Japanese Foods

HELP! I live in the US and am trying to make Japanese Nukazuke pickles for the first time. I found a recipe online and followed the directions. It's been just over 2 weeks now. Recipe said to have "starter" vegetables, change them every couple of days, and taste them to see how the pickling mix evolves. It also said the first batch would be really salty. I just took out the carrots I had in for a couple days.......three I think....and they are saltier than the first batch. Can someone help me so I know I'm doing this right. Here's a link to the recipe I used.

RECIPE

Any help is appreciated thanks.