depends on which kind you planted............ones for making sweet pickles are usually small...3 inches or so..........................if you want to make dilled pickles, the larger ones 6 to 8 inches or more can be used...................and not every one does this but sometimes you miss one and they get real big.....you can slice them longways and dip in flour, then egg and then corn meal & breadcrumbs or flavored breadcrumbs and fry them in oil..........a little bit of ketchup................