Ginger Carrots help please

[Etoile]

I have some ginger carrots on my countertop right now. They are on day 3 (I put them up on Sunday evening). Last night I tasted a little bit and they don't taste sour yet, just salty. They are not slimy and I do not see any mold. I have a few questions:
1. my carrots will not stay under brine. There was not enough brine formed when I pounded. The container that I have them in is a Tupperware pickle container. It does have an insert that I could rig to keep them down, but then the container would not be airtight. Does it need to be airtight? (Yes, I know plastic is not the best, but I didn't have anything else just yet).
2. If I add more brine to have more to keep them under, is it just salt & water? What is the ratio?
3. Someone posted earlier that using whey will result in sliminess and that they have better results just using salt. Will I still get the good enzymes & creatures doing that? For this batch, I did not have enough whey (I drained some off some yogurt) so I just used 1 TB of whey and added the extra salt.
4. Okay, so they went bad. Is that something I would know immediately? Is it possible for me to eat it and not realize and then get really sick? My mom said she never made fermented pickles cause she was afraid she would kill herself or something.
TIA!

[stilllearning85]

No, I don't think it needs to be airtight.. in fact, I don't use a lid when I make mine. Just a towel.I don't use whey, and I am pretty sure it has the same benefits. I think whey just gets it going by inoculating it. But mine are great and I don't use it.
I dunno how to tell if they go bad though... I don't think they do, unless you don't have enough salt... though don't quote me on that .

[Chicharronita]

Originally Posted by Etoile

My mom said she never made fermented pickles cause she was afraid she would kill herself or something.

LOL! It's easy to tell if they've gone bad, because they have an awful smell. However, I haven't had much luck with this recipe either. I think it's jinxed!

[Flowergirl~]

Same here. Tried this recipe twice and both failed. The first time I used whey and it molded. Second time I couldn't pound enough water from the carrots so they we exposed and molded. I am sure we'll love it... if I can only get it right.

[stilllearning85]

Yeah, I have ended up making them a way that another poster said too instead. I just sliced the carrots and put them in a jar and added chunks of ginger and then poured salt water over the top til' it covered them. Then left them out for a few days with a towel to cover and then stuck them in the fridge...

[mama2kds]

I think chunks of carrots sounds better than mushy grated carrots! I'll have to try that next week.