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How to Make a Perpetual Pickle Crock: Easy Summer Pickling Ideas

pickles in a crock pot
Image Credit:
Margaret Boyles
Written By: Margaret Boyles Contributor

Looking for an easy way to enjoy fresh pickles all summer long? The perpetual pickle crock is a simple, low-maintenance method that lets you add fresh cucumbers, beans, carrots, and zucchini every day to a brine, creating a continuous supply of crisp, flavorful pickles. Perfect for home gardeners, families, or anyone who loves fresh, homemade pickles, this method is easy to customize and requires minimal effort.

What Is a Perpetual Pickle Crock?

A few years ago, I received a call from a woman who remembered my gardening columns for the long-defunct New Hampshire Times. She needed help with something very special—her son was heading off to college, and he had asked for “the recipe for those pickles you kept on the kitchen counter all summer when I was a kid.”

It turns out, she had been making what I jokingly called Perpetual Pickles every summer, just as I had done with my daughter and her friends. The idea is simple: Fill a crock with a fresh brine and keep adding small batches of vegetables daily. Children could snack from the crock anytime, and adults could enjoy fresh pickles all season long.

Why a Perpetual Pickle Crock Works

During the harried weeks of midsummer into early fall, garden crops come fast and furiously. The perpetual pickle crock works because:

  • You start with a base brine (vinegar, water, salt, dill, garlic) in a crock.
  • Vegetables are added gradually over the season.
  • Fresh vegetables absorb the brine but never overcrowd the crock.
  • The continuous method keeps a steady supply of pickles without the need for canning.

This method is ideal for busy households, families with kids, or gardeners who don’t want to process multiple jars at once.

Ingredients You’ll Need

  • Small cucumbers
  • Green beans
  • Fingerling carrots
  • Tiny zucchinis
  • Fresh dill heads
  • Garlic cloves (peeled)
  • Pickling salt
  • Brine: 1/2 cider vinegar, 1/2 water

You can also add other vegetables depending on your garden or local farm stand offerings.

How to Make a Perpetual Pickle Crock

  1. Prepare the brine: Combine the brine of half cider vinegar and half water in a two-gallon crock. Add 3–4 dill heads, a few peeled garlic cloves, and a pinch of pickling salt. Fill the crock about two-thirds full.
  2. Add vegetables daily: Small cucumbers, green beans, carrots, and zucchinis can be added to the brine each day. Use a small plate to weigh them down so they stay submerged.
  3. Snack anytime: Encourage children or family members to take vegetables directly from the crock. The brine keeps them crisp and flavorful.
  4. Refresh the brine as needed: Every couple of weeks, pour in a fresh batch of brine to keep pickles tasting fresh.

The pickles often disappear before they’ve “pickled” fully, but that’s part of the fun!

Tips for Success

  • Keep vegetables small and fresh; cut larger ones to fit the crock.
  • Use a clean plate to weigh down vegetables under the brine.
  • Adjust salt and garlic to taste.
  • Experiment with peppers, onions, or other herbs for variety.
  • The crock doesn’t need refrigeration if consumed within a week or two; otherwise, store in the fridge.

How Families Can Enjoy Perpetual Pickles

Other readers have adopted the perpetual pickle idea, even without a home garden, using farm stand or supermarket vegetables. It’s a wonderful way to get kids to eat more vegetables and enjoy the process of snacking on fresh pickles throughout the season.

I still make my Perpetual Pickles each summer. Even though my daughter and her friends no longer raid the crock, we adults keep up with the pickled bounty—and yes, sometimes I steal a fat cucumber or a few “dilly beans” before breakfast!

Pickling and Canning

About The Author

Margaret Boyles

Margaret Boyles

Contributor

Margaret Boyles is a longtime contributor to The Old Farmer's Almanac. he wrote for UNH Cooperative Extension, managed NH Outside (a writing collaborative for Extension natural resources volunteers), ...

Read more from Margaret Boyles

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Comments

<span>Suehurlburt</span> Sat, 08/16/2014 - 16:04
Quick question or two. Once weighed down with plate do you cover with crock lid? And after two weeks, refrigerate uneaten pickles, drain bribe and start all over again?
<a title="View user profile." href="/author/margaret-boyles">Margaret Boyles</a> Mon, 08/18/2014 - 13:04

No need to cover further. The plate just keeps the flies out. I try not to have any uneaten pickles when I throw out the old brine, but if I do, I just add them to the new one.

 <span>John In Pa</span> Thu, 08/14/2014 - 12:39
How much salt do you put in?
<a title="View user profile." href="/author/margaret-boyles">Margaret Boyles</a> Mon, 08/18/2014 - 13:03

I just taste the brine until it seems right. No measured amount, since I'm not preserving these pickles.

 <span>Margaret L. Dubois</span> Wed, 04/09/2014 - 15:00
I just bought a book by Sandor Katz called WILD FERMENTATION that explains with salt only, not vinegar, for lots of veggies.
<span>Theme In New Mexico</span> Sat, 11/30/2013 - 16:34
I am wondering if one could keep a pickle crock going on the countertop using the natural fermentation method (no vinegar). In other words, is it safe to keep the naturally fermenting crock unrefrigerated and just keep adding veggies? If so, would one change the brine every few weeks or keep the brine with its live cultures going?
<a title="View user profile." href="/author/margaret-boyles">Margaret Boyles</a> Mon, 12/02/2013 - 13:33

I'm a rank beginner at natural fermentation. But if it were me, Theme, I'd make naturally fermented pickles in small batches, using a recipe like this, not adding new cukes (or other vegetables) to the fermenting jar, but making new jars of pickles as the veggies accumulate.

Of course, you can begin eating the salt-brined pickles as soon as you like.

 <span>Shelley Lynn</span> Sat, 08/10/2013 - 23:44
The story is wonderful, however, the recipe is not showing????
<a title="View user profile." href="/author/editors">The Editors</a> Mon, 08/12/2013 - 10:03
Every couple of weeks, I made a fresh brine--half cider vinegar, half tap water—filling the crock two-thirds full. I’d add three or four dill heads, a few peeled garlic cloves, and a little pickling salt. Then I’d start adding vegetables, usually weighing them down into the brine with a small plate.
<span>Theme In New Mexico</span> Mon, 12/02/2013 - 13:55
Thank you for your response below. However, my question is whether one could do this on the countertop without the vinegar. I think the answer is that, if one is naturally fermenting in a saltwater brine, one has to refrigerate after a few weeks as the cultures will keep working on the pickles to the point of over fermenting (rotting). However, I may be wrong about this. Perhaps one can naturally ferment perpetual pickles as long as they are in a cool dark place? Thanks for your guidance.