Cucumber Pickles

I'm starting to get some cucumber crops in now, the euphya cucumbers that I have grown indoors have done particularly well, and with lots more cucumbers to come, I've decided to pickle some of the large ones (including the strange one with the trim middle).
1) Wipe the cucumbers, and then cut them into manageable and similar sized pieces. You can pickle very small cucumbers whole.

I like firm pickled cucumbers so used a dry brine. To find out how to pickle with a wet brine for softer pickles click here.
2) Put the pieces onto a flat tray (a baking tray is good) and cover with a generous layer of salt. Leave overnight.

In the morning.
3) It is best to make the spiced vinegar before you rinse the cucumbers to allow it time to cool. 500ml of malt vinegar was enough for my three large cucumbers, which fitted into three 0.25l jars.
4) Rinse the chopped cucumbers well to remove the brine.

5) Pack the cucumbers into cold steralised jars and pour the cooled vinegar over the top to cover. You could add a bay leaf to each jar. Seal the jars.

The pickles are best left for at least two weeks (I would suggest longer) before being used, to give time for the vinegar to really infuse into the cucumbers.

Growing Cucumbers

Sowing. Sow indoors: Apr-May. Sow seeds on their sides 1cm deep in 7-9cm pots of compost. Propogate until germination. Water seedlings in the mornings. Plants benefit from being kept indoors but can be hardened off for outdoor planting once all risk of frost has passed. Plant in well fertilised soil or compost 45-60 cm apart. Growing and Harvesting. Use meshing for the plants to climb. Water well in dry weather. Pick regularly when young. Cucumbers can suffer from mould on the leaves, often just as the crop is coming to yield; disease resistant varieties such as euphya (below) are available.

Our varieties.
Euphya (as seen in image). This is an excellent quality all female flower cucumber that is disease resistant and produces plenty of good quality fruit. Better for indoor growing. Buy.