How to Harvest Cranberries
Known for their dark red color and acidity, cranberries grow on shrubs or on vines in the northern United States and parts of Canada. For good health, people drink cranberry juice and eat dried cranberries in cereal or as a snack. Learn to harvest cranberries by reading the steps below.
- Difficulty:
- Moderate
Instructions
Things You'll Need
- Raking machine
- Water reel
- Wooden or plastic boom
- Conveyor machine
- Mini-excavator
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1
Choose a period between mid-September and early November to harvest your cranberries. Pick either a dry harvesting method, a wet harvesting method or both. Prepare your bogs and ditches for flooding or irrigation. A bog, or bed, is a wide, open wetlands or a field where cranberries are planted.
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2
Walk behind a special raking machine to remove cranberries from the vines when dry harvesting. Use the machine to collect the berries in sacks or in boxes to be shipped to fresh fruit warehouses or processing plants for testing and cleaning.
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3
Bounce the cranberries to test their freshness. Berries that don't bounce are too soft and must be discarded. Sell or supply the good cranberries to farmer's markets after testing.
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4
Stir the water in the bogs by using a water reel machine when you're wet harvesting. This process also removes the cranberries from the vines and allows them to float to the water's surface. Gather the berries with a wooden or plastic boom machine. Use a conveyor to pack them into a truck. Send the cranberries to a warehouse or plant to be tested and cleaned.
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5
Clean your ditches during the spring, and then again in the fall after you've harvested your cranberries. Use a mini-excavator or your hands to drain water from the bog. Remove any excess mud. Water from the ditches must flow clearly so that they help flood the bogs for future cranberry production.
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1
Tips & Warnings
It's best to cook or bake with dry harvested cranberries. Use wet harvested cranberries to make juice or sauces.
