants cucumbers to eat, NOT to pickle. (He just calls cucumbers pickles, even when they're "raw") Shows me for taking his word as is. :-P Regardless, I'm not sure if I'm going to attempt them this year if, as you say, they're difficult to grow in this weather/conditions. I'm not sure I have enough gardening knowledge/skills/ability to recognize and fix any bugs/issues my plants might have. My only chance at growing cucumber this year would have to be in a container as yesterday I used up all the available in ground space in my yard (that's been tilled and/or that gets full sun). If I were brave enough to try growing them this year, would a container be a viable option?

Here's the recipe - I didn't think I could do this since it calls for pickling cukes, but do you think the recipe is safe to eat after 7 days (assuming they are eaten that day or the next)? Thousands of people per year eat these pickles in the restaurants. Half-Sour Pickles Courtesy of Gregg's Restaurant Washed pickling size cucumbers, cut into spears or 1/4-inch slices 1 ½ tablespoons pickling salt 1 ½ teaspoons pickling spices ¼ teaspoon hot pepper seed or flaked red pepper 8 small gloves garlic 1 half-gallon glass jar with cover (or 2 wide-mouth quart canning jars) Fill jars with washed cucumbers. Pack them in tightly. Mix salt, garlic, pickling spices and pepper in a bowl with about 2 cups of hot water; stir until the salt is dissolved. Add some cold water until the liquid feels comfortable to the touch, not hot. Add to the cucumbers. Add more water (warm) if necessary to fill the jar. Let stand on counter, loosely covered, for about 1 hour. After 1 hour cover tightly and refrigerate for 7 days. Taste on the 7th day. Note: All ingredients can be purchased at any market. You may vary the recipe to your liking or size of jar. Pickles do not keep very long since there are no preservatives. Enjoy!

Sure! Lots of them. And using litmus paper to test hasn't been approved for eons. ;) The pH readings from litmus paper can't be safely replicated and the pH changes during storage. Last time I looked the BBB has at least 3 different sauce recipes in it - plain, seasoned with dry spices, and one they call Italian. NVHFP linked below also have several. A search here for 'tomato sauce recipe' will pull up others too - check out the Roasted Tomato and Garlic sauce recipe. We like this one alot. Multi-Use Tomato Sauce 10 plum tomatoes -- (about 2 1/2 lbs./1 kg) 10 large tomatoes -- peeled and chopped (about 4 lbs./2 kg) 4 large garlic cloves -- minced 2 large stalks celery -- chopped 2 medium carrots -- chopped 1 large onion -- chopped 1 large zucchini -- chopped 1 large sweet green pepper -- chopped 1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes -- (125 mL) 2/3 cup dry red wine -- (150 mL) 1/2 cup red wine vinegar (5% strength or more) -- (125 mL) 2 bay leaves 1 tablespoon pickling salt -- (15 mL) 2 teaspoons dried oregano -- (10 mL) 2 teaspoons dried basil -- (10 mL) 1 teaspoon granulated sugar -- (5 mL) (optional) 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon -- (2 mL) (optional) 1/4 teaspoon ground pepper -- (2 mL) 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley -- (50 mL) Combine tomatoes, celery, garlic, onion, zucchini and green pepper in a very large non-reactive pan. Add 1 cup (250 mL) water. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce heat and boil gently, covered, for 25 minutes or until mixture begins to thicken, stirring occasionally. Soak sun-dried tomatoes in boiling water until softened. Drain and dice. Add to sauce with wine, vinegar, bay leaves, salt, oregano, basil, sugar, cinamon and pepper. Continue to boil gently until desired consistency, stirring frequently. Discard bay leaves and stir in parsley. Remove hot jars from canner and ladle sauce into jars to within 1/2 inch (1 cm) of rim (head space). Process in a BWB 35 minutes for pint (500 mL) jars and 40 minutes for quart (1 L) jars. from Ellie Topp's "Complete Book of Small-Batch Preserving" Dave Here is a link that might be useful: NCHFP - Tomato canning guidelines and recipes

Yes, you can. Fresh requires more of it than dried. I find that adding basil at the reheating time before serving gives the best flavor. Once canned, it tends to be a little bitter. You can also use citric acid instead of the vinegar. Keep in mind that the wine vinegar should be 5% acidity or higher to make this safe to can. To peel tomatos a dip for about 30-60 seconds in boiling water and then into ice water will make the skins fall off. You may want to taste the mixture before its poured into canning jars so you can adjust the taste to your liking. I like oregano in mine too, and if I have it, some thyme.