September is Cran-tastic!
Famous for its tartness and beautiful color, the
cranberry is an essential part of Thanksgiving, as well as Cape Cod's namesake
cocktail. Cranberries are big business here on Cape Cod as well as many
parts of southeastern Massachusetts. The cranberry industry in Massachusetts
does about $200 million in revenue annually and employs 5,600 people. One tenth
of the cranberries grown in the state are grown here on Cape Cod. The
world-famous Ocean Spray factory is located in Plymouth and has tours for the
public.
Wild Ibimi
Native
Americans living on the cool, northern areas of North America showed early
settlers how to pick the ibimi (their word) which grew wild in bogs. The
settlers called them "Crane-berries" because their blossoms resembled the heads
of cranes, and the berries were a valuable source of vitamin C, used by sailors
to prevent scurvy The tart-tasting cranberry rendered the drab, gamey diet of
colonial people palatable in the winter months.
Because cranberries require constant moisture, a bog, which is a spongy, low lying wetland which holds water and is full of ancient decayed vegetation, makes a fertile and moist natural habitat for cranberries. Water draining from adjoining ponds and lakes provides protection against frost for the young vines, which begin their annual cycle in early spring.
Today, commercial growers create bogs from appropriate areas by scraping off top brush, replacing it with sand, and planting young vines. The cranberries are ripe for harvest September through October. There are two ways to harvest cranberries: dry and wet. In a dry harvest, a machine which also trims the plants is rolled along the bogs, collecting berries, which are stored in large crates Then, as pictured, a helicopter lifts the crates off the bogs so as not to damage next year's buds, which are already forming.
In a wet harvest, the bogs are flooded. A wide-tired machine called a water reel moves through the bog, not crushing the vines, and it beats the water, knocking the berries off the vines. Then, workers assemble miles of yellow tubing, called a boom, which corrals the berries into a conveyer belt .
While on your visit here, try some of the many products made with cranberries and/or observe a cranberry harvest. The Cranberry Harvest Festival in Harwich is a week-long celebration of this humble but tasty fruit. Enjoy!
Did you know?
- Each acre of planted cranberries, in accordance with Massachusetts law, must be surrounded by four acres of wetlands.
- The variety grown by most growers on the Cape is early black, which although is it the most costly and difficult variety to grow, provides a rich, dark color to the juice.
- Cranberries are also grown in Washington, Oregon, Wisconsin, and New Jersey.
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