Editing Cranberry (section)

=== Ripening and harvest ===
[[File:Child labor, cranberry bog, Burlington County, New Jersey, 8a10151.jpg|thumbnail|upright|[[Arthur Rothstein]], ''Child Labor, Cranberry Bog'', 1939. [[Brooklyn Museum]]]]
[[File:Harvesting cranberries 2.jpg|thumb|Cranberry harvest (wet-picking)]]
Cranberries are harvested in the fall when the fruit takes on its distinctive deep red color, and most ideally after the first frost.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Angier|first=Bradford|url=https://archive.org/details/fieldguidetoedib00angi/page/66/mode/2up|title=Field Guide to Edible Wild Plants|publisher=Stackpole Books|year=1974|isbn=0-8117-0616-8|location=Harrisburg, PA|pages=66|oclc=799792|author-link=Bradford Angier}}</ref> This is usually in September through the first part of November. Berries that receive sun turn a deep red when fully ripe, while those that do not fully mature are a pale pink or white color. To harvest cranberries, the beds are flooded with {{convert|15|to|20|cm|in|sp=us|0}} of water above the vines. A harvester is driven through the beds to remove the fruit from the vines. For the past 50 years{{when|date=November 2023}}, water reel type harvesters have been used. Harvested cranberries float in the water and can be corralled into a corner of the bed and conveyed or pumped from the bed. From the farm, cranberries are taken to receiving stations where they are cleaned, sorted, and stored prior to packaging or processing. While cranberries are harvested when they take on their deep red color, they can also be harvested beforehand when they are still white, which is how white cranberry juice is made.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://stonebridgefarmevents.com/wet-picking/|title=Wet Picking|website=Stone Bridge Farm|access-date=7 May 2019|archive-date=7 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190507021146/https://stonebridgefarmevents.com/wet-picking/|url-status=dead}}</ref> Yields are lower on beds harvested early and the early flooding tends to damage vines, but not severely. Vines can also be trained through dry picking to help avoid damage in subsequent harvests.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.umass.edu/cranberry/pubs/bmp_fruit.html|title=Fresh Fruit Production BMP: Publications UMass Cranberry Station|website=www.umass.edu|access-date=7 May 2019}}</ref>

Although most cranberries are wet-picked as described above, 5–10% of the US crop is still dry-picked. This entails higher labor costs and lower yield, but dry-picked berries are less bruised and can be sold as fresh fruit instead of having to be immediately frozen or processed. Originally performed with two-handed comb scoops, dry picking is today accomplished by motorized, walk-behind harvesters which must be small enough to traverse beds without damaging the vines.

Cranberries for fresh market are stored in shallow bins or boxes with perforated or slatted bottoms, which deter decay by allowing air to circulate. Because harvest occurs in late autumn, cranberries for fresh market are frequently stored in thick walled barns without mechanical refrigeration. Temperatures are regulated by opening and closing vents in the barn as needed. Cranberries destined for processing are usually frozen in bulk containers shortly after arriving at a receiving station.