(I couldn't find a forum for "Cucumbers" so I thought this might be the closest appropriate forum)

So I am growing some cucumbers in my garden (in Illinois) primarily for pickling purposes. I am worried that I won't have enough cucumbers at a good size at the same moment to pickle them, but I am worried that if I do pick them, and wait until I do have enough, they will get kind of wilted, and the lack of freshness will adversely affect the pickles.

Is there some way to preserve the cucumbers' freshness temporarily so that I can pick enough to pickle? (in a boiling water canner with Ball jars) I was thinking that perhaps mildly brining them, and keeping them in the fridge might do the trick, if only for a few days.

Any advice on how to work around this would be greatly appreciated.