Rita,
After ordering several recommended books, one of the most helpful I found was, "An Idiots Guide to Fermenting Foods" (don't particularly care for the name!) by Wardeh Harmon. I had always had a MAJOR fear that I would screw up and poison us....but her gentle and knowledgeable approach helped me over the fear factor. Her recipes are easy and she usually has alternative ingredients (brine verses whey/starters). The book includes recipes for bread, beer and wine as well, and she tends to use honey and maple syrup as sweetening agents, but I substituted monk fruit in my ketchup (which btw will be ready tonight!!!) She's got a wonderful variety of veggie, condiment, fruit, cheese recipes too.
My only purchases so far have been: a variety of sizes of wide-mouthed mason jars, BPA-free air-lock lids w/extra parts in case something cracks, glass weights, a good tamping tool, BPA-free plastic lids when storing in fridge. Lots of people use crocks, but I like doing smaller batches so we get a variety of microbes in our diet. The health food store is getting me some pickling cucumbers on Monday so I'm attempting dill pickles next week.
Every new year, my goal has always been to learn something new....the year before it was paddle boarding.......last year it was Wheat Belly and making a dynamite bone broth......this year it's fermenting foods and mastering the potters wheel (the fermenting is winning so far!).