Cranberry Bog in Cape Cod
Some cranberry bogs have been growing their harvest for 60, 70, even 100 years! All using the original vines that were planted by their great grandparents. How’s that for a legacy.
The oldest cranberry bed is in Wisconsin it is around 140 years old.
Cranberry vines don’t need to be replanted as new ones are made from cuttings from the older, established plants. No seeds needed. So once you have a good farm going, simply cut from the living to create more life.
So cranberries are perennial, but it takes 5 years for a newly planted bed to become established and produce a full crop.
The vines keep their leaves all year long, and turn burgundy red when dormant in winter. Then in spring they start to grow and by fall we feast.
The U.S. produces 400 million pounds per year, and almost 1/4 of that consumed for Thanksgiving alone. You gotta wonder if UTIs go down for the weeks following the holiday, might be worth looking into.
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Trivia: “Who was the first person to cultivate cranberries in the U.S.?”
– Cranby
