The trees are tapped!!

On a sunny, warm winter day, 564 taps went into the sugar and red maple trees as the sap flowed from them here at Waterfall Farm. By that evening, clouds moved in, the temperature dropped below freezing, it began to snow, and the sap run was over. About 200 gallons of sap had collected in the tanks, which is not quite enough sap to fire the evaporator and get started boiling. This is because it takes about 300 gallons of sap to “sweeten the pan,” which is the point at which we have fresh sap coming in one end of the evaporator as finished syrup is coming out the other end.  The cold weather ahead of us will refrigerate and even freeze the sap we have on hand, keeping it fresh until our next sap run. Once the pan is “sweetened” at our first boil, it will remain so for the rest of the season and will be ready to make syrup every day that the sap “runs,” regardless of how much sap comes in.

Did you know that sap, as it comes from the tree, only contains 1.5% sugar and 98.5% water? All of that water has to be boiled off to get to the sugar. Finished maple syrup has a sugar content of 66%. That’s a lot of boiling!

The sap flows or “runs” during a thaw which occurs when the temperature rises above 32° F. When the temperature drops below 32°F the run stops. If the temperature warms up quickly from a freeze into the 40s or 50s, the sap pours out of the trees at which point we get a big “run” and we can collect over a thousand gallons of sap in just one day! That’s when we really get busy making syrup.

Making syrup is totally dependent on the weather. Freeze and thaw cycles from late January through early March trigger the flow of sap from the trees. Right about now, trees are “waking up” as the days get longer, and this is the time their sap is good for making syrup. But by mid March, the trees’ leaf buds and flower buds are beginning to swell, and the chemistry of sap is changing to deliver nutrients to those parts of the tree. When the buds break in early spring, that marks the end of our sugar season, as the sap is no longer suitable for making syrup. The sap will still run, but the syrup that comes from it is no longer palatable.  This explanation is an oversimplification of what is happening with the trees, but you get the idea.

So, as of January 30th, we’re waiting for the next thaw. Right now the forecast is for cold and snow for the next four days, so we’ll twiddle our thumbs ‘til then and see what happens next. We’ll keep you posted.

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Due to a landslide of interest in reservations for syrup by the case, we have reached the point where we are no longer certain if we can meet all the demand. This is farming, after all, and we don't want to over-promise on our projected syrup production for the year. For this reason, you can now join our wait list for syrup by the case. We hope to make enough that we will still be able to put a case in your hands.

If you join our waitlist for one or more cases of syrup, we will be in touch with you directly as the season progresses. We will fill reservations in the order that we receive them. If/when your syrup is ready, we will arrange payment and discuss whether you’d like to make an appointment to pick it up in person or have it shipped to you. A case of twelve 8 oz bottles is $144.

Pick-ups will be by appointment ONLY, and all comers must wear masks and practice social distancing while at the farm.

Please, NO drop-ins. This farm is also our home, and we appreciate your respect for our privacy.

Greetings from Waterfall Farm

We would like to extend a warm welcome to you, and offer our hearty thanks for your interest in our small family farm.

The 2021 maple season is about to begin! We will have about 570 taps this year which doesn’t mean we will be tapping 570 trees. Some tress, the bigger ones, have two taps. Our plan is to tap on Wednesday, January 27th. There is heavy snow cover in the woods right now but we’re hoping to get a serious thaw and melt on Tuesday the 26th when the temperature is forecast to rise into the upper 50s. When the world thaws, the sap runs. The thaw will also make for better footing on the steep slopes and speed up tapping. After that, it’s wait and see. Snow is forecast for Wednesday night and Thursday, but we might see a little sap flow on Friday if the temperature gets up into the 40s. We’ll keep you posted. Once the trees are tapped, we make no plans outside of sugaring, and live at the mercy of the weather as it dictates when the sap will flow, and thus when we boil. We expect many sap runs and boils during our 4 -6 week sap season as they follow the rise and fall of temperature.

We had hoped to have visitors in the sugar house during the actual production of the syrup this year, and share the wondrous experience of fire, steam, sap and syrup with you, but have had to cancel those plans due to the Covid19 pandemic. Our sugar house is too close of quarters to allow for safe social distancing. Once we start making syrup, it can still be picked up at the farm by appointment, but no in-house tours will be given.

As we have not yet tapped the trees, we do not yet have syrup to sell. However, this is the time of year when we take reservations for syrup by the case. Customers who reserve syrup by the case get first priority when we start making syrup. If you would like to reserve one or more cases of syrup, please email us and let us know how many cases of syrup you'd like to reserve and we'll contact you as soon as your syrup is made. We will arrange payment when your syrup is ready. A case of twelve 8 oz bottles is $144. Syrup can be picked up in person at the farm, or mailed to you.

Pick-ups will be by appointment ONLY, and all comers must wear masks and practice social distancing while at the farm.

Please, NO drop-ins. This farm is also our home, and we appreciate your respect for our privacy.

We will continue to update you on syrup availability as the season progresses. Once our season is underway, we will also have syrup available both by the case and by the bottle. And YES! We ship!

We look forward to sharing a great sugar season with you.
- Michael, Wheeler and Doug