Doesn't it seem like every holiday recipe you look at has cranberries in it? From a gardening point of view, I think that cranberries are beautiful shrubs to have in the yard. They don't grow to an excessive height, they have beautiful leaves, seem to be fairly low-maintenance in terms of pests and diseases, and the ruby-red fruit provides beautiful color in both summer and winter. The waxwings love the cranberries in the winter, and watching a sleek waxwing perched on a snowy cranberry branch is like seeing a calendar photo unfold before your very eyes!
While the commercial cranberries we buy in the grocery store grow on low shrubs in boggy conditions in north-eastern areas of the United States and eastern Canada, probably many of you will be more familiar with the high-bush cranberries that grow in our climate, whether wild or domestic. I can remember the fun excursions with my parents to pick wild cranberries. What fun it was to walk through the bush, dappled with sunlight, looking for the beautiful red berries! We'd often find hazelnuts, too, an added bonus! We'd fill our pails, then sit down in a sunny spot and enjoy a "cuppa coffee" from the thermos that Mom brought along, and munch on some of Mom's delicious matrimonial cake, one of Daddy's favorites from Mom's extensive baking repertoire! Mom always made cranberry jam, and I will never forget the amazing flavor of the tart jam on a buttered piece of toast - heaven!
Probably many of the bush areas that once sheltered cranberry bushes are gone now, but thankfully there are varieties that we can grow in our own yards.
Cranberries belong to the oxycoccus family, and grow in many parts of the world. In North America, cranberries were a valuable staple long ago, used for pemican and even dressing wounds! Indeed, cranberries are being hailed now as a great antioxidant, but long ago peoples knew that already!
While I was doing some cranberry homework, I learned that while cranberry bogs were once used, nowadays cranberries are planted in areas that are surrounded by berms of soil so that they can be filled up with water to maintain the moisture level in the soil, and also to help with harvest in the fall. The berries are ready when they turn a deep red, and at that time the cranberry beds are filled with water, and a special harvester goes through to remove the berries from the plants. The floating berries are gathered together, and then collected to be processed. Cranberries are processed into many forms including bagged fresh, dried, and made into juices and jams, and health-related products.
They're low in calories, high in fibre and anti-oxidant properties, and they grow here with ease, so if you're planning to do some landscaping and are looking for something different, consider the cranberry, an old favorite that is becoming a new gardening favorite.
The Yorkton and District Horticultural Society annual general meeting is tonight, Wednesday, November 23. Members, we hope to see you there! Directors, remember that there will be a supper meeting on November 29, and also that same evening, the planning committee will be coming up with topics and guests for the coming year's meetings! So it will be a busy but exciting time!
Have a great week, gardeners!
