Pickles made the old fashioned way

I have been growing white cucumbers and pickling them for over 20 years. Those who know and love LemonTree Farm pickles can’t get enough. My process takes about six months start-to-finish if done correctly. You can do it too!

Growing the cucumbers

Ground Prep

I start preparing the ground the 1st weekend in May by tilling in organic compost and adding any amendment recommendations my soil testing has advised. Using bamboo skewers, I measure and mark the middle of a row every three feet. This will serve as the center of the hill. Next, I add a half-cup of Espoma Bio-Tone starter fertilizer on the ground around the bamboo skewer before I build up the hill. We want the roots to grow into the rich fertilizer and really take off once they get established. With my rake, I pull soil up, around and over my skewer marker (where I just poured the fertilizer mixture) to form a 6-7” volcano. I remove the skewer and with the rake or my foot, tamp down the middle of the volcano and make an indention about 3-4” high. The hill should resemble a crater at this point, with a small lip around the edge and approximately 12″ in diameter. The lip around the edge holds seeds in the hill if you get a hard rain.

Planting

I use Old Time White Cucumber seeds (Contact me if you need some, they are hard to find). They are my favorite. To sow, I place 7-8 cucumber seeds around the hill with even spacing, inside the indention. I cover with organic potting mix, ½ – 1” deep. Daddy Pete’s has always worked for me. Do not cover with clay, the sun dries it out very quickly and makes it difficult for the seedlings to push through. I add wheat straw as well. This helps keep moisture in, weeds out and the plants protected from soil borne illnesses that occur when dirt splashes on the plants during a rain.

Watering

The seeds need to be lightly watered. Continue to water until the seedlings emerge (usually in 4-7 days). Drip lines are a must. A proper irrigation system provides the much needed water to each hill without constantly soaking the plants. Water left on the plants causes mold and fungus. There are organic fungicides on the market, but with my irrigation system I haven’t had to use them. My drip lines are 1/4″ in diameter and emit 1 gallon/hr. I turn it on for a couple of hours every 2-3 days unless we have rain.

Thinning

When the seedlings are 2-3”, I choose the best 4 or 5 and thin the rest, leaving at least 3″ separation between each. To thin, I pull out by the roots and snip off at ground level. Psychologically, it’s hard to pull up something you just worked hard to plant, but it’s a necessary step to ensure the remaining seedlings thrive.

Watch them grow

Now’s the time to add tomato hoops or a trellis system because the cucumbers will need something to climb. Over the next 45-60 days, you’ll want to train the vines to grow up and around the hoops and not outward. Around the first of June I add a gallon of Seaweed fertilizer mix to each hill and by mid June I am picking my first cucumbers.

What’s the buzz about?

Cucumbers require a lot of pollinators (i.e. bees) to produce their fruit. In peek bloom, you can hear and feel the buzzing, it’s so loud!

Picking Pickles in the Pickle Patch

I pick my cucumbers very tiny, the smallest about the size of a AA battery and the largest about the size of a C battery. It takes quite a few to fill a quart jar. I pick every day and try to pickle what’s picked the same day. If you’re not able to get enough for a full quart, you can store the washed cucumbers in plastic bags in the refrigerator for no more than 3 days until you have enough to process. Cucumbers grow amazingly fast. If left for more than 2-3 days they get quite large. I call the big ones Goose Eggs. Goose Eggs are ok to slice and pickle, but I prefer just to eat these. I swear, the cucumber plants have an amazing ability to hide the ripening cucumbers. If too many are left on the vine, the plant will slow production. Picking daily keeps production at its best and provides the best pickle sizes.

Some time ago, I was in the garden when this song worm started in my head. Since then, I can’t help but sing it while picking pickles. To the tune of “Sleeping Single in a Double Bed”, by Barbara Mandrell, “Picking pickles in the Pickle Patch”, LOL! I know you are singing it!!!

The end of the season

By the end of July, cucumber plants are nearing the end of production. Approximately 60-70 days after planting, vines start to yellow and die. There’s nothing wrong, it’s just the cucumber’s life cycle. Because they grow so quickly, I have tried to plant more in early August for a second crop, but I find the bad bug population is too high late in the season and the summer too hot and dry for the plants to do well. I usually have around 85-90 plants growing and usually can about 80-100 quarts of pickles per summer.

LemonTree Pickle Recipe

Now for the fun part. Let’s get canning!

Wash and clean cucumbers. Set aside.
Bring the following brine mixture to a boil in a large pot.
- 12 cups water
- 4 cups white distilled vinegar
- 1 cup pickling salt
Place the following dry ingredients into the bottom of clean and sterile quart jars. I find wide mouth jars make it easier to pack in the cucumbers.
- 1 large clove fresh garlic
- ⅛ teaspoon alum
- ⅛ teaspoon hot pepper flakes
- ⅛ teaspoon dill seed
- ⅛ teaspoon dill weed
- 2-3 fresh green dill blossoms
Add cucumbers, filling to ½ inch from top of jars.
Pour brine to cover cucumbers.
Wipe tops of jars and add lids and rings. Hand tighten.
Place jars into a boiling hot water bath. I use a large canning tub with jar stabilizer. Bring water to a boil for 10 minutes.
Remove jars from boiling water and let them cool on the counter. About an hour later, you should start to hear them popping as they seal.

Here’s the hard part… waiting. We like to let the pickles settle for 3-4 months before eating. I won’t judge if you can’t make it that long. Enjoy!