Cranberry season begins in Latvia: where to pick your own berries and this year's prices
Cranberry season has begun in Latvia, with both wild and large-fruited cranberries available for picking in bogs or at pick-your-own farms. At one of the largest farms, a litre costs two euros.
The arrival of autumn in Latvia traditionally coincides with cranberries ripening in the country's bogs. Known as a superfood rich in vitamins, these berries have long been valued for their health benefits and are also widely used in cooking and decoration.
Two types of cranberries are available in Latvia — wild berries that grow naturally in bogs, which anyone can pick themselves, and cultivated large-fruited cranberries offered by several farms.
Pick-your-own in the Lauga bog
One place offering pick-your-own large-fruited cranberries is an area of the Lauga bog managed by the farm "Gundegas." Farm owner Andris Ansis Špats said his team manages the largest large-fruited cranberry area in Europe — 22 hectares, home to 18 different cranberry varieties.
Špats noted that some of the earlier varieties have already ripened, so pick-your-own picking in this bog is already in full swing. He also recalled that he was the first in Latvia to introduce the American-style practice of inviting people to pick their own berries and bringing in helpers.
Pick-your-own picking in the Lauga bog has been available since 1997, and the farm has kept its pricing model unchanged — the price is set at half of what the berries sell for on the market. This year, self-picked cranberries cost two euros per litre.
An option to pick for free
For those who want cranberries but have no money to spare, the farm offers an alternative: pick five litres of berries, and four litres go to the farm while one litre stays with the picker. The farm also allows the use of picking aids to make the work easier.
