You can substitute dried dill seeds for the heads. 1 tablespoon dill seed for every dill head called for

Thank you. Another Q: in reading recipes, I see there’s an optional ingredient “pickle crisp.” Is it really necessary? I’m going to cut the blossom end from each of my pickling cucumbers. I thought that was the trick to making them crispy. I’m doing kosher dills. TIA.

No, "Pickle Crisp" is not a required ingredient, but it does help keep the pickle crunchier. Even with the "Pickle Crisp", you should cut off the blossom end, the enzymes there are one of the things that makes pickles soft. Another reason is that they get cooked while in the canner. Pickle Crisp does help keep them a bit more crisp but is certainly not a required ingredient.

Annie