It’s the first full week of May, did you plant your cucumber seeds?  If you did, in a couple months you should be enjoying fresh cucumbers, and if a bumper crop, you will have excess. You could try pickling with a simple recipe like this one.

Sweet Cucumber Slices

1 cup sugar

1 tsp mustard seed

1 tsp celery seed

3 cups vinegar

1 cup water

tsp whole black pepper

little red pepper (optional)

Cut cucumbers in 1/4 ” slices. Soak in brine of 1/2 cup salt to 1/2 gal water for 6 to 8 hours or over night. Mix mixture and pour over slices boiling hot. Simmer in mixture 5 to 10 minutes. Pack in jars. Pour mixture over put lids on.

Ok, that’s a little confusing – slice cucumbers into 1/4″ slices. Make a brine of 1/2 cup salt & 1/2 gal water. Soak the slices in the brine 6 to 8 hours or over night. Drain the brine. Mix the sugar, mustard seed, celery seed, vinegar, water and pepper in a pot. Bring to a boil and then add the cucumber slices. Reduce heat and simmer 5 to 10 minutes. Ladle slices into jars, then top up the jars with the remaining hot liquid. Apply lids & preserve by preferred method.