3 Phases of Growing Cranberries

If you’ve been keeping up with communEATi lately, you’ve probably seen us feature cranberries, everyone’s favorite holiday fruit! Tart and tasty, cranberries are commonly used in a variety of sauces, pies, and juices. Cranberries are also well-known for their healing qualities, due in large part to their high concentration of vitamin C and antioxidants. And while growing cranberries may bring to mind acres of flooded bog land, that’s actually not necessary to the cultivating process.

That said, cranberries aren’t exactly an “easy” fruit to grow either. They require a lot of attention and a lot of water. So if you’re up for a gardening challenge, here’s how to grow cranberries:

Planting the Cranberries
First you’ll need to choose what variety of cranberry you’d like to grow. We recommend Howes cranberries (smaller) or Stevens cranberries (larger) for first time growers.

Cranberries are best grown in cooler climates, between zones two and five. Cuttings (1-year-old plants) and seedlings (3-year-olds) can be planted throughout autumn (Oct.-Nov.) and in springtime (Apr.-May). Cranberries need soil with a low pH and a high level of organic matter. It’s often necessary to replace your existing soil instead of trying to alter it:

• -Plan your plot for 4’ by 8’. You can also use a 2’ by 2’ planter for a single plant.
• -Dig out the existing soil to a depth of 6-8”. Fill the plot with peat moss, then mix in ½ lb. of bone meal and 1 lb. of blood meal. Wet the soil thoroughly without saturating it.
• -Plant cuttings 1’ apart and 2” deep; plant seedlings 3’ apart and 2” deep.

Caring for Your Cranberries
Cranberry plants do not compete well against weeds, so it’s very important to weed the bed regularly. Luckily, the peat moss used in your plot will inhibit the growth of most weeds.

Make sure to keep your plants well-watered. The soil should always be wet or damp to the touch, but be sure not to oversaturate or submerge your plants. Too much water can slow down root growth and prevent them from reaching the necessary depth.

Soon after planting, your cranberry plants will start to put out runners, which will fill the bed before taking root and sprouting “uprights,” which is the part of the plant that grows flowers and fruit. You’ll need to fertilize your bed well to encourage the growth of these runners:

• -For the first year after planting, fertilize your bed with a high-nitrogen fertilizer 3 times: at the beginning of growth, when the flowers bud, and when the berries start forming.
• -After the first year, use a non-nitrogen fertilizer to encourage the runners to take root.
• -At the start of the second year (and every couple years after that), cover the soil with a thin (½”) layer of sand to help root the runners and prevent weeds.

Pests and diseases are relatively easy to deal with if you know what you’re looking for with cranberries. A common pest is fruitworms, which come from gray moths eggs in the berries. If you spot gray moths around your plants, spray the plot with insecticides to kill the eggs. Other common diseases are red spot and berry fruit rot. You can treat these by spraying the plants with an organic, copper-based fungicide between late June and early August.

From the third year of growth onwards, you’ll need to prune your plants each spring to control the runners and encourage uprights. Comb the cranberry plot with a landscape rake until all the runners are going in the same direction, and cut the longest back. Don’t prune existing uprights.

Harvest Time
If you planted seedlings, your cranberry plant may be producing fruit by the following autumn. If you planted cuttings, however, you may need to wait 3-4 years before your plant produces fruit.

• -Your berries should be ready to harvest in September and October each year
• -Ripe berries will be a bright or dark red color (depending on variety) with brown seeds.
• -Fresh cranberries keep up to 2 months when stored in the fridge in an airtight container.
• -Cooked cranberries can last in the fridge for up to a month.
• -Dried cranberries can keep for up to a year.

Cover your plot with a heavy layer of mulch to prevent your plants from freezing over the winter. You can uncover the plants in springtime (around April 1st), but cover them any night you expect frost. Never cover your plants with clear or black plastic, though, as this could kill them.

Once your cranberry plants are in place and thriving, imagine the uses you’ll find for them throughout the holiday season! What are some of your favorite cranberry-inclusive recipes? Tell us about them in the comments! And don’t forget to follow communEATi on Facebook and Twitter for more information on all things homegrown.

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Introducing communEATi!

Have you ever been snooping around Craigslist and thought, “Now this is nice, but what it needs is homegrown produce, like fruits and vegetables, to really round it out.” Okay, maybe not, but think about it: freshly grown foods and other homestyle goodies available to you from farmers and growers right in your community. That doesn’t sound too bad, does it?

Well that’s the premise for SPAN Enterprises’s newest product: communEATi! An online marketplace available on any device, communEATi aims to bring small farmers, hobbyists, and others together with local consumers. Think of communEATi as your Craigslist for crops.

You can easily buy or sell homegrown foods through communEATi’s program. communEATi accepts sellers of all kinds, whether you’re an established farmer selling multiple crops or a backyard grower with an overly fruitful tomato plant. And we’ll set you up with all sorts of buyers too: from individuals, to restaurants, to farmer’s co-ops, all in your community.

We’re starting out a little small at communEATi, but that’s the best way to grow, isn’t it? We’re currently offering buying and selling of fruits and vegetables through our program. Once we’ve gotten through the legalities, you’ll be able to sell other homegrown goodies through communEATi, like meat and dairy products, nuts, and flowers.

communEATi is a great way to make a little extra money and/or get deliciously fresh, local foods for your kitchen, but we admit we do have a hidden agenda. In addition to this and all of the other benefits of selling and eating locally grown food, communEATi aims to bring people together, to honor that long-standing connection between eater and grower, between the persons who make up a community.

communEATi is available online and can also be downloaded to your smartphone through the App Store or Google Play, that way you’re never far away from homegrown produce, or from potential customers. So what are you waiting for? Give communEATi a try today!

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