Cranberries do not grow on trees, a common misconception often fueled by their unique harvesting imagery. Instead, these popular red berries grow on low-lying, trailing vines. Their cultivation and harvesting methods are quite distinct from typical fruit farming, requiring specialized environments. Understanding how cranberries grow reveals a fascinating interplay between their natural characteristics and innovative agricultural practices.
The Cranberry Plant and Its Natural Habitat
The cranberry plant (genus Vaccinium) is a low-growing, perennial, evergreen vine. Its slender, wiry stems spread horizontally, often reaching up to 6 feet in length, and it features small, glossy evergreen leaves. From these runners, short vertical shoots, known as uprights, emerge and produce the flowers and fruit.
Cranberries naturally thrive in specific wetland environments, commonly referred to as bogs or marshes. These habitats are characterized by acidic, sandy soil layered over peat, gravel, and clay. The plant requires a consistent supply of fresh water and a cool, northern climate with a distinct dormancy period, essential for fruiting bud maturation.
Unique Farming and Harvesting Practices
Cranberry cultivation involves creating specialized agricultural environments that mimic their natural wetland habitats. These human-made bogs are carefully constructed with layers of sand, peat, gravel, and clay to ensure proper drainage and water retention. Farmers regularly apply fresh layers of sand to the bogs every few years, a practice that encourages new vine growth and helps control weeds and pests.
Harvesting cranberries, typically from mid-September to early November, employs two primary methods: wet and dry. The wet harvest, which accounts for over 90% of the total crop, involves flooding the bogs with up to 18 inches of water, often overnight. Water reels are then used to agitate the water, dislodging the berries from the vines. Cranberries float to the surface due to small air pockets inside the fruit, allowing them to be corralled with large booms and then pumped or conveyed into trucks for processing into juices, sauces, or dried fruit.
In contrast, the dry harvest method is used for cranberries destined for the fresh fruit market. This process involves using specialized mechanical pickers that gently comb the berries off the dry vines. These machines collect the fruit into burlap bags or bins, which are then transported from the bogs. While more labor-intensive and representing a smaller portion of the overall harvest, dry harvesting ensures the berries remain firm and undamaged for fresh consumption.