Harvesting cranberries

Cranberries grow on vines in beds that have layers of sand, peat, gravel, and clay. People call those beds, bogs, as the fields are flooded with water at harvest time.

For harvesting cranberries, the bogs may be flooded with water to float berries, which can then be shaken off by machine and collected from the water. The workers then use hoses, rakes and nets to gather the berries floating on the surface of the water.

In other instances, the bogs are not flooded; the berries are stripped from the vines mechanically and collected on catching frame.

Dry harvest utilizes a picking machine that combs the berries off the vines, and may also prune the runners that come in touch with its multiple knives. Dry-picked berries are typically sold for the fresh market.

Water harvest is generally used for berries intended for processing (mainly juice). New Jersey harvests more than 95% of its cranberry crop by water harvesting. A small percentage of the crop is dry harvested for fresh market sale.
Harvesting cranberries