Thursday, April 16, 2009

A Visit to The Cranberry Bog





























Spring is very slow to come here in MA by the ocean. It creeps on ever so quietly. Now is the time we watch. We watch the temperature and the dew point, the cloud cover and wind speed until one night all the factors come together in just a certain combination and we have the first frost watch. You and your bog must be ready ahead of time. The irrigation system and the engine in the pumphouse must be checked and the propane tank full. The sprinkler heads must be put out and in some cases staked so that they stand up straight. Soon there will be pickup trucks out all night long with big searchlights attached to them scanning the bogs to make sure that all is working properly. If the irrigation system shuts down or a sprinkler head is clogged with a pebble it will mean the vines getting "burned" and lost.
These are a few scenes from my bog yesterday - the guys are out checking and staking and will be watching....

2 comments:

  1. Followed your link from one of the New England blogs, and really enjoyed visiting your space. Having grown up not far from there, it is lovely to see your bogs.

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  2. Neat! So is all the work in irrigation done to create a cranberry bog where there was none before? Or is it to better manage an existing bog that would not flourish without your help?

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