New Jersey Thread

[jerseymaple]

With no specific thread for Jersey I figured I post here. This is only my second year of making syrup. Last year it was 3 trees and a whopping 8 oz of syrup. This year I have a goal of a half gallon. I have tapped 7 trees and plan on doing a few more this week. 3 are sugar maples and 4 are some other maple. I am down the shore but am lucky to have a fairly large wooded area in the back and kind neighbors who let me tapped their trees. They think its funny a former NYC boy taps trees. So far I have boiled down my collected sap and have come up with 26 oz of dark syrup. I boil in a big 6 gallon pot with wood in a camp fire pit I have in the backyard. I get some ash in the boil and tried to put a metal screen over the pot on Monday to cut down on this. It only worked so so and I can see I need to come up with a better pot/pan to boil in. The syrup taste fine but has a hint of burntness to it so I am going to hunt second hand stores for pots that have lids, drill holes in the lids and try that. Have my kids collecting sap when they get home from school so its kind of cool to get them involved. Take care.

[Bucket Head]

Be carefull. This is exactly how it starts. In just a few years you'll be teaching the kids how to drive the old milk tanker truck you bought for hauling sap and the neigbors will be complaining because its an eyesore. If your operation does grow to be that big, just ignore the neighbors.

Good luck this season! I like reading stories like this. Almost all of us on here started out similar to what your doing. I started with twelve neighbor-owned tree's myself. Its good that everyone gets involved. You may have started a tradition that will last for generations! Have fun.

Steve

[3rdgen.maple]

Yep that is how it all started for alot of us. After looking at the tap poll thread you might be lonely though on this thread. Only 2 people have tapped in Jersey.

[red maples]

I am originally from jersey so have to chime in on this one. Born in Somerville, NJ, moved to sussex county where farms rules the area. (the true garden part of the "garden state" as far as I am concerned). Then spent a few year in Rutherford going to school in jersey city. spent many a day at the Jersey shore...before that stupid reality show"jersey shore" There are a few folks that accually taps tree in Jersey. I def. Know of 1 in stillwater NJ (up north where I lived ) that has, if I remember correctly, about 400 taps.

But anyway, who knew I guy from NJ would move to NH and make syrup!!! :)

Good luck, and have fun!!!

[peacemaker]

i grew up in mansfield in warren county now make syrup in vt

[njburg]

I'm in Johnsonburg , Warren county, (between Stillwater and Mansfield)just starting out. We have 60 taps so far.

[red maples]

my brother lives in Columbia, off 94, my parents still on swartzwood lake, well across the street anyway.

[Haynes Forest Products]

Jerseymaple Dont get all excited about the ash. Do you wrap your hot dogs in tin foil when your camping:rolleyes: You might have the fire running up the sides of the pot and that can scourch the sap/syrup so keep the fire low. Good luck and welcome to our world. Its a strange place to live in but I feel right at home:)

[jerseymaple]

Thanks for the advise. Unlikely I will ever get a truck to haul sap in. No place to park it around this town. I have may be around 20 trees I can tap in walking distance, so depending on how things go may be able to expand a bit. A friend gave me some chum buckets he uses for shark fishing so now I least have some 6 gallon buckets to store sap on the back deck which is better then the 1 gallon reused orange juice buckets i have been using. The chum buckets are clean and I cleaned them out again with a little bleach and lots of water. Been a decent week of sap collecting up to 10 gallons so more boiling this weekend. Some friends are coming over to watch the process, since they are bringing beer and pizza it will be a party. I also need to figure out how to put those tags at the bottom like everyone else has.
Red Maple you are right about Sussex County. I enjoy doing a lot of trout fishing and duck hunting up on the Flat Brook and camping in Stokes Forest. When you get back into the Delaware Water Gap area you could swear your in Vermont or New Hampshire, not 70 miles from mid town Manhattan. Lot of black bears around which will make your heart jump when you see them.

[Haynes Forest Products]

Joisymaple When someone starts complaining about something fishy about your product dont ask me why............OK so Fill the bucket with some Dog c......SUC:lol:

[peacemaker]

use to fish swartzwood alot my parents own 600 feet of the musky in beatsy town right on 57 and jersey pizza rules what i wouldnt give for a pie or 6 when i am boiling

[RockFarm]

I live in NJ, and I tap the silver maple in my back yard, but most of my tapping is done on some land I have up in the Catskills. It sounds like where you live there are more available trees in your neighbor's yards. You're lucky. I've got to drive 90 miles a couple of times a week and hope that I haven't wasted too much sap from not collecting frequently enough and having overflowing buckets.
Good Luck to you!

[red maples]

Thanks for the advise. Unlikely I will ever get a truck to haul sap in. No place to park it around this town. I have may be around 20 trees I can tap in walking distance, so depending on how things go may be able to expand a bit. A friend gave me some chum buckets he uses for shark fishing so now I least have some 6 gallon buckets to store sap on the back deck which is better then the 1 gallon reused orange juice buckets i have been using. The chum buckets are clean and I cleaned them out again with a little bleach and lots of water. Been a decent week of sap collecting up to 10 gallons so more boiling this weekend. Some friends are coming over to watch the process, since they are bringing beer and pizza it will be a party. I also need to figure out how to put those tags at the bottom like everyone else has.
Red Maple you are right about Sussex County. I enjoy doing a lot of trout fishing and duck hunting up on the Flat Brook and camping in Stokes Forest. When you get back into the Delaware Water Gap area you could swear your in Vermont or New Hampshire, not 70 miles from mid town Manhattan. Lot of black bears around which will make your heart jump when you see them.

Before the bears started getting over populated about about 20 yrs ago I was squirrel hunting and walked up to my favorite squirrel spot and walked right between 2 cubs and a big momma scared the Sh#$ out of me. slowly walked back and they took off Only had a 20 gauge with some bird shot!!! not gonna to much for to a bear hide. boy those things can run fast!!!

But yes its the part of Jersey that you can drive for an hour and its all corn fields and woods. and the pine barrens too, but that different.

Oh if your ever up toward the flatbook river. there is a restaurant called "The walpack inn" they are only open TH, FRI, SAT night and I think sunday brunch, but they feed the deer in the back and come right up my wife's family is friends with owners. Food is great lots of taxidermy there. Really cool place. lots of history!!!

[red maples]

use to fish swartzwood alot my parents own 600 feet of the musky in beatsy town right on 57 and jersey pizza rules what i wouldnt give for a pie or 6 when i am boiling

Oh how I miss the pizza....taylor ham(pork roll)...real bagels...good crusty artisian breads. mmm time for lunch!!

[markct]

yup it all starts that way, 4 years ago i had a evaporator made like a barrel stove from a propane tank. everyone thought i realy had gone maple crazy cause i built a 7 x11 sugarhouse to put it in, now that sugarhouse has been expanded twice to a current size of about 11x22ft with a porch on the front now too. and of course i upgraded to a 2x8 evap and about 500 taps on vac to feed it!

[Revi]

My brother lives in Montclair and he has a maple tree in his yard that's bigger than anything we have on our woodlot. It must be 200 years old. I think it may be too old to tap, but it sure is impressive. Good luck with your tapping Joiseymaple!

[peacemaker]

Oh how I miss the pizza....taylor ham(pork roll)...real bagels...good crusty artisian breads. mmm time for lunch!!



now wait taylor ham is not pork roll.... one thing i dont miss is the 3 hs wrnj
and trafic ...

[red maples]

Oh how I miss the pizza....taylor ham(pork roll)...real bagels...good crusty artisian breads. mmm time for lunch!!



now wait taylor ham is not pork roll.... one thing i dont miss is the 3 hs wrnj
and trafic ...

yes you're right but the 2 names go hand in hand. Pork roll is has a milder flavor and is the more generic brand name but both made by the same company. even the Jersey Pork Roll company uses the name names interchangably.

Oh yes traffic!!! ever get caught in NYC/NJ traffic at rush hour if your not out of the city by 3:30 it will take you 2-3 hours to get through the lincoln tunnel!!! back to NJ ooofff!!!!

[jerseymaple]

Walpack Inn, I love the place, prime rib or hamburger don't matter its all good after a day of fishing/hunting.
Jersey food is hard to beat, had pizza in Vermont once, won't make that mistake again. Bagels, Italian Bread, fresh mozzarella, deli meats, clams, crabs, fish right from the ocean. Being able to surf in the ocean in the morning and go skiing 2 hours later.
The food and ocean is the good side, the bad is the traffic, general congestion, high taxes, corruption, high home prices etc. I worked for 27 years in Manhattan and know the GW bridge, Lincoln and Holland Tunnel like my back yard. In the end its home. Have a nice saturday and been boiling since 7am, need to get back to the fire.

[jerseymaple]

Well, with about 12 gallons of sap to boil down, i broke out my camping duck oven to help. Boiled down 4 gallons to about 4 oz of the darkest syrup I have ever seen. if there is a grade C syrup this is it. Taste the sweetest of all the batches I have made, still a little more liquidity then store bought ones. Still boiling the other 8 gallons, I informed the wife that a sugar shack is a summer project, which she is fine with, right after I build a garage.

[jerseymaple]

Well, I finished my year of syrup. Ended up with about 92oz of syrup which beat my goal of a half gallon. Very dark syrup, and taste great. Was able to tone down the fire to eliminate the "burnt" taste. Going to try and pick up some traditional galvanized buckets and taps. Want to give the trees a New England look next year. Going to give some syrup to the owner of some land where I duck hunt on the Shrewsbury River as a thank you, other wise the family will enjoy. Next year is 20 trees and 200oz for a goal. Need a better pan to help evaporate next year. Thanks for the helpful advise.

[janrosenfeld]

So I am looking at the Maple Trader listing of all the states that have maple totals and I can't figure out why New Jersey doesn't get its own thread. I guess we get no respect. We just finished our season yesterday here at Walnut Brook Farm. We have 75 or so taps and produced 18 gallons this year. It was one of our better years. New Jersey syrup is as good as any anywhere, don't you think.

Jan
Mendham, NJ

[jerseymaple]

Well can't say if jersey syrup is as good as any, but I can't wee why not. I like mine.

[Kev]

Well can't say if jersey syrup is as good as any, but I can't wee why not. I like mine.

I bet Jersey syrup is good...
I will take a chicago pizzzza anytime :D

[seclark]

I lived in west milford until 2001 and moved to central n.y.I made a little syrup there but because we only had one maple I never got hooked until we moved,but what little I made tasted as good as I make here.We were about an hour from the walpack inn and it was great,we still go on occasion as my brother lives in hope,n.j.Fished many times the flat brook,swartswood lakes, both big and small.Had an uncle that had a farm in sussex.What great times we had in the summers.Its good to see jersey sugar makers are doing good,keep up the tradition.

[5050racing]

Well 12 taps here and about 3gals of syrup but just about done now,tue,wed 12gal sap/day 4gal thur going to check today but near the end.Just finished making 1qt tonight,and boiling the 4gal from thur.incase it's buddy?No buds popping yet I'm on the mountain and well behind other areas.Tapped as as kid with grandfather and 1st year here in North West Jersey started late 2/27.Some great syrup so far!!Great site to learn surgaring .Any help all ears.

[red maples]

I don't think you have to worry about buddy syrup 5050...your in sussex county yes? your weather is just a tad warmer than mine. and I am not in moutains. I am on the seacoast. I grew up there and the winters can be just as bad there as in southern NH.

[5050racing]

I'm on Jugtown mountain border of waren/hunterdon county,it got it's name just as you read it 2 stills on my farm back then now this kind.It got below freezing last night so maybe a little today.Some of the biggest flow all year was tue,wed 5 of my trees put out 12-13 gals each day and the others nothing.Up to 3.5 or so gals of syrup I'm BIG TIME now!! yeah right!!I got started late 2/27 .

[5050racing]

Any snowmobiling up there yet??I was thinking of one last trip never been there and would like to see a real operation in action.

[3rdgen.maple]

5050 next time your at my neighbors Bed and Breakfast stop over and I will give you a tour. Kenny is always bringing fisherman and snowmobilers over to give them a tour.

[5050racing]

You probably put me to work!! I'm ready!! Very busy here but plan to do it someday.Made 6oz last night on woodstove,most likely the end,I'm sad first year 3.75 gal syrup and got started late 2/27,Didn't think of doing it till I was up snowmobiling next door to you and I had yours and Kenny's syrup unreal!! I'm a beekeeper also and heating sugar syrup to feed them as we type.Not maple!!!

[jerseymaple]

3.75 gallons of syrup :o, I would not be sad that would be a banner year for me. I hope next year to hit a gallon. I enjoy giving out small, 8 oz samples, to friends hunting/fishing partners. I hope to have more to give out next year. With syrup season over its clamming in the Navisink, and getting ready for Striper season.

[5050racing]

I give a lot a way also it's a nice way to thank someone for something they helped you with!!