<-Cranberries->

Do you know how Cranberries got their name? Well, it's time to learn! So when the Pilgrims got here (MA), they saw cranberries. They called them crane-berries because they looked like birds called cranes. They are mainly grown in Cape Cod. During the week of Thanksgiving, Americans eat about 80 million pounds of cranberries . Cranberries grow all summer. In August they are green, they turn red in September, and by October they are ready to be picked.

Cranberries used to be picked by hand. Kids were excused from school to pick them. Now they are picked by machines. One method is called wet harvesting. During wet harvesting, the bog is flooded with water. Next a special machine works to get the cranberries loose. Once the berries are loose, they pull the berries to the side of the bog. Next they put them into a hopper, and the hopper separates the leafs and twigs from the berries. Next the berries will go in a truck. Then they go to a factory to be sorted and sent to stores. The cranberry growers protect the buds of next year's cranberries by covering them with water. When the water freezes it protects the buds. In the spring the ice melts and the workers take the water away. Now new berries can grown.