Maple Syrup Tapping, Round 2

March 3, 2025

We finished tapping maple trees in our sugarbush on February 23rd, with four consecutive days above freezing on the following days. After tapping 24 trees we were ready for the sap. On average, a maple tree can provide ten gallons of sap in a season, but this estimate fluctuates widely depending on weather.

If each of our trees produce ten gallons of sap, we would get 240 gallons. It takes about 40 gallons of sap to get one gallon of maple syrup. This estimate depends on the amount of sugar in the sap. Healthy trees with good access to soil nutrients and sunlight will produce sap with a higher sugar content. Stressed trees will produce sap with a lower sugar content.

Using the 40:1 ratio, we should get six gallons of maple syrup this season.

How many gallons of sap did we collect? Five gallons. I am learning that patience is an important factor in producing maple syrup.

Last week: Winter birding
Next week: Winter leaving the farm
Fun fact: Research on maple syrup shows it can help antibiotics work better by increasing the permeability of bacteria.