Cranberry Bogs & Marshes

Cranberries are grown throughout the northern part of the United States - Wisconsin, Massachusetts, Oregon, New Jersey and Washington primarily. These areas offer the special conditions that cranberries require including sandy soil, abundant fresh water and a growing season from May to October. Wisconsin grows 65% of the cranberries in the US while Massachusetts accounts for another 23%. New Jersey, Oregon and Washington state combine to make up the remaining 12%.

Cranberries grow on low lying vines (not underwater) in impenneable beds layered with sand, peat, gravel and clay. These beds are known as “bogs” or “marshes” and were originally created by glacial deposits. Commercial bogs use a system of wetlands, uplands, ditches, flumes, ponds and other water bodies that provide a natural habitat for a variety of plant and animal life.

Cranberry growers preserve almost 40,900 acres of open space which provide refuge for many plant and wildlife species. Cranberry wetlands filter groundwater, recharge aquifies and control flooding by retaining water runoff.