Dill Pickles

Pickling cucumbers are different than regular eating cucumbers. The picklers (top cuk in the picture) have "spines", kind of like cactus. The spines are black or white, and are scrubbed off with a vegetable brush. If they don't all come off, that's OK, the pickling brine will dissolve them. The pickling cucumber will stand up to the brining process, but the eating cucumbers (bottom cuk in the picture) may just go to mush (I've not tried it). Pickling cucumbers can be eaten fresh, just make sure the spines are gone!
I find that I need to plant dill two weeks before I plant the pickling cucumbers, so the dill will have the flower heads that are used in the pickles. The picture below is of one head of dill. Each little flower will ripen to make a seed, if left to mature in the garden.
Dill Pickle Recipe:

To each scalded quart jar add:

1/8 teaspoon alum
1 clove of garlic
2 heads of dill
1 hot pepper, optional
sliced pickling cucumbers

For the brine:

1 quart cider vinegar
1 cup pickling or non-iodized salt
(not table salt, it will turn the
brine cloudy)
3 quarts of water

Heat brine to boiling; pour over the
cucumber mix above; seal with
scalded lids, and tighten rings.

Allow 6 weeks for pickling, then eat!!
Here's what they look like. I'm the only one in my home that eats them, so I canned them in pints. They are so good!