Hi, all I have ever grown was Marketmore 76 cucumbers. I used them for fresh slicing and pickling. The taste fresh or pickled is very good but the crispness isnt as crisp as I want. I have tried many different process with different types of additives and I am sure I am getting them as crisp as I can. So this year I moved on to 3 new variety's of cucumber.

Boston Pickling
National Pickling
Chicago pickling

I am going to be planting 11 plants of each type down my fence line. I think thats a good enough amount to test out. From what I understand about these varietys is that they are all very good pickling cucumbers.

Whats your pickling cucumber of choice and why?

Picklebush. Small plant/short vines, does great in a hanging basket or limited space, produces heavily, crisp texture, very good flavor, holds up to disease fairly well. We make some sweet pickles but mostly eat them fresh, so I can't really say how they compare to other varieties for actual pickling.