Hello Shareholders,
Welcome back to the Moose Hill Community Farm CSA ! Here is what you can expect for the first week of distribution…
Remember to collect your eggs, for those who ordered them, and to bring bags for your vegetables.
Furthermore, we will have our honey and maple syrup for sale, as well as spices from local vendor Organic Green Kitchen.
As the final sap buckets are stored away for the season, it is worthwhile to take a moment and reflect back on the 2017 maple sugaring season here at Moose Hill.
Sap buckets waiting to be stored in our barn.
During this season’s seven week sap run, that began on February 9 and ended on March 30, we collected approximately 2,240 gallons of sap from about 140 taps. From this volume of sap, we yielded 37 gallons of maple syrup, which is approximately a 60:1 sap to syrup ratio. When talking about making syrup, the usual ratio you often hear is 40:1, but it can go as high as 80:1 – so what does this mean? Was this an impact of the drought last year? Was it an impact of the gypsy moth or winter moth infestations? Was it an impact of the few heavy rainfalls that we have seen? Or is this simply more typical for us?
Comparing this to last year’s season of roughly the same length of time, February 2 through March 28, we collected about 1,815 gallons of sap from the same number of taps. From this volume of sap, we yielded 34 gallons of maple syrup. which is roughly a 53:1 sap to syrup ratio. For both years, we have been delighted with the final results!
End of the season view of the sugarbush.
If the throws of nostalgia still have you hankering for this season’s maple syrup, please stop by the Moose Hill Visitor Center and pick up a bottle before they are gone!