Have you ever seen a cranberry farm in the Fraser Valley, Delta, or Richmond? Unless you have driven by a cranberry bog during harvest, you might not even realize what crop is being grown.
Cranberries may have a bright and tangy taste, but when it comes to showing off in the field, they stay low and out of sight. That changes during the fall harvest season, when growers flood their cranberry bogs and use water to gently collect the ripe red berries. It’s quite a show, and people find the whole process fascinating.
In 2013 I was invited by the BC Cranberry Marketing Commission to document the growing season and the harvest. The videos have now been posted to their newly updated website. They take you from pollination by honeybees to the flooding of the bogs and harvesting of the berries. We also covered the dry harvesting of cranberries at a Richmond farm. Those berries are sold for the local fresh market.
It might come as a surprise to learn that BC’s cranberry growers produce the second largest berry crop in the province, after blueberries. In fact, BC is one of the top cranberry producing regions in the entire world. These videos show you how your Thanksgiving and Christmas cranberries are produced, and give you a behind the scenes look at the industry.
You can find all five of the videos on the BC Cranberries website. They have some very interesting information about the BC cranberry industry, as well as photos, activities for children, and recipes.
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