<center>![20180712_215241[1].jpg](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/600x0/https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmVkh5jxLnaeKFQ9tMZGd8rqhHrCTYgHrKZqGvJ7UkG3A7/20180712_215241[1].jpg)</center>

If you have ever thought about trying to grow a garden and maybe learn how to preserve the food you would grow, a good place to start would be with cucumbers.  For preserving the cucumbers, making pickles is quick, easy, and requires no more tools than would be found in most kitchens.

Start with the cucumber plant.  This plant needs a great deal of space.  Left on the ground the plant will grow in every direction as runners on the plant divide into more runners.  Using a trellis to grow the plant on helps with the space issue but it still takes up significant room in you new garden area.  Pruning the plant to confine it to a given area will probably be a good idea, but if you have the space, let it grow.
<center>![Cucumber Vine](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/600x0/https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmeX9UudYTPrGZ5QmxddPu35iSi2Hn1SXMqLhkyVtjFemg/20180625_131046.jpg)</center>

For making the pickles simply cut the cucumbers into the size you want and pack them in clean sanitized canning jars.  The pickling brine is made of a combination of water, vinegar, sometimes sugar, and seasoning.  Seasoning packages can be purchased at grocery stores or farm supply stores.  Instructions for making the brine point out that you need to use a non-reactive pan to prepare the brine.  The vinegar in the brine is an acid that will start reacting with an aluminum pan, stainless steel cookware should be used.

Once the brine is ready and added to the cucumbers in the canning jars you will need to preserve them using the hot water canning method.  Simply add the brine to the cucumbers until it reaches one half inch from the top of the jar.  Finger tighten the lid and submerse in water.   No special canner is needed for this process but the container must be deep enough to allow water to be added to immerse the jar being canned.  With quart jars this can be a challenge for many kitchens.  A tutorial on the hot water canning method can be found [here](https://www.freshpreserving.com/waterbath-canning.html).

One day later, you have your very own pickles and the satisfaction of knowing you did it yourself.  Besides pickles, hot water bath canning can be used for jams, jellies, tomatoes and salsa.  This method is only good for high acid foods but it's a good way to get started.