Cranberry Harvesting and Processing

This is a walk behind harvester. The person uses
this to go over the cranberry bog while going with
the "grain" of the plants which keeps from harming the
plants. The burlap sack at the back of the machine
catches the berries as they come through the machine.

The berries enter through the front tines
at the bottom and are worked back through
the machine to the burlap sacks.
All of the harvesting equipment is handmade.


When the burlap sacks are full of berries they are
placed in these plastic bins which are stacked three
high. These bins are set on the delivery trucks
using helicopters. That is why the straps are at the top.
These plastic bins were designed at Flax Pond Farms to
replace the heavier wooden crates.


This is where the cranberries are separated.
Not all the berries are put in the bags that are
sold in the stores. The smaller berries are sold
locally for pies, jams, etc. Interesting
fact about the white colored berries that
you sometime see in the bags. They make
the white cranberry juice from these berries.
The white berries are not fully ripened.



This is an irrigation ditch that
surrounds the bog. It is used to drain
off water from the bog keeping the plants
from rotting. In the winter, these ditches are
used to "flood" the bog with water. The plants
have very shallow roots and would freeze in the
winter if not covered with about four inches of
water and frozen. After the water freezes they
spread sand on top of the ice at one inch depth.
In the spring when the ice melts the sand goes down
to the root system thus replenishing the root base.

Thanks Dot for the tour and the great information
about cranberry farming.