Friday, April 16, 2010

Planting Vines



We're in the middle of taking the water off of the bogs to begin the growing season, and planting is underway.

Cranberries are perennials and don't need to be replanted every year, but on our farm, we renovate a few bogs each year to improve yield (by planting new varieties) and  to minimize water use (by leveling the ground and replacing inefficient irrigation systems). We also use the opportunity to improve drainage.

There are two ways to plant cranberry vines. One way is to mow or rake vines from other bogs and spread them on the ground, then press them in with discs. They root in about a month. It's less expensive than the other method, but the vines don't always establish as quickly as we would like.

Since we're planting a new variety right now, we're planting a different way. We purchased rooted stolons from Integrity Propagation and are planting them with a rig that we pull behind a tractor. Four workers sit facing backwards and drop individual plants into a carousel. Each carousel feeds two chutes which drop plants at pre-determined intervals into a little trench that is opened up just before the plant falls. Two tires set at angles behind the chute push the soil back around the plant and close the trench.

We currently plant about an acre a day this way, and if the plants establish well, we'll be able to get a small crop off of them after two growing seasons.

3 comments:

  1. I'm planting my first cranberry bed. Is there an optimum depth at which to disc the vines? I am planting in sand. What's the latest date you recommend that I plant the cranberry vines?

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  2. I can't speak for all growers, but we disc ours in about 3 inches deep, then pull rollers over them to close the gaps.

    As far as planting dates, our philosophy here (remember, we're in NJ)is that earlier is better, as it gives the plants more time to root and establish themselves before the heat sets in--we try to finish before May. We have had success with later plantings (as late as the first week of June!) when weather conditions prevented us from planting earlier.

    Good luck, and let me know how it goes!

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  3. I have a three-year old cranberry bed in Wisconsin (growing in sand) and have noticed this year and last year some of the plants dying in late August. These are random plants peppered throughout the bed. The top of the upright starts to die and it seems to continue down the plant. I sprayed this year for fruit worm and cottonball. I've been fertilizing quite heavily yet this season, with Triple 13 and straight Nitrogen. Does anyone have any ideas of what I should be looking for (soil, fungus, pests)?

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