TRENTON — If you’ve ever wanted to pick your own cranberries, the time is now.

The picking at Snugglemagic Farm’s dry four-acre cranberry bog ends Nov. 1.

Leslie Edwards, who is a painting contractor, and Michael Fillmore, a general contractor, own the property, which is located eight miles from downtown Ellsworth at 1554 Bayside Road.

The cranberries are all organic, Edwards said. No pesticides are used. After the first snowfall, the couple will cover the bog with a quarter-inch layer of sand, to help keep weeds down.

The Howe’s variety of cranberries is grown at Snugglemagic Farm.
PHOTO BY JENNIFER OSBORN

Different varieties of cranberries grow in New England. Snuggle Magic grows the Howe’s variety.

“They’re not a high bush,” Edwards said. “They’re a larger cranberry and they’re tart.”

This is the couple’s fourth season.

At the end of each season, the pair works on the bog, removing young trees. Beneath weeds, moss has helped keep the cranberry plants moist.

“It’s only a crop every other year,” Edwards explained. The farm had cranberries for picking the first two years, possibly because it had lain dormant for so long. The third year, there was no crop.

“It’s the best season we’ve ever had,” Edwards said, referring to their fourth season.

Plus, cranberries are like basil. The more you pick, the greater the harvest.

Snugglemagic’s cranberry bog is dry, so no boots are necessary. People can wander throughout the four acres picking berries as long as they’re mindful of where they’re stepping.

In a dry bog, you pick cranberries like you pick strawberries — with your hands — no raking.

Bring your children to help you pick. The farm also has llamas. Edwards usually has samples of a dish made with cranberries.

Snugglemagic Farm is also home to alpacas.
PHOTO BY JENNIFER OSBORN

“Everybody says ‘I love cranberry picking, but what do I do with them,’” Edwards said.

Cranberries freeze really well, she said. There also are many recipes using cranberries that Edwards has shared on Snugglemagic Farm’s Facebook page.

If you go:

What: Snuggle Magic Cranberry Farm

Where: 1554 Bayside Road, Trenton

Hours: Through October, open Saturday and Sunday 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

How much: $5 per pound to pick your own

What to bring: Boots not needed