Our spring tree tapping will soon be underway–we have 10,500 trees to tap. We expect the sap to start flowing any day! Our crew has been out in the woods since early March preparing for the upcoming harvest. There is more daylight every day, and the nighttime temperatures are slowly creeping up. Most of the ground still has more than two feet of snow.
Pre-harvest lasts up to two months, from March until the sap flows. It is an important time for us. The crew learns the systems, and gets their “feet on the snow.” When we harvest the sap this year we will tap about 2,000 trees the “old-fashioned way”: a tap and a bucket on a single tree. The remaining 8500 trees are connected to a vacuum pump system by an elaborate labryinth of tubing that runs through the woods.
What did we have to do do to get ready? It is almost endless. Because of this year’s deep snow, we spent a lot of time clearing down trees and brush and putting the sap trails through the woods. We dug out the tanks, dug out and repaired down lines (the lines are out there all winter) and replaced all the spouts on the tubing system. Then, there is all the pre-harvest maintenance. We rely on a huge amount of equipment to collect and haul the sap.
The crew has been working hard and feels strong and ready to go!
We will tap 2,000 trees with tap and pail.
Miles of tubing connects our 8500 trees.