Cranberry harvest season slowly ripens to its bittersweet end
A.D. Makepeace employees work on harvesting the bog on Thursday, Oct. 12. Photos by Leighah Beausoleil
The State Bog located on State Bog Road in Wareham.
A.D. Makepeace employees work on harvesting the bog on Thursday, Oct. 12. Photos by Leighah Beausoleil
The State Bog located on State Bog Road in Wareham.
As Gov. Maura Healey recently declared, October is Cranberry Harvest Month in Massachusetts.
The local cranberry company, A.D. Makepeace, begins the season when Ocean Spray opens its doors in early to mid-September, according to Linda Burke, vice president of communications for A.D. Makepeace. The picking season then typically wraps up around Veterans Day Weekend.
“We harvest between 1,600 and 1,700 acres of actual cranberry bog and that doesn't count the land around it or the water reservoir,” Burke said, adding they need to have one nearby for when the bogs get flooded.
Burke said the workers begin with picking, then corralling with raking until it is time for the truck to come and pump the berries off the bog.
She said visitors are welcome at the bogs, especially during harvest season. Those interested can stop by the Makepeace headquarters at 158 Tihonet Road and learn the best spots as well as ways to not interrupt the process.
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