My Dad’s Cranberry Harvest

September 9, 2011 Sarah 13 comments

It’s harvest time! My dad is an Ocean Spray Cranberry Grower and my son Matthew went to help him today.

Cranberry on the vine

Here is what the bogs look like before they are picked.

But to get the berries off, they flood the bog, beat the berries with a special machine and they float to the surface, where they can be corralled, separated, and put in a truck to be brought to a processing plant to be made into juice, sauce or Craisins.

Floating Cranberries on the Harju Bogs

The kids getting cranberries to send to Rebekah.

Matt in his waders, ready to help.

Berries being brought to the top with beaters.

Isn’t it beautiful?

So now, when you buy this:

You  know that you are probably drinking my dad’s fruit. :)

Want to know more? How about a free Mini Unit Study for you and your kids? here

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13 comments

  1. Lynda says:
    September 9, 2011 at

    Gorgeous !!! Thanks for the lesson…will use this for a homeschool lesson !

    Reply
  2. Cherri says:
    September 9, 2011 at

    I think it is such a beautiful sight. I had never seen anything like it until I moved to New England! After harvest time and the bogs freeze over, do you go ice skating on them? We lived near a bog in W. Wareham, and that was a favorite church activity followed by hot choc./coffee and baked goods! Thanks for sharing the pictures!

    Reply
  3. kristenloweryfiction says:
    September 9, 2011 at

    Thanks, I used this for an extra suprise school lesson for my kids & also to show them where I learned to Ice skate.

    Reply
  4. SJBeals says:
    September 9, 2011 at

    I took a video of my dad explaining the process, but it was so windy that the audio was horrible. I am going to try again, though. Stay tuned! :)

    Reply
  5. E. Johnson says:
    September 9, 2011 at

    Oh, be still my heart. I miss this!!
    Although, I discovered last year that our Whole Foods store was selling wholesale cranberries from MA. That was pretty sweet.

    Reply
  6. Emily Washer says:
    September 10, 2011 at

    wish I could be there to see it!! We did go to Cranberry, PA this week and I thought of you guys. They didn’t have any cranberry fields however ….

    Reply
  7. Nicole Auld says:
    September 10, 2011 at

    Wow Sarah! This looks like fun and a lot of hard work. Never had fresh cranberries…

    Reply
  8. Cranberry Mini Unit Study « Joy-filled Days Blog says:
    September 10, 2011 at

    [...] Comments « My Dad’s Cranberry Harvest [...]

    Reply
  9. SJBeals says:
    September 10, 2011 at

    Just added a mini unit study for you and your kiddos…:) here http://joyfilleddays.wordpress.com/2011/09/10/cranberry-mini-unit-study/
    Enjoy!

    Reply
  10. letspaintnature says:
    September 15, 2011 at

    I do drink Ocean Spray Cranberry! Very neat to see how it grows, thanks for sharing. :D

    Reply