My cukes are grown in short 4 foot tall wire trellises and most are never even touching the ground. I pick them and jsuy rinse well under running water, and place in a colander to drain. One more water spray over them and they sit for a an hour or two. No ice water, just plain water. I store them in the fridge until I get enough tto make a few quart jars of pickles. If you want faster pickles, you can slice a few into wedges or spears and can that the same way you do the rest, but just let it cool and refrigerate the next day and it should have some flavor after sitting a day in the fridge. I use straight 5% vinegar in most all my pickle brines, an even for sweet ones, where I add a little Splenda, and use some cider vinegar too. Give hubby a simple job like peeling a lot of onions. My dad had to do those in tears, while mom messed with the green tomatoes and the big spice bag. Another way to keep him away from your creation is to have him go onto the computer and read all about the stuff your making. Aren't those pickling cukes tender? They never need peeling even if eaten fresh or in a salad. One of my favorite summer treats is a cucumber sandwich. I thickly slice some lengthwise and spread mayo on the bread. Add a dash of salt, and you have a great cucumber sandwich!! Before you pickle whole cukes, you should cut off the blossom end tip. It has nasty enymes that are not good in pickle brines. I cut both end tips off when I can whole cukes. I do add cut up garlic and of course fresh dill, weed and seeds. This year the dill has nearly passed and only a few brown seed heads remain. I do use a Mrs. Wages dill pickle mix for mine, and add more dill and garlic. My latest batch will be sour pickles, and I plan to soak the cukes in a salt water brine for about 24 hours, then rinse them. That soak will help to remove a bit of water from inside the cukes, shrinking them a little. I plan to use all white vinegar but at higher than 5% acidity. It will also have a bit of tumeric added for that yellow color, but no other spices, only a bit of alum.

It would depend on what the acidity of the brine is to begin with, what size jar you are talking about filling - pints probably ok, quarts not so much - and how long it would take you to fill them. The brine becomes more diluted with each addition as the water is drawn out of the cukes so the stronger it is to begin with the longer it will keep and still be acidic enough for fresh additions. A better approach is to save the cukes in ice water until you have enough to fill a jar with freshly made brine and to be sure you use a recipe that is more vinegar than water - the more vinegar the better. Nothing less than 1:1 vinegar to water is recommended but it would have to be used fresh-made only. Dave

Linda , I've only ever canned them whole or at most cut in half (lengthwise) to fit the jar. Not sure if they would take on too much of the vinegar but it's not an overly vinegary recipe. All you can do is try! If they turn out carpy just run them through the food processor and voila..... dill relish! Ask me how I know ;)

This is the one I was thinking of using. It is from Minnesota Food Association. It mentions about not heating the brine, but also mentions that you can. So if heated is this one okay to use? Thanks Dave for answering my many questions just want my canning to be safe.c Refrigerator Dill Pickles (1 quart) Ingredients: 5 medium cucumbers 1 Tablespoon pickling salt, sea salt, or kosher salt (but not iodized table salt) 1 cup cider vinegar 1 cup water 1 head dill or small bunch dill leaves 1 clove garlic (optional) 3 black peppercorns (optional) Directions: For the crunchiest pickles, select firm, dark-green pickling cucumbers that have not started to ripen to white or yellow. Cut them into spears or slices, as desired (left whole, they will take a long time to pickle in the fridge). To increase the crunchiness, you can sprinkle the cut cucumbers with a couple of tablespoons of salt, let them sit for 2 hours, and then rinse and drain before proceeding, but this step isn't absolutely necessary. I rarely bother with it. Prepare a quart jar with a lid by running it through the dishwasher or washing it in very hot soapy water and letting it air-dry. Any jar with a lid will do; the wider the opening, the easier. Place the dill in the bottom of your jar, peel and crush the garlic clove (if using), and drop that in along with the peppercorns (if using), then put in the cut cucumber. Mix the salt, vinegar, and water in a separate container, stirring until the salt is dissolved, then pour it over the cucumbers, filling the jar right to the top. If you're in a hurry to enjoy your dillies, heat the vinegar, water, and salt to a boil before pouring it over the cucumbers (just know that heating unpasteurized vinegar kills off the healthy probiotic bacteria that make pickles good for you). Pop on the lid and put the jar in the fridge.