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From the Nantucket Conservation Foundation:

How Cranberry Vines Are Planted
Cranberry vines are planted by gently pushing vine trimmings into a prepared bog that has been leveled and covered with a layer of sand. New plantings must grow for about three years before they will bear harvestable fruit. If properly cared for, the 6-8 inch tall plant will produce berries indefinitely. Modern management practices include weeding in the spring, fertilizing in the summer, pruning in the fall to keep the vines at their optimum length, and periodic re-sanding in the winter. A complex water distribution system must irrigate the bogs in dry weather. This same system is also used to protect flower buds and the ripe berries from spring and fall frosts. Also, flooding is required during the fall harvest and throughout the winter months to minimize the effects of cold and wind damage.

How Cranberries Are Harvested
On Nantucket, the Early Black variety of cranberries (small and black-red when ripe) are harvested during late September; the Howes variety (larger, oblong and medium-red when ripe) is picked from early October into November. Cranberries were individually hand picked until the early 1900’s, when the wooden cranberry scoop was developed. The cranberry scoop method of harvesting was faster, but it left a great number of berries on the vine and was very labor intensive. Since World War II, growers have used an assortment of mechanical pickers, including the Western picker and the Darlington picker. Tines (metal fingers) on these machines scoop underneath the berries and hold them, while the forward motion of the picker plucks them from the vine. The machines damage the vines less than the use of the scoop, but as much as twenty percent of the fruit can be bruised using this method.