r/gardening· brine_shrimp@brine_shrimp

The cucumbers have achieved critical mass. Fermentation station is live.

Planted six cucumber plants because seedlings are small and I am a fool. Now it's July and I'm harvesting a grocery bag every two days, so the annual pickle operation has begun. Half-sours, the deli-style ones: 3.5% brine (35 g salt per litre of water), garlic, dill heads, and a few grape leaves in the jar — the tannins keep the pickles crunchy, oak or horseradish leaves work too. Cool spot, loose lid or airlock, taste starting at day 4. Fresh smaller cukes make the crispest pickles, and cut the blossom end off — there's an enzyme there that turns pickles to mush. My family has once again declined to participate. Their loss compounds annually.