Saturday, October 20, 2012
A limited cranberry harvest is now underway at the historic bogs at the state park, after a two-year hiatus
Call it a rite of autumn. For the first time in two years, cranberries are being harvested from the tea-colored waters of the bogs in historic Double Trouble State Park. A sea of crimson berries bobbed gently in the Gowdy bog this week, close to the vintage cranberry and sorting house that is part of the park's historic village. And Joseph Brandt was happy to be there. Brandt and his business partner James Corsey own Southampton-based Honest Berries. The state Department of Environmental Protection granted the company a limited use permit for the 2012 fall cranberry harvest. Brandt hopes Honest Berries will be around a lot longer than that. He'd like a long-term lease to maintain and harvest the bogs. "I'd like to keep if for the next 20…
Thursday, August 30, 2012
State issues special use permit to company for small harvest
There will be a small cranberry harvest at Double Trouble State Park in October, now that the state Department of Environmental Protection has issued a special use permit to a private company. The owners of Honest Berries approached Area Supervisor Ray Bukowski this summer and asked about the possibility of working the bogs, with an October harvest as the goal. "They signed with me about eight or nine days ago," said Bukowski, who oversees both Double Trouble and Island Beach State Park. "They do blueberries and cranberries in other locations." The acres of bogs at the park off Pinewald-Keswick Road have lain fallow for almost two years. The last cranberry harvest was in October 2010. But the former leaseholders retired and the state was…
Friday, August 17, 2012
Bogs went unharvested in 2011 because of lack of leaseholders
Most of the cranberries clinging to the tiny plants in the bogs at Double Trouble State Park are a pearly pale yellow now, in high summer. But by October, they will turn crimson, ready for harvest. The last cranberry harvest at Double Trouble State Park was in 2010. Last fall was one of the few times over the past 100 years there was no commercial harvest, because no leaseholders stepped forward. But State Department of Environmental Protection officials are hoping that will change this year. The state has been working with an unidentified leaseholder to harvest some of the cranberry bogs at Double Trouble State Park in time for a small harvest in October. "I can confirm we are trying to finalize an agreement with a leaseholder to farm …
Monday, June 25, 2012
This would be the second season no leaseholders have stepped up
The acres and acres of bogs at Double Trouble Start Park are dotted with the tiny pale pink flowers that will soon be transformed into crimson cranberries by early October. But this year, like 2011, it's unlikely there will be anyone to harvest the berries. No leaseholders for the bogs have stepped forward for the 2012 harvest, said Robert Considine, a spokesman for the state Department of Environmental Protection. "If we decide to lease the bogs, it would be doubtful that the lease would be finalized in time for someone to be able to harvest cranberries in October, as the lease would have to be approved by the State House Commission, whose next meeting is in September," Considine said. That was disappointing news to Daniel Crabbe, whose …
Friday, October 7, 2011
A Pinelands tradition comes to an end, at least for now
By now, the cranberry bogs at Double Trouble State Park should be filled with the tea-colored waters of Cedar Creek. Harvesters should be trudging through the flooded bogs in waders to catch as many of the crimson globes as possible. But that won't be happening at Double Trouble State Park this year. The latest leaseholders of the bogs have retired. The bogs, still damp from the heavy rains this summer, lie fallow. The leaves on the tiny plants are turning scarlet and butter-yellow in the cool October air. The berries will be left for the birds and animals that call the state park off Double Trouble Road home. It's a situation that state Department of Environmental Protection officials are hoping is temporary. "We plan to work on finding …
Paula Mariscal
6:46 pm on Saturday, November 10, 2012
I live in Alaska and love cranberries. It was interesting to read about how they are grown and harvested. It would be pretty neat if the Double Trouble company town were brought back! more ›