Cranberries and Martha’s Vineyard have a long history, dating back at least ten thousand years. When the glaciers that formed the Island melted, they left behind kettle hole depressions that evolved into natural bogs.
Up until a few decades ago, these natural Island bogs played a role in the once-thriving commercial industry of cranberry harvesting. But over the years, nature – as well as larger operations on the mainland – saw most of the bogs fall into disuse.
One such site was located off Lambert’s Cove Road in Tisbury. Once a former campground called Cranberry Acres, the area was used to grow cranberries from the late 1800s until the 1970s. In 1983, the Vineyard Open Land Foundation (VOLF), a land use planning nonprofit, acquired the property with eventual plans to restore it to its former glory.
“We started really working on [restoring the bog and renovating the barn on the property] in 2000,” said Carol Magee, VOLF’s project manager for the bog. “Now we’ve renovated a half-acre of the bog and it’s fully functioning.” In addition to the bog, the property includes three reservoir ponds and walking trails.
Today, the small team at Cranberry Acres dry harvests fresh cranberries using self-propelled mechanical pickers that comb through the bog. “Most people think you flood the bog because that’s what you see on television,” Magee said. But that is a commercial method, meant for making juice, canned sauce, and other products. “Once they get wet, they start breaking down,” Magee explained.
In addition to the mechanical pickers, VOLF utilizes traditional harvesting equipment, some of which – such as the antique separating machine inside the adjacent barn – has been in use since the 1920s. “This is a more historic way to harvest,” she said.
Agricultural manager Eugene Bergeron II and Magee’s assistant Annette Anthony help maintain the cranberry project. Bergeron II oversees the bog by weeding, irrigating it, and keeping the deer fence repaired. A small team of helpers, including his son Eugene Bergeron III, work with him to harvest the cranberries. Anthony runs the sorting operation and leads tours for schoolchildren, showing them how the fruit is processed.
The bog produces approximately one ton of certified organic cranberries each year and distributes the bounty to Island farm stands and grocery stores. Bags of cranberries are also available at the VOLF barn. Visitors are welcome to harvest their own cranberries after the fall harvest, which occurs around the second week of October.
“Cranberries are one of the indigenous fruits in this area,” said Magee. “If [visitors] come to the barn, they can see how the cranberries are processed…. This project both preserves the wetlands associated with the cranberry bog and offers a cultural demonstration.”
For public harvesting hours, call 508-693-3280 or keep an eye out for the “Cranberries for Sale Today” sign on Lambert’s Cove Road n Tisbury.
