Cape Cod Cranberry Harvest
I always love when the cranberry bogs on Cape Cod turn a gorgeous shade of reddish pink as if signaling the changing seasons. On a beautiful October morning, I was able to experience the actual cranberry harvest at Thatcher Cranberries just a few miles from home.
THE HARVEST
This was news to me: The process of harvesting starts by flooding the blog with water and the cranberries which are hidden beneath the scrub then float to the top. My husband and I watched as two farmers in their hip-waders spent the afternoon “herding” and harvesting the berries.
After seeing the harvest first hand, I wanted to learn more about the history of Cape Cod and the cranberry. Cranberries are a wild native berry to Cape Cod and the first bog was (accidentally) discovered around 1816 in Dennis, MA - now the site of Annie’s Crannies! Many advances in harvesting happened right here on the Cape. http://anniescrannies.com/ has a great page with more facts and tour info.
RIPE BERRY
It was a thrill to grab a few ripe berries right from the bog and sample them! The gorgeous red cranberry was the color inspiration for our “ripe berry” baby alpaca scarves this season. If you’re planning a fall weekend on the Cape a bog visit is a must! You can find more harvest spots all along the Cape here http://www.cranberries.org/visit
