Tapping Maple Trees
By Joe Cowan - Director of Operations
Over the weekend we had some wonderful weather here in Maine. With freezing temperatures overnight and warm sunny days, it was time to give maple sugaring a try. Growing up in New Hampshire, real maple syrup is a mainstay, particularly in the spring. When we moved back to New England, I discovered some sugar maples on our property and marked them for later use. Marking them is important to identify them during March and April, since the foliage will make them a little difficult to spot for the untrained eye. Fortunately I remembered to mark a few of the large maple trees that are right near the house, for a casual sugaring operation. Making large quantities requires a huge amount of sap, and even more equipment, not to mention time. At roughly 35 gallons to 1 gallon (this ratio varies significantly, depending on the source), you will need to tap a lot of trees with multiple taps to get as much as I use in the year. So, this falls strictly in the casual sugaring category.
It is interesting to me to understand how much work and time goes into making just a small quantity of maple syrup. In order for me to produce enough for a year, on my property alone, using my own equipment, trees, and labor, I would need to increase production by an enormous amount. It makes me appreciate what goes into producing good quality maple syrup. I am also thinking carefully about how much maple syrup I consume on a regular basis as well. I have completely cut out refined white sugar, but even maple sugar in too large a quantity might have some adverse health effects. The goal for next year will be to produce as much as I reasonably can, and then only consume that for the year. If I don’t make much, then we won’t be eating much, and I am happy to live with that.
Freezing temperatures at night, and warm sunny temperatures during the day, ~50 degrees
