Springtime Weather Has Returned

After a five or six day respite from sugaring season warmer weather has returned and we are back in production.  So far we have produced over 1,800 gallons of the good stuff.  This puts us at about 2/3 of an average production year.  Over the next 10 days we hope to make up that ground and are even optimistic that it could be a record production year for us.

Last year we had a great year even though the season was very short. We are remembering 80 degree days on April 1 last year.  That hot weather cut the season short for everyone as the trees budded out and the sap was no longer processable. 

So far the trees have remained dormant, however in the lower elevations the maple tree buds are beginning to swell.  This is a sign that warmer weather is on its way, and sugaring is drawing nearer to an end.  But mother nature has many surprises up her sleeve.  We could go to 80 degrees tomorrow or back to 3 feet of snow and cold.  Welcome to Vermont.

Sugaring Season

I can't believe two weeks have flown by since our last post.  We have been in the sugarhouse almost everyday producing the worlds finest pure Vermont maple syrup.  So far we have produced over 1,300 gallons on our 4,000 taps.  Right now we are a little less then half of our normal production.

Currently a cold snap has slowed down the sap flow.  The days are cold at about 30-34 degrees F while the nights are colder reaching temperatures in the lower teens. 

The forecast calls for warmer weather after the weekend, and it looks like sugaring will be in full force once again!  We are enjoying the breather and catching up on orders and emails.  Have a great rest of your week!

Snow Snow Snow and More Snow! (Again!)

Vermont has been slammed once again with a massive dump of snow.  This time it was the 5th biggest storm on record dumping over 30 inches in 24 hours across many parts of the state.  Our sugarbush was no exception, we received over 30 inches presenting us with a real chore to dig it out.

Our sugarhouse is located almost a quarter mile off of a state road.  We plow with a John Deere 310c Backhoe.  Without it.... we would never get to our sugarhouse after a storm like this.  It still took over three hours to plow the road.  We ended up with 8-10 foot high snowbanks and the snow accumulation is as high as our woodshed and storage tanks. 

Also, many of our mainlines were buried.  We spent most of the day yesterday digging them out. and had to hike 10 miles of lines through over 4 feet of snow.  If lines are buried they do not thaw.  If they stay frozen then sap cannot flow through.

It has been an exhausting 48 hours, but once again, after yet another massive snowfall, we are ready for warmer weather and sugaring to kick into high gear.

A leak-free vacuum system equals huge sap yields

We have spent the last week in the woods searching for leaks in out tubing system.  Even though the days have been cold and the sap is not really running much we are able to detect leaks in out tubing system and make the necessary repairs to eliminate these leaks.  This is the most important task in maple sugaring and makes the biggest difference in sap yield.  Even tiny leaks will cause tubing systems to freeze and once the lines freeze sap will not flow.


If a sugarmaker neglects his/her woods then it will be detrimental to sap yield collection and ultimately syrup production.  We spend everyday in the woods just before the season really starts and almost every day during sugaring in the woods eliminating even the tiniest leaks.

A small leak will draw great amounts of air into the tubing system.  This air mixes with the sap and causes ice buildup to block the flow of sap.  Even on warm days tubing systems can freeze around these air leaks.  We have seen lines freeze at 45 degrees when air is injected at the wrong point!

A leak free vacuum system is why we produce 3 times the amount of syrup per tap over the industry average.

Sugaring is officially here!

Cloverdale Sugarhouse

Last night sugaring officially arrived!  We fired up the evaporator at 3:00 in the afternoon and boiled off a small collection of about 1,000 gallons of sap.  This first processing is essentially the moment of truth for a sugarmaker.  There are many processes that must come together and function properly for maple syrup production to occur.  Last night we assembled the evaporator and threw the switch and everything kicked on without a hitch.  While we only produced a small amount of maple syrup we are now fully prepared to process when warmer weather brings on tankfulls of maple sap.  A fresh foot of new snow and steam pouring out of the cupola!  Sugaring is here!

All Tapped In!

Dave is saving up for pants!

It has been a busy couple of weeks since our last post!  We completed the check valve upgrade on 1/3 of our sugar bush and went right to tapping.  It took longer then normal this year as we have 3-4 feet of snow in the woods.  Tapping normally takes 4-5 days, but this spring it has taken up almost 10 days!  All is well and we are ready for spring thaws to wake up the maple trees.  We are making some final upgrades to parts of our tubing system and sugarhouse and closely watch the weather each day.  The extended forecast shows warm days towards the end of next week. Then the fun begins!

Snow Snow Snow and More Snow!

The white stuff just keeps piling up.  Last year we had almost no snow in the sugarbush going into sugaring.  For most of the spring there was bare ground and it was easy to get around.  This year is a stark contrast to last.  We continue to install check valve spout adapters and will likely be finished in another three days.  Progress is slow as we are on 36inch and 48inch snow shoes just to get around.  Without snowshoes you sink in up to your hips.  Some sap lines are beginning to be buried under the snowfall which seems to accumulate several inches a day.  While some snow is good for sugaring, it insulates the ground and hydrates the trees, too much can be detrimental.  If lines are buried they will not thaw.  If there is too much ground cover the trees will not thaw on the warm days of spring and will not run.  Hopefully the warmer weather forecast over the next few weeks will settle it down and melt it off some.  We plan to begin tapping this weekend.

Check-Valve Spouts

We are currently installing check valve spouts into approximately 1/3 of our sugarbush.  Manufactured by Leader Evaporator Company and created by Proctor Maple Research Center, the check valve spouts are touted to increase sap yield by preventing microbial contamination into the spout holes as sap is drawn back into the trees from the sap lines as they freeze.  Microbial contamination is credited as being a major factor as to why tap holes reduce yield as the season passes and ultimately stops the flow of sap. The stubby is installed into the drop lines and plug onto the spouts after they are hammered into the trees at tapping time.

C.V. Spout (Leader Photo)

Stubby Spout Adapter (Leader Photo)

We are installing these new spouts into 1/3 of our sugarbush to compare sap yields from these spouts to our own proprietary stainless steel spouts.  While the average syrup produced per tap in the state of Vermont is approximately 2.75 lbs we have produced over 7.3 lbs per tap for the last three years.  We believe that the trees are easily capable of producing 11 lbs (1 gallon) maple syrup per tap but that current industry collection techniques are imperfect and that this is the real limiting production factor.

Implementing check valves may give us a better understanding of the inefficiencies of the sap collection precess and allow for further improvement to increase this yield.

Pure Maple Candy Crystal Coat Dipping Process

Effective as of January 24th all of our pure maple candy will go through a pure maple crystal coat dipping process to improve the shelf life, protect against shipping damage and to "lock in" freshness so your candy will retain the fresh-out-of-the-mold taste and consistency for weeks longer than candy that is not coated.

Just like our pure maple candy, the crystal coat solution is also made only of pure maple syrup, with nothing added.  So the candy is just as pure and natural as before.

This special pure maple crystal coating process will extend the shelf life by 2-3 months and protect against heat and humidity often experienced with air mail and summertime shipping.

Candy is still made fresh to order everyday... ENJOY!




www.maple-sugar-candy.com

Windstorm Damage Report and Clean-up

In late December the northeast experienced the strongest wind storm in many years.  The lower elevations were a bit breezy but as you moved higher in elevation and closer to the mountains the wind gusts exceeded 80 mph and at times approached 100 mph!  Our maple farm is located just to the east of Mount Mansfield and being the windward side we experienced the full brunt of the storm.

Damage on our 120 acre sugar bush was primarily on the east and northeast facing part of the hills.  There are areas where dozens of 100+ year old full grown sugar maples blew over leaving huge holes in the forest.  In addition to losing over a hundred maple trees, hundreds of other trees blew down causing extensive damage to our sap pipeline systems.

It took us over three weeks of clearing trees and debris and another 2 weeks of repairs to get the woods back online for sugaring.  In all we lost between 2-5% of all maples, however we will gain back some taps as we expand lines to collect from trees that were previously too small.

With another 3-5 weeks to go before the maples begin to run sap we can now focus on other tasks.  There are several significant upgrades we would like to implement to our infrastructure in an effort to increase efficiency and maximize syrup production going forward.  More on this as it occurs...

Welcome to 2011?

Mount Mansfield Maple Products just joined the rest of the world by going blog!  Follow us as we develop and offer new and improved products, upgrade and innovate our production process and produce the worlds finest pure Vermont maple syrup!  Sugaring is only a few short weeks away and we have been working tirelessly to prepare our woods and sugarhouse for the upcoming season.  Look for Blog updates here as we catch you up on what you have missed over the last few weeks and what's going on as we move forward.  Feel free to ask us any sugaring related questions or questions about any of the products we sell.  Thank you and ENJOY maple!

 

Visit us at www.vermontpuremaple.com