Cranes and cranberries. Two great reasons for me to take a day trip to Necedah to attend the Crane Fest this weekend. On Saturday, the whooping cranes were flying early in the morning, practicing behind their “foster mom” ultralight airplane, and showing off for the crowd that gathered to watch their wing formations. Then in the afternoon, it was the cranberries turn to attract attention.
Cranberries are nearly ready for harvesting in central Wisconsin. We toured the Cranberry Creek Cranberry Farm just north of Necedah, and got a close up view of acres and acres of commercial cranberry marshes. The cranberries are planted in 4 acre beds which are laser leveled so there are absolutely no low spots that might collect water. The plants flower in late June-early July. (The flower resembles the head of the Sandhill crane from which the name cranberry is derived.) The plants bloom for 3 to 4 weeks and are pollinated by commercial honeybees. Soon after, the berries begin to develop and the cranberries ripen in 75 to 100 days.
The harvest is planned for the first week in October. The beds will be flooded to raise the cranberries for picking and then a circular beater will move through the plants to remove the berries from the vines. The cranberries are then pumped out of the bed, cleaned, and packed into semi-trucks and taken to a nearby processing plant. It’s really an elaborate process, but the berries look great right now.
I’ve been spiking my drinking water with cranberry juice instead of lemons for the last year. Seems like the least I can do to support the cranberry growers. After all, they are number one in the country.
Wandering Wisconsin with Bo 