cranberry bogs in Carver Massachusetts
Carver Massachusetts: 9 Oct

Bright red berries, plump, juicy, Sassamanash*, tangy, tart, red berry, Mossberry, dried cranberries or jellied. No matter how you enjoy your Cranberry from photography to next to the stuffing at Thanksgiving, there is something that draws us to these berries that thrive in acidic soil that is layers of sand and clay.

This wetland is lower than the surrounding areas and the plants are kept moist during the spring and summer but it’s not until Autumn and the berries ripen that these bog growing areas are flooded. Then a special tractor runs up and down the rows of plants gently shaking the plants and the berries are released, floating to the surface.

Then the dark red cranberries are gathered to one side and a vacuüm tube is placed on the surface of the water. the berries are sucked in and drop on to a hopper that separates them from other matter and then a conveyor belt runs them up into a waiting truck.

If you are interested in photographing or touring a working farm, click the map and you will be taken to a Massachusetts Cranberry website that lists many farms that either offer the tart red berries for sale or might offer Ag-Tourism events on their farms.

cranberry points in MA
Visit Massachusetts Cranberry Bogs Cape Cod Cranberry-Growers-Association

*Cranberries, or Sassamanash as the Algonquians called them, are a welcome sign of autumn. Several varieties – both indigenous and introduced – are found on Vancouver Island. When these crimson delights are blended with fermented apples the resulting cider is a tasty balance of bright acidity and autumn sweetness.