March 20th, 2011

It was a busy week in the Camp Heidelberg OEEC maple sugar bush. A few frosty nights followed by warm sunny days stirred the sap to rise in the trees. Our boots now sink into the wetness of the fall leaves, exposed by the rapid melting of the snow that just days ago blanketed the forest.

An estimated 4000-5000 litres of sap was gathered by family and friends over the course of the week, boiled vigorously in the evaporator, and bottled into about 50 litres of finished syrup.

Click here to see our amazing evaporator in action!!

The syrup season can last into mid-April as long as this pattern of daytime highs and lows repeats itself. The trees will continue to transport sugary sap up the trunk to nourish the buds in preparation for another season of growth. We intercept only a small portion of it to make our tasty syrup.

Once it warms up and the leaves begin to emerge, the quality of the sap declines, and tree begins to heal the wound and stem the flow of sap entirely at the site of the tap hole.

(click on either photo to open a full-size image in another window)