Mike and Lete Whitty harvest their year’s work on their cranberry farm

Mikita Farms with one of the fields flooded during harvesting.

We were driving in Kings County PEI last weekend.  We spotted the cranberry harvest underway. The pond had a brilliant glow of cranberry red. The sky was blue and the cumulus clouds fluffy white.

The farm was started in 2000 by Mike and Lete Whitty. Mike was formerly from Farmington, Kings County, PEI and now lives in Greenwich, PEI

He said the field of retired farmer Desmond Larkin looked like a perfect place to start his cranberry farm. Larkin had traditionally used the land as low pasture for his cows and it had a natural spring.

Whitty grew up next door the Larkins so he knew the property well.

“Cranberries grow naturally on Prince Edward Island so we decided, since only a few people on Prince Edward Island were growing the fruit, we would,” Mike said. “More people are now interested in growing cranberries that are well-known for its high vitamin C content. Fruit and Vegetable Magazine

It took 6 years for the cranberry bushes to fully bear fruit. Mike and Lete stuck out the lean years. They expect a decent crop for decades if the fields are tended properly. The local presence of bees is important along with lots of water.

While we watched, men gathered the floating berries in a boom towards the harvester. Water water and berries were hosed up to the top, where the water was pumped back into the pond and the cranberries into the waiting truck.