Of all fruits, only three - the blueberry, the Concord grape and the cranberry can trace their roots to North American soil. And of those, none is as versatile as the cranberry.

The cranberry helped sustain Americans for hundreds of years. Native Americans used cranberries in a variety of foods, the most popular was pemmican - a high protein combination of crushed cranberries, dried deer meat and melted fat - they also used it as a medicine to treat arrow wounds and as a dye for rugs and blankets.

Cultivation of the cranberry began around 1810, shortly after Captain Henry Hall, of Dennis, Massachusetts, noticed that the wild cranberries in his bogs grew better when sand blew over them. Captain Hall began transplanting his cranberry vines, fencing them in, and spreading sand on them himself.

When others heard of Hall's technique, it was quickly copied. And through the 19th century, the number of growers increased steadily.

Cranberries are a unique fruit. They can only grow and survive under a very special combination of factors: they require an acid peat soil, an adequate fresh water supply, sand, and a growing season that stretches from April to November.

Contrary to popular belief, cranberries do not grow in water. Instead, they grow on vines in impermeable beds layered with sand, peat, gravel and clay. These beds, commonly known as "bogs," were originally made by glacial deposits.

Normally, growers do not have to replant since an undamaged cranberry vine will survive indefinitely. Some vines on Cape Cod are more than 150 years old.

In addition to Massachusetts, the major growing areas for cranberries are New Jersey, Wisconsin, British Columbia, Quebec, Washington State, and 0regon. Altogether the entire cranberry industry is supported by just 29,500 acres, of which 13,100 are in Massachusetts.

Cranberries grow wildly from the Carolinas to the maritime provinces of Canada, but prefer areas that have sandy soil, an abundant fresh water supply, and a growing season that lasts from April to November. Suited for these conditions, southeastern Massachusetts embraces its most famous indigenous fruit.

Cranberry bogs utilize a unique growing system that includes wetlands, uplands, ditches, flumes, ponds and other water bodies. With more than 61,000 acres of open space, growers maintain four acres of supporting land for every acre of cranberry bog. The entire cranberry wetland system provides diverse habitats to many rare animal and plant species including the red-bellied turtle, Plymouth gentian, slender arrowfoot, and red root. Other plant and animal species found in and around cranberry bogs include otters, great blue herons, wood ducks, osprey, foxes, deer, water lilies, meadow beauty, and loosestrife.

In winter, bogs are covered with water that freezes and provides insulation from frost. As the winter snow melts and spring arrives, the bogs are drained and cranberry vines are awakened by gentle rains and warmer days. Soon after spring, light pink blossoms which resemble the head and neck of the sandhill crane begin to appear. As flowers bloom, honeybees and bumblebees work diligently to pollinate flowers, ensuring a good crop. In mid-July, petals fall from the flowers leaving tiny green nodes which after weeks of summer sun, become red, ripe cranberries.

Considered the life blood of cranberries, water is used throughout the year for irrigation and to protect vines from weather damage in winter and frost in spring and fall. As fall approaches, water becomes essential to the harvesting process.

During harvest, many growers flood their bogs causing cranberries, which have small air pockets in the center, to rise. Growers then use water-reel harvesting machines to loosen cranberries from their vine causing them to float on top of the water. These machines look like miniature combines with cylindrical spool-shaped metal beaters attached to the front. After floating to the top, berries are corralled onto conveyers to waiting trucks which take them to receiving stations and eventually processing plants where they are used for juice, sauce, and other processed foods.

About 10 percent of the cranberries grown in Massachusetts are dry harvested and sold as fresh fruit. To dry harvest, growers use lawn mower-shaped mechanical pickers with comb-shaped conveyer belts that pick the berries and carry them to attached burlap bags. These bags are emptied into bins and delivered to fresh fruit receiving stations where they are graded and screened based on their color and ability to bounce (soft berries will not bounce).

With more than 500 growers producing 38 percent of the nation's cranberry supply, cranberries are the number one food crop in Massachusetts. The cranberry industry provides more than 5,500 jobs and more than $200 million to the Massachusetts economy.

Massachusetts cranberry growers have much to celebrate at harvest time - the serene setting of cranberries being harvested, the beauty of the surrounding environment, the fruits of their long laboring year, and the pride and knowledge that they are continuing a tradition that is an important part of Massachusetts' heritage.

Source: Cape Cod Cranberry Growers' Association