pickling questions

Ok, so all the pickling recipes I find want a very large amount of cucumbers all almost the same size. Well I'm not sure that I am ever gonna have a full 8 lb of 4 inch pickling cucumbers all on the same day.

My question is, how do real people cope with making pickles when they have a natural variation in fruit sizes?

I'd really love to make some sweet gherkins or midgets. Anyone have a quick recipe that would work for something like this? I'm thinking 2-3 inch cucumbers.

Anyone heard of making pickles from whole small yellow summer squash?

I also have lots of zucchini coming along so I know I'll be shredding and freezing some for bread and then of course blanching a freezing lots too but I may well try pickling some zucchini slices.

I wish I could find a source for food grade calcium chloride near by. Real bummer they aren't selling Pickle Crisp anymore.

A pickling cuke can grow 2 inches overnight! Planting more cuke seeds will give bigger yields. I grow about 20+ plants and always pick every two days. They are usually fairly well sized, even though I plant 3-4 different types of picklers. To make gerkin pickles, you can use really small picklers, or grow the Cornicon type that are quite small and remain that way a little longer. If you grow pickling cukes, and miss picking a single oversized one, it will quickly get really big, yellow, and then stops the rest of the plant from producing or enlarging the rest. ONLY place for the Calcium Chloride is at Bulk Foods. Its a LOT cheaper than the old Ball Pickle Crisp product. It has to be food grade, so the kind used as an ice melter in winter will not be safe to use in pickling. I store mine in a quart canning jar and keep it out of moisture. It has an ifinity to absorb moisture and will clump and then liquify if left out exposed too long.

Here is a link that might be useful: Bulk Foods CAL CHLO

Anyone heard of making pickles from whole small yellow summer squash?

Yup. We make both dill and sweet squash amd zuke chunks - same recipe as for cukes we just sub the squash. As fast as they grow tho it would be hand to catch enough of them at the "gerkin" size.

Otherwise, the only way I know to get enough cukes ready to pickle at the same time is to plant several plants. We are doing Miss Pickler and Alibi Picklers this year - 6 plants of each - since we have decimated the pickle supply from 3 years ago. ;)

Dave

Gee, only six of each plant? That will hardly make a batch of pickled cukes every few days. The plants I grew last smummer where a perfect amount and gave me a continous supply for over a month. I made slices, and half sours mostly. I usually give away the larger ones if they are too big for my canning.

You are right, Ken. I meant to say 6 hills of each. We do 3 plants to each hill. ;)

We don't do half sours and not many slices but we love garlic dills in wholes and halves with every meal.

Which reminds me that I have to get more dill planted. Heavy rains the next 3 days here - hopefully no hail to bash the lettuces and broccoli and cabbage - so I'll likely do some in containers on the deck.

Dave

The dill I grew last summer has dropped millions of seeds nearby. They started to sprout and show up a four weeks ago, and some are already 2 inches tall. I also planted more seeds two weeks ago, but not a single one has shown up yet. Yes, 6 hills might do it. I usualy plant 2-3 seeds per 6 inch round cut into the black fabric mulch weed blocker, then I add a 4 foot tall steel wire trellis to help hold them up. Easy picking, and with a single row, you can pick from both sides. I place the trellis in a zig zag pattern so they are rigid.
Broccoli doesn't like a lot or rain if there are flowerettes formating, they tend to turn black between the buds. Lettuce is tough, and you can even step in it and it will usually spring back. I wil not be doing any lettuce this year, as the garden will be mostly corn, which needs all the room it can get.

I'm in a somewhat different climate (very little lettuce is still surviving the heat) as I've been harvesting squash and zucchini for a while now and the cucs are comming on good and I may even get a good pumpkin harvest this year (planted a variety that has hull less seeds) even through powdery mildew has already reared it's ugly head.

so anyone have a gherkin recipe they can recommend? Are there any good quick pickle recipes that can be used on whole small cucumbers/squash/zucchini. I'm rather partial to sweet pickles and sweet relish and as a kid I loved candied dill spears. I'm eager to try with cucumbers but also probably with baby squash and baby zucchini. I probably really over planted the squash and zucchini since I know a half row of each will usually out pace us very quickly (ya can only give away so many baseball bat size zucchini) so I am making a point of harvesting small as I can even though the other half rather likes cooking squash and zucchini boats stuffed with cheese and sausage.

tclynx, we are growing extra summer squash just to make chow chow. We started doing this two years ago, giving it to people and everybody likes it, so we make sure we make enough to distribute. This uses A LOT of summer squash. We also include a mix of our own grown peppers, onions and spices. I'll be glad to post the recipe if anyone wants it.

I have not pickled cukes yet, but we want to do it this year. No idea what cukes to grow that would do well here so we are trying a variety and we will get more serious with the seed saving next year, after we decide what cultivar.

Last year we also made a pickled garden vegetable mix that included yellow summer squash slices, as well as hot peppers, green beans, tomatillos, and carrots. Never pickled them whole when little but we do plan on doing this with another squash we are growing, called chayote or mirliton.

I will be checking back on this thread to see what pickling recipes you get ;-)

I'd love to see your recipe as I've seen mention of chow chow.

I'm hoping some one has had some success with some method of quick gherkin pickling though. I would go for one of the 14 day recipes but there is no way for me to know if I would remain available to actually complete the recipe since I am often working on call and might go from being home for weeks on end to suddenly working 16 hour days with an hour commute on either end.

I've got at least 4 varieties of cucumbers growing (cucino which is a definite winner that I will grow again, parthenogeic-all female flowers able to produce fruit without pollination- burpless tenderdergreen, sumter, and straight eight.) I think the cucion and the sumter are the only ones really appropriate to pickling. I've got lots and lots of yellow squash and zucchini growing and I've already frozen many

I like the yellow cooked neck squash. They seem to have a better taste compared to plain summer squash. I have not pickled zuc or squash as they are very high in water and tend to get softer compared to cukes. Pickling cukes are a specific breed and are mature at about 4-5 inches long. Any longer and they start to get big tough seeds, and then turn yellow on the skins, which means they are usually headed for the compost pile. I grow National Picklers, as well as a few other types. I do not grow those European cukes that have very thin skins, they are not good as pickles. Avoid growing regular cucumber types as they are not as firm and crisp as pickling types. Sweet gerkins can be made with a sweet mix pickle recipe that calls for a bit of ginger, cinnamon, allspice, mustard seed, celery seed, dill, clove, and a few others. You would add more sugar, and use a specific cuke type bred specifically for the smaller gerkin size. Planting different pickling cuke types always helps. The ones you mention are not as productive as a regular pickler cuke.

I always thought sumter was a very standard pickler?
Anyway, the cucuino is definitely prolific, I stripped the plants of most all their fruit about 4 days ago and there are already more getting large again (this is one of the varieties for rather small fruit.) Even so, the seed pack didn't contain many seeds so I am probably only getting a little over 2 lb of little cucs every few days.

I forgot to mention that I also planted a variety called pickle bush. I expect them to produce better later in the season as I planted them where they will get more shade. Down here high summer usually kills off all but okra, sweet potatoes, and cow peas, but if one gives some extra shade, some things will carry on further into the hot season.

tc - have you tried any of the Mrs. Wages pickling mixes? We like them and they are quick to do. Just follow the package directions, stuff the jars with the cukes, and either quick BWB process for shelf storage or keep the jar in the fridge. Should work well with your work schedule.

Dave

I also like Mrs. Wages mixes and use the Dill mix for making my half sours. The last batch I did last summer are almost all gone now, and each half gallon jar had about 6+ whole dill seed heads. A cuke type that was mentioned above (cucuino) is similar to a seedless watermelon in that the cukes could contain a single viable seed in each, or per plant. Pickling cukes, by their nature have very small tender seeds inside, unless they were left to mature beyond edibility. Last summer, my lettuce was growing quite well all summer long. I even picked of flower stalks and still got more tender leaves. The mixes of seeds were great, and were far superiour to any store bought salad lettuce.

Here is how we have been making the chow-chow. The advantage is that you can use those bat size summer squashes that tend to sneak up on one when not looking....We have used black beauty zucchini, straight neck yellow squash (for some reason the crook neck gets seedy young and it is not that great here) and also the green star burst patty pan shaped squashes.

____________________________

Chow - chow (spicy)

3 quarts (12-14 cups) zucchini or yellow squash
3 large onions
2 cups mixed peppers (we used hot peppers on the last batch for some
hot Chow chow, use sweet peppers if you want a milder relish)

Put vegetables in a food processor and grind. I peel green zucchini but leave the peel on the yellow summer squash. I got best results when processing the other veggies with the squash (peppers or onions) otherwise the squash gets too fine/mushy and I like to leave some texture.

Add pickling salt and let stand overnight or for several hours in fridge. I add a couple tbsp and taste (adjust to what you like, it should taste a little salty).

The original recipe called for adding salt and water, letting it stand overnight and draining. We do not do this as we feel the vitamins will be lost along with all the vegetable juices. We do not add water. The relish will have enough moisture from the vegetables. We like the texture and taste this way, omitting the soaking salting and draining step...

Add:
4 cups sugar (I have used 3 c and it works well too)
1 1/2 Tbsp turmeric
2 Tbsp yellow mustard seed
2 tbsp black mustard seeds
1 Tbsp celery seed (sometimes I add chopped celery instead)
4 cups vinegar (I use apple cider vinegar)
Salt to taste

Mix well and cook for 10 minutes at a bubbling boil.

Pour into sterilized jars and process in pressure canner at 6 to 9 psi for 10 minutes.

We used a boiling water bath before we got the pressure canner and it worked well too (for 15 minutes).

I've been looking for Mrs. Wages but none of the stores I have look in seem to be carrying it currently. It appears to be another thing I would have to order online.

As to the cucuinos, at least the cucumber variety I'm growing has seeds (though probably sterile since the fruit can grow without pollination.) It isn't a seedless variety, just a small fruited, heavy/early bearing, that is incredibly crisp for the few bites you get. I don't actually know how well it really will work for pickling since the skin is not tough or bitter. Then again, I've been known to eat pickling cucs as if they are salad cucs though I am quite partial to these cucuino or burpless tendergreens for fresh eating since I don't peal cucumbers to eat them, heck I rarely slice them and only cut them into spears for packing in lunches.

Thanks cabrita,
That sounds like a nice and pretty easy recipe. I'll have to print that up.

Mrs. Wages has been found at Agway stores. Pickling cukes all have nice crisp thin skins, compared to those oversized dark green thick skin types that people usually have to peel. I never buy those big green ones. The English type are sold wrapped in plastic, Their skins are so thin the cukes can spoil and dry out very quickly. They are also not suitable for pickling. I was giving some of my picklers to the next door neighbor and she was peelng them. I told her that they were very crisp and the skins don't need to be peeled off. I bet she would cut out all the surface seeds on strawberres and peel grapes.. She is no expert on cooking in the kitcen. The burpless type are as not suitable for pickling. They lack the proper texture and will quickly turn mushy in a brine. Once pickled, the ones that are NOT burpless, will suddenly become burpless. I get more issues with cantaloupe as opposed to cukes.

I've never had a real burp problem with cucumbers. I never really did like the way some types of cucumbers exude that numbing sap when cut through. I guess that is why I like the tendergreens, their skin is thin and not really bitter like the big waxy cucs you find in the grocery and they don't have as much of that substance whatever it is. Then again, they seem more suseptable to pests in the garden since they are so tender. Oh well.
Gotta go get some jars.

Pickling cukes are half way between the big green thck skinnd ones and the very thin skinned European ones. I don't find any 'sap' on mine. Pests are not my cuke problem, but downey and powdery mildew are. The leaves become coated white with the mildew and are suffocated by it. I spray fungicides to control that. The cucumber beetles are not much of a problem as I use sticky traps and lures for them. Not many insects damage mine, and bees love the flowers.

Powdery mildew is a major problem here but I refuse to spray chemical fungicides that are not completely safe for fish since a major part of my garden is Aquaponic. As for bug problems, we get lots of stink bugs, leaf footed bugs, squash bugs and other similar sucking bugs that don't seem to be much affected by most pesticides anyway, if I get really ambitious I will start running around the garden with the battery powered vacuum so I can feed the bugs to the fish. Some seasons the caterpillars and vine borrers become a problem but so far so good this season. A little BT (thuricide or diple dust) usually takes care of it but sucks trying to spray after the heat of the day is over since that leaves me spraying in the dark.

Since I've been improving my soil and avoiding chemicals, I'm hoping there are more and more good bugs around to attack the pests.

Now I just need to figure out the best way to battle potassium deficiency since I think that might be part of why powdery mildew is so bad through most of that is probably just our climate.

Anyway, I've canned my first batch of pickles, only did 4 pints and will have to wait a while to see if the recipe was worth it.

I use a powered product called Serenade and its worked quite well in reducing the damage of mildew. None of my sprays for the garden are petrolium based or chemcial based. There is water nearby and most has only been swampy, but my garden doesn't contribute any contaminates to the environment. When I do pickles, its usually in quarts. Add Jersey Green Sand to the garden to raise the potash level. I just applied 60 pounds to my garden as it was quite low in Potash/potasium. It always seems hin in phosphorous even though I never add any. My recent soil test also told me my nitrogen is low, so out went fish meal. All these get tilled under. I do most of my sprays in early morning or late after the sun passes over. If you have squash vine borers, there can be two kinds of protection, A form of Bt injected into the stems near the soil and about 1 foot away, then 2 feet away. If you are concerned about Bt, you could also use beneficial nematodes and inject them instead. I use an insulin syringe to do the job, and it usually only needs one treatment. The cuke beetles carry the mildew around on their feet. I use yellow sticky traps and scent lures for catch the beetles. There are two kinds of cuke beetles, spotted and striped. Here its striped and they can also infest the melons and squash plants. Last summer after 3 weeks, I had to replace the sticky traps, as they were all loaded.

Here is a link that might be useful: Organic potash source

Ken would you mind telling us where you get the yellow sticky traps and what is the name of them? Thank you.

Yellow sticky traps (that's their name) are available many places on line. Most of the well known seed suppliers carry them and so does amazon.com in their gardening section. Just Google 'yellow sticky traps' or 'insect traps'. Ace Hardware, the local nurseries and even Walmart carry them here.

Dave

Here is a link that might be useful: Park Seed Yellow Sticky Traps

I get the cucumber beetle scent lures, among others from Peaceful Valley. They sell apple maggot lures, and also ones for many flying insects like codling moths. My apple trees never have bugs in them, as I have many red spheres also coated with a VERY sticky product called Tangle Trap. The sticky traps are easy to find. They are two sided and are bright yellow with peel off strips on both sides of the approx 4x6 plastic cards. I have been using two types, one that has a 1 inch grid pattern on it, and the other as in the picture below to control fungus gnats indoors and out. The ones for the cukes (with grid lines are attached to poles about 4 feet from the soil, and the ones for the gnats are set horizontally as they seem to be more effective than being vertical (in the photo).

Here is a link that might be useful: Yellow sticky traps

Thank you Ken for the info and the link.

First of all, I am new to this site and can't seem to find where I can post a question to all - I do nine day pickles in a crock every year and they stay there for months. My crock died and I can't seem to find another one. Can I use a stainless steel container or will it react? Any help?

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