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It's Time for Cranberries!

Summer's gone and cranberry season has begun. Towns Cape-wide begin the season with festivals in celebration of the annual harvesting season. See our Calendar listings for festival dates and times.

Cape Cod lays claim to the majority of cranberry production in the United States. Its history began back when the Indians introduced cranberries (Vaccinium macro-carpon) to the Pilgrims in the early 1600s. The Pilgrims learned the benefits of cranberries quickly and began using them as a remedy against scurvy--similar to the way the English used limes. A recipe for cranberry sauce first appeared in The Pilgrim Cookbook in 1633 and forty-four years later ten bushels were sent back to King Charles II of England. The Pilgrims made other uses for cranberries including using the fruit to make dyes and poultices and whalers and residents used cranberries as a major source of Vitamin C.

Cranberry History

Area native American tribes called cranberries sassamanash and ibimi, which translates into bitter berry. Colonists called them "crane-berry" because the blossom and stem resembled a crane's head and neck. Later, the name was shortened to cranberry.

In 1816, Captain Henry Hall of Dennis noticed that when sand blew on his cranberry bogs and settled on the vines, cranberry production increased. After some perfecting and practice, commercial cranberry harvesting began in 1847 in Harwich. Today, the cranberry industry is a major source of income for Cape Cod totalling over 100 million dollars. More than 14,000 acres or 900 cranberry bogs are harvested every fall in Southeastern Massachusetts. More than half of the bogs are located right here on Cape Cod.

A bog is technically a spongy, low-lying wetland that holds water and is full of ancient decayed vegetation. Since cranberries require constant moisture, bogs make a fertile and moist natural habitat for them to grow. Bogs are fed by water that drains from neighboring ponds and lakes. Besides providing nourishment, the water also provides protection against frost for young vines, which begin their annual cycle in early spring.

Workers gather berries using a boom.

Harvesting

Harvesting begins shortly after Labor Day and continues until the end of October. When cranberry harvesting first began, growers would hand-pick the cranberries. In the late 1800s as technology advanced, machines were invented to do this and today there are two methods to pick cranberries: dry-pick and wet-pick.

Most growers use the wet-pick method. Invented in the 1950s in Wisconsin, this method involves flooding the bogs and then using a water reel, known to growers as an egg beater, that moves through the flooded bogs beating the water to knock the ripened berries off the vines. As the egg beater moves through the bogs it is careful not to crush the vines, preserving them for the next harvest. After the berries are off the vines, they float to the surface and workers connect miles of yellow tubing, called a boom, which corrals the berries into a conveyor belt. About 75 percent of the berries harvested in Massachusetts are gathered using the water-pick method and are usually sold as sauces, juices, jams and jellies.

Approximately 10 percent of the cranberries grown in Massachusetts are picked using the dry-pick method, which involves scraping the berries off the vines using a walk-behind machine. The machine rotates through the vines to collect the berries, which are then stored in large crates. A helicopter then lifts the crates off the bogs so the next year's buds--buds that are already forming--are not damaged. Cranberries harvested using the dry-pick method are then sold as fresh fruit.

Bog Maintenance

In the winter after the harvest, the bogs are covered with water that freezes and provides protection against frost. Every few years, a layer of sand is applied to the ice in order to promote growth, improve drainage and control weeds and insects. Growers use three methods to sand. One method is to use the dry sanding method where a bog vehicle applies sand directly to the vines. Another method, ice sanding, involves applying sand on the ice during the winter flood and last, barge sanding applies sand on the water using a barge.

In mid-March the water melts and the bogs are drained and left exposed ready for the summer sun to promote growth. Sometimes bogs are flooded again between mid-April and mid-May to control insects, weeds and disease. In the summer, cranberries require up to one inch of water per week in order to grow. If there is not enough water, sprinklers are activated in the bog.

A Berry Good Test
At the Ocean Spray factory, berries are given a "bounce test" for freshness and each berry gets seven tries. Berries that can bounce over a four-inch barrier pass; those that don't are thrown away.

Cranberry Attractions

In addition to the Harwich Cranberry Festival, you can also tour cranberry harvesting aboard a helicopter. Ryan Rotors in Plymouth gives aerial tours of area cranberry bogs and the harvesting process from mid-September to late-October. Reservations are recommended. (508) 746-3111.