We often get asked, “What will I see when I visit your farm?” We’re happy to tell you what we plan to do, but what we end up actually doing can be very different. To tweak a famous quote: “No farming plan ever survives first contact with a farm.” Here’s a list of what we’ve […]
Farm News
New Name, New Logo!
Muskoka Lakes Farm & Winery It all started in 2017. We were trying to put our logos for Johnston’s Cranberry Marsh and Muskoka Lakes Winery together, and they weren’t getting along. We decided it was time to create a new logo with an image that would work for both names. Despite a lot of effort, […]
Top 10 Things to Do This Harvest
Harvest is our most exciting time of year! With so much to do, we put together a ‘Top 10’ list of reasons why you’ll want to come check out the fun! Cranberries are grown and harvested like no other crop in the world. If that’s not reason enough, they’re one of the few fruits native […]
Iroquois Cranberry Growers
Iroquois Cranberry Growers announced that they were shutting down operations this year. They’ve been good friends and business partners over the years, and we will miss them. We’ve heard lots of wild stories and rumours – the Bala Cranberry Festival is closed. We’re closed. They didn’t market well/manage well… Let us start by clearing a […]
Blueberry Hill Opens July 15!
Get Your Canada 150 Thrill! Opening Day Highlights: July 15, 2017 is the Grand Opening of Blueberry Hill here at Johnston’s Cranberry Marsh & Muskoka Lakes Winery. We’ve been working on this project for three years and are excited to share it with visitors. 1 pm: Mayor Don Furniss will cut the ribbon to officially […]
Spring has Sprung for Cranberries!
Spring is a busy time of year for the farmer. Since cranberry vines are perennial, spring work begins as soon as the snow starts melting. The first concern is protecting the vines from frost damage. That means re-installing our irrigation system. The challenge is remembering which piece goes where. It’s kind of like a jigsaw puzzle you […]
Winter Farm Update – time to make the Ice Trail
So what happens on a cranberry farm in winter? Does everyone just pack up and go skiing? Not quite. There’s actually a lot of work to be done to protect the vines through the harsh, winter months. After harvest, the vines turn a deep burgundy colour. While cranberry vines are categorized as ‘evergreen,’ the leaves […]
Ontario Cranberry Harvest is Underway!
The Ontario cranberry harvest has begun at Johnston’s Cranberry Marsh in Bala, Muskoka. Picking usually gets underway two weekends before Canadian Thanksgiving, but this year it started even earlier, and signs are pointing to a record-breaking crop. The dry summer was good for the cranberries because bees don’t work when it rains. That means the bees remained busy […]
White Cranberries
What, exactly, are white cranberries? They’re cranberries early in the harvest season, and they’re ripe! If you put white cranberries in the freezer, they turn red. If you cook them, they turn red. That’s because cooking and freezing releases the anthocyanin (red pigment). If you look at a bed of cranberries, they all look red. […]