Notes from the farm: Sticky & sweet
Nathan holding some boiled sap. Photo by Kate Warren.
There’s something quietly magical about maple season. The trees have been storing sugars all winter, the sap starts to run when the days warm and the nights still freeze, and for a few short weeks, the forest has something sweet to give. On March 15th, we welcomed about 25 people — plus a few very good dogs and some future farmers in the making — to come experience that magic firsthand.
Led by Nathan Pollack and Ryan Surrano, our maple syrup workshop was everything we hoped it would be.
Most people have poured maple syrup on pancakes without ever wondering where it came from. That changed for everyone who joined us.
Nathan collecting sap from a tapped Maple. Photo by Kate Warren.
It starts with tapping. Nathan and Ryan walked the group through how to identify a sugar maple, how to drill a small hole into the trunk, and how to fit a spile — the little spout — so the sap can drip out without harming the tree. The tree does the rest. Participants collected sap themselves, and then gathered for a tasting.
Ryan shares some Maple water. Photo by Kate Warren.
Raw maple sap — or maple water, as it’s sometimes called — is nothing like the syrup you buy at the store. It’s clear, barely sweet, almost like the freshest water you’ve ever had with just a little something more. A few people were surprised. A few kids were delighted. Everyone tried it.
Nathan and a visitor at the evaporator. Photo by Kate Warren.
From there, the group gathered around the evaporator to watch sap become syrup. It takes roughly 40 gallons of sap to make just one gallon of maple syrup — all that water has to boil off, slowly and steadily, until the sugar concentrates into that deep amber we all know. Standing over the evaporator with steam rising around you is one of those sensory experiences that’s hard to forget.
One of our younger syrup samplers! Photo by Kate Warren.
Once the sap had reduced to syrup, everyone got a taste of sticky sweet goodness. It was a perfect way to usher out Winter and welcome Spring.
Ryan sneaking a sip. Photo by Kate Warren.
Join us for any or all of these upcoming Wally Farms workshops!
Friday 4/24 Plant 500 Trees!
Sunday 5/3 Wally Walk: Welcome Chickens!
Saturday & Sunday 5/9-5/10 Wally Farms will be at Basilica Farm + Flea
Sunday 5/17 Morel Mushroom Hunt & Plant Sale