Note to self: Look for cukes on the backside of trellis

I just picked twelve “Boston pickling” cucumbers that I discovered were growing on the back side of the trellis next to the fence where you really have to look closely for them. Are the yellow ones too far gone, though they are still firm and not mushy, that I might as well throw them out? Will the large green ones be too bitter to make into bread and butter pickles? I would normally pick eating cucumbers when they are much smaller like some are in the picture. This is my first time to grow pickling cucumbers and I don’t know at what size they should be picked, so maybe someone can tell me.

I suggest throwing the yellow ones in the compost heap- they are too far gone. The green one on the right with the little bit of yellow is questionable. I would just slice that one up and eat it with lots of salt and pepper. If it's gross, throw that one out too. The other green ones should be fine. The size is right. I've only grown Sumter in the past and I usually picked them between 4-6 inches. This year I am growing four different varieties- Sumter, Bushy, Picklebush and Mexican Sour Gherkin. The last one is not for pickling and I would not grow it again because the plant is kind of wimpy.

weasel71
Thanks for that info. How many cucumbers or how many pounds of cucumbers does it take to make it worth the trouble of going through the pickling process? I've never pickled anything either.
What's your favorite variety of pickling cucumber?

hrp50,
I don't grow pickling cucumbers ... but I just want you to know that I also had yellow cukes.
Last summer I went away for 2 weeks. I told my DH to harvest the cukes every other day and to give them at work ... well he didn't !! He said he forgot !!
Those cukes were yellow like a cantaloupe and large as a watermellon !!!
This year I am only growing parthenocarpic varieties I bough from Johnny's. What a difference !! Lot of production durin this 100 F days and sweet and sweeter. Today I picked 10 !!

hrp50- Previous to this year, I had only grown the Sumters because that's what they sold at my local nursery. This year though, I started those four different varieties from seed and had pretty good luck, but the verdict is still out which one will be the tastiest. Personally, I have never pickled the Sumters, preferring to eat them raw with salt and pepper. But my mom has pickled the Sumters and they have been very tasty in the past. I don't think the pickling process she uses is very complicated- she throws all the ingredients in a large pickling jar and just lets it sit on the counter, if I remember correctly. I could get back to you with the exact steps she takes if you're interested. My good friend makes those bread and butter pickles and always gives us smaller jars of those. I guess if you have a limited number of pickles on hand, then you just need to do it on a smaller scale. Unfortunately, because they spoil so rapidly once picked, if you want to enjoy them long-term, then you'll have to pickle them, no matter how many you have...unless you like eating them raw, like me. There's nothing like a cool pickle freshly picked with a little S & P. Mmmmmm...

to weasel- i would love to have pickling instructions. i remember my mom making pickled cucumbers but never took the time to learn, something i really regret. would you be so kind as to share them with me?

risingcreek, I'll work on that for you and try to post over the weekend.

DRTHOR...what varieties are you growing? I normally grow pickling types cause they're small and more tasty to me than the slicers but this year I'm growing the looonnnggg Asian types - I'm not happy with them, they produce alright but I'm the only one in the family that eats fresh cukes so the chickens get to eat most of 'em.

As for pickle recipes I attended a Sustainable Food Center class on pickling and will look for those recipes, have them around here some place...



This message was edited Jun 17, 2011 9:08 AM