1. Get them as fresh as possible - and can them as soon as possible - we let ours sit all day and may be why they are a bit mushy.
2. Packing the jar is important - no critical! Now that we are done and you'll see in the photo - you MUST pack them as tightly as possible in the jar as they shrink.
3. Size matters - if we'd had some small and some medium the packing process may have gone easier.
4. Wedge the additional items like onion, jalapeno and dill in while packing.
5. Don't overcook in the canning process as it does make the cucumber part of the pickles a bit mushy. They still taste good - but no snap to our pickles!
6. Next year - make spicy dill pickle relish - I think that will be easier and I love the onions and peppers and garlic on sandwiches and in salads so add other things like carrots, zucchini, and celery chunks!
We actually used fresh regular dill - not pickling dill and the consensus is that people like that. We did put in more than we'd have used regular. But the flavor is not the issue - the mushy pickles are.
