The sap is finally flowing and the forecast shows favorable weather for the next week. Over 500 sap buckets are filling in the sugarbush. Each one is emptied into 5 gallons buckets, which go into the 300 gallon collection tank towed around by the old dozer. When full, the sap is emptied into the stock tanks, which can hold over a thousand gallons of sap, which can be gravity fed into the evaporator.
The first boil of the 2023 season happened on March 22nd. Sap was let into the evaporator and a fire lit within. Steam billowed out of the sugar shack as the water in the sap evaporates. Sugars begin to concentrate, almost maple syrup but not quite. This first boil is known as "sweetening the pan".
Every 40 gallons of sap results in about 1 gallon of maple syrup. On this first day, we collected around 540 gallons of sap, which will eventually result in around 13.5 gallons of syrup. After this first boil, I'm guessing we probably have something like 20-50 gallons of very sweet sap sitting in the evaporator. When more sap is collected and fed into the evaporator, there will be enough syrup to draw off into bottles.
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We work on possibly the highest elevation farm and garden in New York, at Camp Treetops & North Country School. It’s a 220-acre educational farm/school/camp in the chilly High Peaks Region of the Adirondack Mountains in upstate New York, USDA Zone 4a.
The purpose of this work is to demonstrate a variety of food production systems and engage the community in sustainable & ethical land management. It is intended to provide food as well as interdisciplinary educational opportunities for people of all ages & backgrounds.
People of all ages and backgrounds reside on campus and participate in farming and gardening activities as part of their education. We hope to create more productive outdoor learning spaces and opportunities to demonstrate ideas such as agroecology, permaculture, and sustainable food production.
Some of the work we want to demonstrate are so-called “alternative” or “non-conventional” agricultural practices. These include disciplines such as agroecology (agriculture that mimics natural ecological systems), permaculture (sustainable & self-sufficient design), regenerative agriculture (conservation approach that focuses on topsoil regeneration, biodiversity, improving water cycle, biosequestration, & mitigating climate change), agroforestry & silvopasture (integration of trees & shrubs with animals), organic agriculture (growing & processing food without the use of synthetic fertilizers & pesticides), and food sovereignty (the right to healthy & culturally appropriate food produced through ecologically sound & sustainable methods), among others.
This KZfaq channel and these videos are for educational purposes and for my own personal documentation of various projects.