Too much water will definitely slow or kill them, and it can cool the soil even more. Water when you plant, and after germination let the roots chase the water down into the soil a bit before you water again. Lift the pots to feel how heavy they are - it shouldn't be as light as a pot of dry soil, but no where near as heavy as a pot full of water would be. Soon you will know how much they should weigh. Remember that small plants don't transpire much water - there isn't enough leaf surface. They should be fine with a mist every few days if the soil is evenly moist. Bottom watering is good, but even that can be too much with a highly absorbent potting mix.

Late planting, not enough water, too much nitrogen, or planted too close together. Crowded radishes won't "bulb" properly and judging by the length of the stems and the skinny roots I'm 99.9% certain this was the cause. From the soil mix I assume you are doing a square foot garden. How close did you plant them? Rodney

Ann, Definitely the wrong microorganisms got in. The question is how? It gets kind of scientific doesn't it? Like being a detective. I'm really interested in how "boughten" cucumbers do, though now your level of awareness is heightened, so inevitably there will be variables. One question: You did two batches. Did you prep all your cukes at once and divide into two batches or were they two separate batches? Because that might narrow the possibilities. Sounds like your temperature is all right. 78 is getting to the top of the range but aside from a softer pickle or speedier fermentation there shouldn't be a problem. Is it possible the room where you had them was warmer than you thought? If you had an extra-warm day or two at the beginning of the fermentation cycle, that could do it. Water's OK, so forget that one. If it were hard water it could be an issue because lime could reduce acidity to an unsafe level. Any food-safe plastic bag should be fine. ZipLoc freezer bags right out of the box, not used ones, are good. One floating pickle can, unfortunately, spoil the whole batch, but you had two batches. I make extra brine to make the sure the pickles are well-covered. Since the little cukes are likelier to "pop up" put them in the bottom and the bigger cucumbers on top. I use a sterile plate as a weight then put a brine bag on top of that. Skimming - the missing days are a possibility. Once the scum is broken up you can spend a lot of time chasing it around the container. You'll never get it all. Skimming is critical. One way to deal with it suggested by Linda Ziedrich is to take a clean piece of muslin or several layers of cheesecloth and place them on top of the pickles but under the weight. Then when you lift off the plate and raise the cloth, most of the scum comes with it. Boil the cloth and reuse or replace with a fresh one. The more air you keep out, the less scum you have to deal with, though traditional European preservers value the yeasts for the flavors they add. It's a trade-off, but if throwing out batches of pickles is the alternative, I'd definitely go for keeping out the air. Also, aside from the weight and brine bag, did you cover the jars? A clean linen towel or pillowcase is fine, anything to keep out dust and ambient spores. The mold is interesting if it appeared late in the fermentation cycle. Usually if fermentation is going well, it's not a congenial environment for mold, which is more likely earlier and harmless then if removed promptly. Mold can be a problem if it's too cold (a reason not to use a chilly cellar), the brine is too strong, or the cucumbers aren't well-covered. Your container and all related tools need to be clean but items washed in soap and water should be fine. That was more of an issue in the past with old crocks; they can be darned difficult to clean and are best sterilized, if possible. I keep coming back to the cucumbers - either disease, mold or perhaps something missed in the scrubbing. They can harbor a lot of bacteria and if there were something in the field, that's a possibility. It would be interesting to talk to anyone else in your area or at Extension, if that's doable, to see if there have been any issues with cucumber harvests in your area. Carol

I'd be surprised if beating the butter w/the sugar and molasses, as opposed to by itself, would make any difference. Even though the recipe says not to cut until cool, I'm wondering if cutting them while still warm would reduce the crumbliness. You could try cutting while warm but not actually separating them until they cooled. (?) The ingredients sound wonderfully tasty, but the 1/2 cup of cornstarch is a bit surprising to me. Can that be right? This could be one of those cases where the next issue of the magazine says " In our last issue, in the recipe for Ginger Cookies, the ingredients should have read one half teaspoon cornstarch, instead of 1/2 cup." LOL