Jim, I make pickles the non-canned way. Start with the vegetables, then throw them in crocks like this (one has tomatoes and carrots, the other pickling cukes)

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I just use dried dill weed and dill seed, rather than the actual dill sprigs. For the big crock, I'll use about a handful of the dried dill weed you can get at a supermarket or online and for the little crock I'll use about half a handful. You really can't go wrong with too much dill, but too little and you'll notice the taste being off.

After adding the pickling spices, garlic cloves and alum, I cover everything with a saltwater brine mixture (sorta hard to explain how much canning salt to water, but it's about a half cup of salt to about 2 gallons of water, give or take based on taste. Then it's covered and put aside in the kitchen for a week and the fermentation usually is complete by then, and into the fridge they go. They'll last for many months in the fridge.

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