What is that wonderful berry?

The Pilgrims called them “craneberry” because the blossom looked like a crane’s head.

What cranberry vines look like

Native Americans used cranberries• They ate cranberries fresh, ground, or mashed with

cornmeal and baked it into bread. • They also mixed berries with wild game and melted fat to

form pemmican, a survival ration for the winter months. • Maple sugar or honey was used to sweeten the berry's

tangy flavor.• Indians brewed cranberry poultices

to draw poison from arrow wounds • They used the berries in tea to

calm nerves.• The juice was used as a fabric dye.Tisquantum

A sea-worthy berry

• American whalers and mariners carried cranberries onboard to prevent scurvy, a disease caused by lack of Vitamin C

Two ways to harvest cranberriesDry harvested berries are called “fresh fruit” and these are the berries that you find in grocery store produce sections. They can also be frozen to be used later.

Water picked berries are used for juices, sauces, and other cooked cranberry products.

How we harvested cranberries when I was a kid….

Times changed

Let’s see this in action!!!

Some things never change!

How water-picking works

• Bogs are flooded with water and the berries begin to float.

• Water reels break the stem connection and berries are free.

And now to the video!!!

Berries are corralled up and brought to the vacuum that brings them up to the truck that will take them away for sale.

Is that all there is?

• Cranberry farming is a year-round business!• Fall – Harvesting• Winter – Flooding, Sanding, Watching• Spring – Frosting, Pest and Weed Control• Summer – Irrigation, Pest and Weed Control

Winter Work• Flooding – protects vines from winterkill –

must be watched in case of heavy snow fall• Sanding – Let’s see how this works! – done

every 2-5 years to encourage plant growth

Spring Work• Keeping the berries from being damaged by frost

using sprinklers and water. A cranberry farm can lose their entire income for two years from severe frost damage, with damaging frost occurring in less than 20 minutes if not protected.

• Bring in bees for pollination

Summer Work

• Keeping the berries from cooking in the heat by using sprinklers and water.

Continue to keep pests and weeds under control!

Growing Cranberries

• Be your own boss!• Work with nature!• Challenge yourself!• Free fitness program!• Provide great nutritious

foods for the world!

• Every decision is yours and so is all the blame if things go wrong.

• Definitely not a “cushey” job.

• 20 minutes of frost could take away 2 years of money.

Growing Cranberries – It’s not for everyone, but if it’s for you – it’s crantastic!

Thank you for sharing this time with me!

Questions?

Follow up activity• Divide the class into small groups (3-4 students). Give each group a small handful of fresh, whole cranberries with a cup of water. Invite

them to explore them for a few minutes, in any way they like, so long as they keep the cranberries confined to their group area.

• Guide students to explore the cranberry through each sense. Provide a few minutes for each sensory exploration and then collect student group observations on the class chart.

While students are exploring, encourage them to make careful observations by asking guiding questions such as those suggested below. – Take a look at your cranberry. What are the shades and colors, shapes, dimensions you see? What details do you notice? Will it

float? How are any two cranberries alike? Different? Slice one cranberry in half. What do you see?

– Touch and hold and move the whole cranberries around in your hands. What does a cranberry feel like? How would you describe the texture? Is the berry firm, smooth? Is it the same everywhere? Is it heavy, lightweight? How would you know you had a cranberry in your hand if you were blindfolded? What does the open cranberry feel like?

– Smell the cranberry. How would describe the smell? Does it remind you of anything else? What? Is it a strong odor? Mild? Sharp? Floral? Sweet-smelling?

What might you do to be able to hear the cranberry? (Allow groups to make suggestions and try them.) What sounds do they make? Cut a second cranberry in half. Is there a sound it makes when it is cut? After it is cut, what sounds does it make? (Cranberries make audible sounds as they roll, shake, and are squeezed. [Additional resources: video showing bouncing cranberries.]

– Taste a whole cranberry. [NOTE: Make sure students are tasting whole cranberries that have not yet been handled by others.] What does it taste like? Sharp? Sweet? Bitter? Tart? Meaty? Fruity? What else have you tasted that is like this?

Why water helps protect cranberries from frost damage

• In order to protect the fruit from frost damage, growers run their irrigation system, coating the fruit with a blanket of water. Water protects the plants through the law of physics known as the Heat of Fusion. As the sprayed water coats the plants and berries, it begins to freeze. The physical process of water turning to ice releases heat and this heat warms the plants. As long as water continues to freeze and release heat, the berries are protected.

How sprinklers and math work together.

• If this were the piece of bog you needed to protect:

• And this is the area that one sprinkler can cover: then a farmer needs to find the best arrangement to use the fewest sprinklers to cover the area without wasting water or energy.

Sprinkler #2

Sprinkler #1

Sprinkler #2

Sprinkler #1

#4#3

Sprinkler #2

Sprinkler #1

#4#3

Sprinkler #2

Sprinkler #1

#4#3

This piece would require 18 sprinklers.

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