Tag Archives: planting

Spring updates – 2017

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The team is keeping very busy this month, as always!

Bog renovation is going well, with the new irrigation going in at Mule Island in preparation for planting. “We’ll be putting in the Mullica Queen variety,” says manager Mike Haines. “It’s a later variety, like the Stevens it’s replacing, so it should be a good fit.” A later variety means they attain their full color later in the season. Per Rutgers, “Mullica Queen offers excellent yield potential with equal or higher color than Stevens,” and while we currently only have one Mullica Queen bed that’s attained full growth, it’s been a highly productive one.

The reno team has also been working on erosion control, which is always an ongoing concern.

Things have been hectic this week with frost, of course, but that should be slowing down a bit. “It’s been a busy frost week, which we knew was coming,” says Matt Giberson. “But it’s looking like that will lighten up for a little while.”

Unfortunately, part of the reason we’re expecting less frost is due to the expected heavy rains this weekend. But our equipment team is making sure the Crisafulli pumps are ready to go if needed, and dam maintenance is ongoing in order to minimize the risk of washouts!

Planting – 2016

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Our team has finished planting the latest set of renovated bogs, and things are looking good!

Since 2014 we’ve been planting in late summer in order to take advantage of the weather, the longer daylight hours, and the increased team availability. There are two methods of planting: conventional propagation, which means pressing mowed vines or prunings directly into the bogs to be established; and rooted cuttings, which means planting plants with roots already established. Pine Island has used both methods in the past, but mainly we’ve moved on to using rooted cuttings. Another concern with planting is implementing an irrigation program, both with ground water and sprinklers, that provides moisture for vine growth without causing excessive soil saturation, which can lead to favorable conditions for phytopthora, which in turn can lead to fruit or root rot. Pine Island uses both ditches and sprinklers for irrigation. During the early spring, after the winter flood is removed, irrigation is usually covered by our frost protection program. However, concerns for adequate soil moisture should not be forgotten during frost season. Several warm, sunny days without rain or frost irrigation can result in the need for irrigation. Checking the soil yourself is extremely important; tensiometers are good, but it’s important to learn the hands-on method, as well.

“We planted 79 acres this year,” says supervisor Matt Stiles. “We averaged a little over 5 acres a day with two machines and a crew of 24.” This year’s variety is Mullica Queen, chosen because of its timing. “We went with that one due to the geography of this year’s reno. By the time they’re ready to go we can pick one area all at the same time.”

This was Matt’s first year running the planting operation, and he did well. “It was definitely a challenge,” he says. “Coordinating everything, getting the right plants at the right time with the right people. Constantly adjusting the planters, how to identify a problem and how to fix it. And you have to be very careful working around the irrigation system; it’s tough for the driver on the tractor to actually see the sprinklers. But everyone did really well.”

“We planted more acres per days than we ever have,” says manager Mike Haines. “We now have two twelve-row planters now, after replacing the eight-row we sent to Chile. Last year we averaged 4.25 acres a day, and this year we got a little over 5 per day. Which is a lot more, especially with the heat this year. It was a big obstacle for Matt to overcome, but he did a great job.”

And as a bonus, Matt also took some video! If you think the GoPro gave us some great point-of-view shots, wait till you see this!

*Photos/video courtesy of Matt Stiles.

Breaking bud

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When it comes to agriculture, too much rain can be just as bad as not enough. And there’s been quite a bit of rain in the area over the past couple of weeks.

“Getting too much rain is not conducive to growing cranberries,” says COO Bryan vonHahmann. “We’re in the growing season now, but heavy rains can delay that, a little.” It doesn’t just affect the cranberries: “All the work slows down: maintenance, renovation. . .everything else we need to do. So our team has other tasks to work on. We’re rebuilding sprinklers, cleaning up trees, repairing dams, doing anything we can do in poor weather. It all needs to be done; it just means we need to get more done later.”

“The rain and the colder temperatures mean the buds aren’t growing as quickly as they should,” says manager Mike Haines. “Right now in the established beds we should be seeing signs of bud break, so Vanessa, Tim, and I are scouting growth stages every day…but the rain slows that down for us.”

In addition to negatively affecting plant growth, many tasks normally undertaken during the growing season have been delayed as well. “It’s held up some fertilizer applications we want to put on the young beds,” Mike says. “The minute you take water off you want new plants to start growing like crazy throughout the whole season. But since it’s so wet, we can’t fertigate because the beds are saturated already. We can’t use the Gephardt because it’ll get stuck, and planes are a no-go. There’s not enough acreage ready to really justify bringing the planes in, anyway, so those applications are delayed.”

“Planting is stalled as well; we’re still not done planting the Haines variety in Warehouse #1, because it’s too wet for the planter,” he says. “Water is sitting on top of the new growth, so we’re also talking about putting underdrain in there.” There is, however, a bright side! “I can catch up on office work! Right now I’m making a bee map, which will help coordinate the beekeepers when the time comes. We’ll be pretty busy when it finally warms up!”

Bog renovation 2016 – planting update

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Bog renovation, as always, is an ongoing project at Pine Island, and our team is moving right along! Manager of Bog Renovations Steve Manning is pleased with the current progress. “Two weeks ago, we finished Osborne Spung,” he says. “It’s been all sub-graded, we’ve built the canals and the dams, and now it’s ready for sand. We’re continuing to put sand in over at Worth Tract; Jeremy [Fenstermaker] is designing the irrigation set-up, the pumps are going in, the structures are being built. Wilfredo [Pagan] has a crew putting gates in.”

Another current project is finishing the planting at Warehouse #1. While our team planted most of that acreage back in the fall, they were only able to finish about 3/4 of the portion alloted to the Haines variety. “There was a problem getting some of the material, but ultimately it won’t really be a big deal,” says manager Mike Haines. “There’s not going to be too much of a growth difference.” Tim [Bourgeois] and Jeremy have been working on getting the planter calibrated in order to keep as few people as possible walking behind it and fixing plants. “The wet weather means we need to keep the planter out of the newer beds, so in the meantime we also have a crew out at Old 11 Acre replanting some spots that died due to Phytophthora,” Mike says. (Phytophthora is a fungus that leads to rot.)

Eliminating fruit rot is a top priority of our team. “It’s usually caused by having too much water on for too long, especially during hot and humid weather conditions,” Mike says. “Last year on these beds, I tried to sub-irrigate by bringing ditches up instead of running sprinklers. But these have a heavier soil, which holds water longer, and I ended up watering more than needed. So we considered all that and decided to keep ditches down and just water as needed. Matt [Stiles] is incorporating that as part of his irrigation plan, as well as taking some other preventive measures. Jeremy did a lot of research and found we can switch nozzles on sprinklers so we can irrigate using 33% less water, which will be great for next year when these beds will be ready for frost protection.”

“Everyone’s doing a great job; it can be really tedious hand planting everything,” Mike says. “But things have been moving faster than I’ve ever seen before!”

Planting 2015 – Haines variety

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Our 2015 bog reno is done and for the grand finale, our team finished with the inaugural planting of the new Rutgers Haines variety!

From Integrity Propagation’s April release:

The Haines™ Cranberry Variety…resulted from a 1999 cross between the Crimson Queen® variety as the seed parent and #35 as the pollen parent. The #35 variety is an unpatented variety from a ‘Howes x Searles’ cross from the 1940s USDA/NJAES Cranberry Breeding Program. Haines variety was one of 138 progeny of this 1999 cross, made at the Philip E. Marucci Center for Cranberry Research in Chatsworth, NJ. Haines variety was initially selected for its very high yield potential, mid-season ripening, large round berry (averaging about two grams per berry) and uniform fruit color. In 2007, the Haines variety was selected for further testing in advanced replication selection trials in Oregon, Washington, and Wisconsin. The plots continued to exhibit the variety’s consistent high yields with mid-season ripening. Haines has also exhibited less fruit rot than Stevens in these plots.

“We’re putting Haines in on a ten acre bog, but since it’s a new variety, stock is still low, so we ended up planting 8 acres and will finish in spring,” explains New Production Manager Mike Haines. “Those eight acres only took two days, with an average of 4.25 acres a day. That’s really good. And we did it with no late nights; we worked from 7 to 5:30 and our numbers were up from the previous record of 3.5 acres/day.” When asked why, he says, “There are lots of reasons. Every year, there are mistakes you learn from. That’s one improvement. The land is well cleared; there were no stumps that can cause a momentary halting of the process. We concentrated on having both planters make the longest passes possible through the bed, which means we have to make fewer turns, which increases our efficiency.”

Planting a new variety is not without its challenges! “We finished up with hand planting, and I was pretty nervous about going back and forth between the Haines bog and the Mullica Queens,” Mike says. “Making sure we didn’t create any inadvertent hybrids was a little nerve-wracking!” He is hopeful for the expected higher yields and increased rot resistance, as well: “If you have your name on it, you especially want to get good results.”

*Photo credits, top and bottom photos: Nadine Haines.

Bog renovation 2015 – planting

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Planting started last week on the latest bog reno project, and it’s moving along faster than ever! While in previous years we’ve started the fall planting after the harvest, we moved that forward in 2014 in order to take advantage of the weather, the longer daylight hours, and the increased team availability.

There are two methods of planting: conventional propagation, which means pressing mowed vines or prunings directly into the bogs to be established; and rooted cuttings, which means planting plants with roots already established. Pine Island has used both methods in the past; however, this year we will be using rooted cuttings. Another concern with planting is implementing an irrigation program, both with ground water and sprinklers, that provides moisture for vine growth without causing excessive soil saturation, which can lead to favorable conditions for phytopthora, which in turn can lead to fruit or root rot. Pine Island uses both ditches and sprinklers for irrigation. During the early spring, after the winter flood is removed, irrigation is usually covered by our frost protection program. However, concerns for adequate soil moisture should not be forgotten during frost season. Several warm, sunny days without rain or frost irrigation can result in the need for irrigation. Checking the soil yourself is extremely important; tensiometers are good, but it’s important to learn the hands-on method, as well.

So far our teams are averaging about four acres per day, which is fantastic. “So far the weather’s been with us,” says New Production Manager Mike Haines. “But another big change is with our equipment.” In the past, our planting team would have to first lower a cage containing the rooted cuttings into the new beds, then team members would need to manually switch the trays from the cage to two carts, each attached to a separate tractor. “Bob Shinn designed a different kind of wagon for us where we can actually put the cage right onto the wagon,” Mike says. “This eliminates a step, plus we can fit more on each wagon, so one tractor can serve both planters. A smaller crew and fewer pieces of equipment means planting more acres per day. We planned for 19 days of work, and we’ve definitely shaved a couple days off. I just hope the weather keeps cooperating!”

The rest of the process remains the same: rooted cuttings are taken from the cart and loaded onto the planter. Team members seated on the planter drop the vines into the carousel and then the vines are distributed into the pre-dug furrow. The planter is followed by other crew members, who make sure that the vines have been placed correctly.

And in about three years, we should see some great results!

2014 Fall Planting

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It’s once again time for the fall planting, which this year finishes the renovation at 11 Acre and Ben Haines that we started after the 2013 harvest. While in previous years we’ve started the fall planting after the harvest, we moved that forward in order to take advantage of the weather, the longer daylight hours, and the increased team availability.

Assistant Manager Mike Haines is running the planting operation this year, and has been very busy making preparations. Mike’s previous job was with Integrity Propagation, so he was already familiar with the process from the other side of the business. “Here, we have a lot more heavy machinery involved,” Mike says “Integrity does the growing and the shipping; they also hedge all the flats for us. Otherwise, the vines are too long for our machine and they get caught.”

He’s been fairly busy getting everything ready prior to the start. “We had to finish the land leveling and disking so the ground is soft and the plants can go in more easily. We also had to get all the equipment out there: the machines, the tractors with the wagons to carry the flats, the excavator and the cage to move the plants from the truck to the wagons. We also had to assemble the teams; there are twenty-nine total on the crew with Kelvin [Colon] and Waldy [Blanco] running a crew each. It’s great having them there; they really know what they’re doing.”

Kelvin is always happy to help: “Everything he needs, every question he has, I’ll get the answer for him,” he says. “Whatever it takes!” One team started at 7:30, and the other team started from the other side of the bog at 8. “It’s going very smoothly right now,” Kelvin says. “Hopefully it stays this way to the end, if the nice weather holds up!” The team has a target of three acres per day, with 17 acres total, and everyone is confident they can get it done.

Mike is excited to see these bogs starts to produce. “This is our first big Mullica Queen bog,” he says. “It’s one of the new Rutgers varieties–a later variety that gets picked toward the end of the season–and was really popular with other growers when I was at Integrity. It has a very high yield potential; it will be really cool to watch it as it develops.”

2013 Fall Planting

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Our fall planting at the Boricua bogs is almost done, which will complete the Oswego renovation. Our team started last Monday, and the weather has been mostly cooperative.

The planting team has been moving faster than ever before, and has even set a new record with over 3.5 acres planted in one day. Team member Casey Koehler attributes this to each team member knowing what their assigned task is in addition to good communication by New Production foreman Kelvin Colon. “We start at 6:30 in the morning and everyone just works,” she says. “Everybody has their job but if they’re needed elsewhere, they’ll step up, no questions asked. We switch off a lot, too; it can be hard on your back sitting on the planter. So people will exchange jobs so there are fresh hands and a fresh back on the planter.” In addition, Casey says, “The guys doing the hand planting are fast and they’re good. If everyone’s doing their jobs, then Kelvin can make sure everything’s getting done that needs to be done.”

Every team member is keeping busy. Casey was tracking the daily averages: daily acres planted, number of trays, and the number of plants per acre, as well as the running total acres, while Waldemar Blanco is in charge of making sure both planters are always fully loaded, the plants are delivered, and all trays are sorted and counted according to planter and/or hand planting in order to make accurate measurements.

Communication has become much more efficient with new technology, as updates in the field can be viewed on the office database. The team is also able to track the plant totals: how many carts ordered per day, how many trays used on both planters, how many carts are left at the end of the day, and how many cuttings are planted per acre. Our target is 60,000/acre. “We leave at least one for the following day,” Casey says. “Once we come in at 6:30, we’re moving. So the night before we’ll leave one ready to go, with a tarp over it to keep the heat in.”

Every day a team member measures the acreage to see if they’ve hit their targets, which started at 2.5 acres/day then changed to 3 acres/day. Some bogs are tougher than others, depending on layout: Boricua #5 has some unusual angles due to topography, which made more hand planting necessary and added to the overall time. But the team has been doing very well and are actually ahead of schedule, expecting to be finished by this afternoon.

All that remains to be done is watering the new acreage. While the mostly sunny and dry weather has been good for getting the planting finished, it does mean that the sprinklers need to be run every day for the new plants. It does serve a dual purpose: in addition to sealing the sil around the plants, the team can check for damaged sprinklers.

Thirty acres in ten days is a fantastic achievement, and our team should be proud of the work they have done. It is this willingness to do what needs to be done that helps Pine Island grow more acres and more fruit per acre, year after year.

Fall planting

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This week, Pine Island Cranberry is trying something new: we’re attempting our first fall planting using rooted cuttings. Our planting team is out at High Bridge #1, planting the beds prepared by Joe Colon this past summer.

Previously planted with Early Blacks, we are moving to Crimson Queen, a variety chosen for higher yield potential. A major focus for Pine Island is increasing yield while lowering production costs, and renovation is a driving force behind our growth strategy: young bogs are redesigned for efficiency as well as yield.

The process remains the same as it does for our spring 2012 planting: the planter is loaded with the rooted cuttings, which drop onto a carousel:

And then other team members follow the planter to make sure the cuttings have been placed correctly.

But not everything is the same as it is in the spring. For one thing, the days are much shorter and the team cannot go at the same pace. In this particular case, it’s not too much of a worry: we’re planting this bog to see if it works. A big concern is timing and how the new plants will react to the winter flood: will they float when the water comes up, or will they stay in place? To address this concern, we are going to do a quick shallow overnight flood and remove the water the next morning. This will pack the soil around the new plants, and should anchor them well for the winter flood.

The soil will also stay wetter longer. “That can be ideal, but it can also be a nightmare,” says Tug Haines, who is fulfilling the same supervisory role that he did during our spring 2012 planting. “If a rainfall like we got on Tuesday happens in May, you can get a warmer, drier day and it won’t get sloppy. On the other hand, if it dries out too quickly you can kick up a lot of dust.” He also points out that we won’t need to water as much with this November weather. New PIICM supervisor Kylie Naylor adds: “Plants do tend to stick in machines when it’s cooler or raining; that can slow us down.”

As always, Pine Island is continually striving to improve internal processes and increase efficiency, and our team learned a lot last spring. The sprinklers have already been installed, and both our four-seater and six-seater planters used in tandem can speed up the process considerably by starting at opposite ends of the new bed and meeting in the middle. “We worked out the ideal system for that in April and can apply the lessons learned in November,” Tug says.

Thanks to our capable equipment team, our machines are also running smoothly due to meticulous care in the off-season. We’ve made some small improvements with regard to safety as well as spacing, which is often the most nerve-wracking part of the job. With this bed, the crew needs to make sure for every ten feet you have about thirteen to fourteen plants. It takes some planning, but our team is always ready.

New planting: updates

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One of our April blog entries was on planting bogs at Sim Place. Planting was completed in May, but continuing care for the young bogs is under the supervision of Tug Haines, the fifth generation of the Haines family working at Pine Island and currently serving as a foreman in our PIICM program.


Once the plants are in, it is important to monitor the young bogs frequently to ensure that they are rooting well and remain healthy. Last week, Tug met with Bill, PIICM manager Cristina Tassone, and Dan Schiffhauer of Ocean Spray to check the bogs and discuss their nutritional needs.

The consensus was “so far, so good”; we’re not getting much leaf drop and the plants seem to be thriving. We’re not seeing many runners yet, but according to Schiffhauer, that’s just fine. “You don’t want kudzu,” he says. “The important thing the first year is for the roots to establish before they start running, and that’s what we’re seeing.” The PIICM team will continue to watch color and leaf size on the new growth in order to determine fertilizer needs and then modifying the plan if necessary. As soil and nutrition consultant Dr. Joan Davenport always reminds us: “It is ineffective to put fertilizer onto the beds until the root mass around the [new plants] is at least the diameter of a standard #2 pencil.”

As with the established bogs, heat is also a consideration. A ride with Tug overseeing the young bogs is very much like a night monitoring for frost; we check for the bog temperature (the thermometer is protected by a shade canopy for more accurate readings) and soil moisture before deciding if running the water is necessary.

You cannot always rely on tensiometer readings, however; you also need to get out in the bog and check for yourself. On her last visit, Joan also noted that “when leaves are young and tender, relying strictly on the tensiometers could result in a false sense of security about what the plant water demand is.” Yesterday the soil seemed particularly hardened and dry, so Tug decided to run the water for a couple of hours. Again, as with frost, it’s not just as simple as turning on some sprinklers. Once the irrigation is going, it may also be necessary to let more water in from the reservoirs to keep the pump supplied.

Then, of course, we ride around to monitor both the soil and the equipment in order to fix any possible sprinkler malfunctions. “You have a little more margin for error than you do with frost,” Tug says. “It’s urgent, but you don’t need to move quite as fast.” He needs to make sure the sprinklers are both running at capacity and rotating completely in order to get the best cooling effect.

Even on young bogs, however, maintaining a balance is crucial in order to avoid phytophthora. If it infects and damages the root system, it could take more than one growing season for the bogs to recover.

signs of phytophthora in established bed

effects of phytophthora on roots

One of the strategic drivers to achieve our mission is increasing production over time through bog renovation and decreasing the time to achieve full production, which is essential to accomplish our growth objectives. And, like everything else we do here at Pine Island Cranberry, the key to achieving our goals is attention to detail. All of the things on this week’s tour shows our drive to be the very best and the amount of attention to detail that implementing our strategy takes.