How did you get started into sugaring?

[Rossell's Sugar Camp]

How did you get started into sugaring. post how you got started into making maple syrup.

[Dennis H.]

Internet!

No kiding, One day I just did a search on how to make maple syrup and now here I am!

[shane hickey]

My parents they had a big operation and sold out in 1993 I started with 125 taps 5 years ago yo see if I would like it and make any money at it. From there I just kept getting bigger and doing things better it seems every year I change something. this year natural gas and more vacume pumps. shane

[Cardigan99]

I was buying some layer pellet for the ladies and I saw a box of spiles. I grabbed six of those and six plastic buckets. As soon as I started boiling (on the gas grill) and smelled syrup I was hooked. I've been freaked out ever since!

[Bucket Head]

Spring of 1985, a neighbors twelve trees with twelve metal spiles my mother had bought years earlier hoping someday they would be used. We hung plastic gallon milk jugs on them. And seeing that they only held a gallon of sap, more sap went on the ground than we collected. Boiled in a cast iron pot and a big aluminum frying pan over a concrete block arch. I melted the handles off the aluminum pan. Used motor oil was lighter in color than the syrup I made, but I was proud of it. Other than the lost sap and pan handles, it was a successful first season.

Steve

[Don(MI)]

Small time family outfit here, we make syrup just for ourselfs and enjoy this hobby we all love! My great-grandfather used to make syrup in a cast iron kettle way back in the day, and my grandfather continued that with his family. We still make maple syrup, with a small 5 acre soft maple woods. Just around 200 taps, nothing to technical about it. We gather with our Allis Chalmers "G" tractor and 120 gallon bulk tank, then pump this into the 150 gallon milk tank you see in the pictures. This gravity feeds around the smoke stack, as a pre-heat coil, and dumps into a stainless 4x5' flat pan. And you guys know the rest from there! The arch, my father and I made about 10 years ago, the building was actually a local high schools wooden baseball dugouts. They built new cyinder block dugouts, and my uncle got ahold of the old wood ones, works great as a sugar bush!

I will say this, growing up doing this every spring since I was about 6 years old, has been one of the best experiences of my life! I am now 25, and still look forward to every spring, with the same excitment!

Have a good one! Don

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v50/Fuldraw/Sugar%20Shack/100_0979.jpg

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[Tweegs]

Started with a single tap on the lone maple we had in town.

Moved out here to the sticks and sunk 95 taps on our 26 acres that first season. Boiled on a 2X6 divided flat pan over a block arch for the first two years.

Went from buckets to tubing and a bona-fide arch, found more taps, and made more taps accessible via the tubing.

All is right with the world.

[bobsklarz]

An older Dairy farmer got me started. Used to go help him w/ 100 taps, homemade rig, free gas from a well on his property. It was a simple set-up and I loved going there to help. He's in a home now, not able. I always make sure to get him some syrup from my operation.

[maple flats]

When my 4 kids were growing up we tapped 1 sugar maple (3 taps) and a few box alder (max 6 taps more) and we "boiled" it on the wood stove (never boiled) We finished it on the kitchen stove. We made up to 6 or 7 qts every 2 or 3 years. Then in 2003 I had a weak moment and bought a Half Pint. In 03 I made just under 11 gal. From there the addiction grew until now. I expect to tap between 1200-1400 for 2012, all on vacuum.

[Sunday Rock Maple]

Sipping a tall thin Alka Seltzer bottle of hot syrup while standing on tip toe to peer through the steam into the rolling boil of my Grandfather's flue pan.

[Thompson's Tree Farm]

Was born in July, the following March they took me to the sugar house and after 60+ years,they still can't figure out how to get me out.

[smitty76]

well, remember my father and grandfather boiling on(what i thought was huge at 6yrs age) a 2x6. next year it was gone. my brother and i built a 2 x3 barrel evap when we where 16 and it just exploded from there. we now have a 3 x 10 w/ piggyback small bros on natural gas.

[twitch]

I don't know sometimes i wonder how i did My father had a piece of land with some maple and said that would good for some tubing it slopped to the road i decided i would tap a few and boil on lobster pot or something I didn't have the money to set up some thing like that this was 2 years ago he decides he would by the tubing and an evap if i I did the work . Know i sold that evap bought a bigger one got a third that i want to sell building a sugar house tapping more trees. When i boiled the first time i hadn't seen it done since i was 4 I'm 32 people always say how there like 4th 0f 5th generation sugar makers I think it seems alot harder to be a 1st generation sugar maker. My fathers not a sugar maker it (he's a logger) but he sure helped make one. Thanks Dad I think I'm addicted

[PapaSmiff]

In 2009, when my grandson was very interested in science and nature, I brought him to a local sugarhouse (The Maple Hut in Agawam, MA). Mike showed my grandson how everything was made. He was nice enough to sell me a few taps. We put them in the Maples in my backyard, made about a gallon of syrup that year on the Turkey Fryer.

Last year we had about 12 taps, and made close to 4 gallons. Sold some to some coworkers and neighbors. Now, both my grandson and I are hooked. Because of tree damage, we may not tap this year. But I have all the materials to build a 2x4 (or 2x6). I'm hoping that the 2013 season will be our year to make this into a small family business that could last a few generations.

[twobears1224]

i was born into it..my grandfather was a sugarmaker,my dad still is at 70 years old and i am.my uncle,dad and i used to have a 3100 tap sugarbush on my uncles land.that got microbursted and five years later ice stormed.90% of the trees we tapped are gone.five years ago dad and i started tapping his own land..it started with 800 taps and it,ll be 1700 in the spring with a brand new 2x8 leader evaporator,max flue,revelation front pan and 600 gph springtech ro.my dad now runs that pretty much on his own..i just help if he has something tough or heavy to do.. i,am going out on my own now.. my plan is to run my own and i already know that one day i,ll get his..i,ll combine the two and try to have atleast 4000 taps with all of it.

[500592]

We sa the neighbor going it and when we went to get chicken food we picked up a couple of buckets and we were hooked

[sjdoyon]

Brother and I spent the springs at our relatives cabane a sucre in Quebec collecting the sap with horses.

Just finished setting up operation for 4,200+ taps for the 2012 spring season. Depending on the size of your operation, I can tell you that you will need to plan, plan, plan. We looked for property for several years, formed a business plan and educated ourselves attending conferences sponsored by UVM (Proctor). We found a dealer who also has a 8,000 tap operation and relied on his 30yrs experience to guide us through the process. The labor to run the mainline and tubing was tremendous (especially with a 2,000ft elevation). We probably ran over ten miles of 2", 1 1/2", 1 1/4 and 1" tubing using family members. You'll never run out of work to do.

Everyone will tell you it's a passion and love for sugaring.

4936

[Randy Brutkoski]

Sjdoyon, lets take care of the 2 widow makers in the picture you posted. An old girlfriends father got me into sugaring. Whenever something goes wrong, which is almost all of the time, his name is heard throughout the woods with a curse word before or after his name.

[tuckermtn]

round 1-1978- tapped 3 trees in front yard as kid in Stow Mass, boiled in kitchen and peeled all the wallpaper off the walls. Made motor oil, but loved it.

round 2- 2004- tapped 30 trees on our roadside (now in NH) and brought sap down the hill for neighbor to boil. He shut down, and we said "what the hell- we have the buckets already, might as well build a sugarhouse and get an evaporator..." Make more in one day now than we made the entire first season.

[red maples]

Good Thread.

2009 when everyone was making a little dark then gallon after gallon of gr. B I decided to to tap a few trees in the back yard 25 in total. bought a roll of tubing made a cement brick arch with a roasting pan read back yard sugarin about 5 times to make sure I did it right. made a couple gallons of really nice syrup and I was hooked.

So I was rebuilding my old shed that was falling down and rotted I think it was orinially a wood shed built with the house. So I decided to looking into an evap made the shed bigger and now its a sugar house and now I need another shed!!!

tapped 265 trees in 2010 and opened as "willow Creek Sugarhouse, LLC and had a Terrible year!!! 2011 season made up for it and then some!!! Sticking with 300 taps for now looking to add onto the sugarhouse after the season is over(pending another good maple weekend) and hopefully an RO by 2013 and 500+ taps if everything goes according to plan!!! we'll see!!!

[gmcooper]

Started in mids 70's while in Jr high School. 25 taps and boiled outdoors on a woodstove. Made some awesome smoke flavored syrup. Quit for 11 or 12 years. In 1988 tapped 40 trees and boiled on the woodstove in the house. 1989 bought an old 2x8 vermont evaporator and built a 12x18 sugarhouse with 10x12 woodshed and tapped 300. Currently have a 3x10 and a 300gph RO. Will be close at 1600+ taps this year.

[backyard sugaring]

My son's teacher tapped a couple trees around the school. He came home and suggested we tap a couple of our trees. Not knowing a thing about it I went online and bought a couple books. This site was a big help. Started with a turkey fryer, decided it was too slow and built a homemade evaporator. It has been a great ride ever since. Lee

[GramaCindy]

Back in 1975 our 4H group visited the local sugarhouse to see the process. It was so interesting, that since then, I have tried to stop in when it was sugaring time to see Bud doing his thing. I had moved away and didn't get here on the right weekends for several years. Two years ago, stopped in with some friends and really asked questions and had Bud do some tapping demos for us. I moved back a year and a half ago, and realized that I too could tap some trees and make syrup. Did aLOT of reading here, questions and bought a Mason 2x4. Boiled out in the pole shed last year, and was very proud that Bud stopped in to give advice and tell great stories of sugaring through the years. Last summer we built our sugar shack and look forward to many years of memories to come.

[220 maple]

The summer of 1997 my father went to a farm auction, came home with 500 plus lamb spiles and some blue half inch pipe, I believe he got it all for less than 10 dollars. At that time I had no idea what these items was used for, the rest is history as they would say in the movies!

Mark 220 Maple

[ahowes]

Nobody I knew around here did it, and I always assumed that we were too far south for it. Then, I had cabin fever that year and was itching to get outside. I researched on the internet, found out the season would probably start any day, grabbed 12-15 milk jugs and some elderberry twigs, and off I went.

[Maplebrook]

When I was a kid my grandfather tapped a dozen huge sugar maples in the yard. I remember following him around, intrigued by sap dripping from the trees and the surprise of how much would be in the next bucket.
Grammie had as many pots as she could fit on the wood stove in the kitchen and she would ladle sap from pan to pan as it thickened. I don't remember sticky walls or peeling wallpaper, but the smell of fresh syrup and her fresh bread will never leave me.
Grampie gave me some of his spiles to bring home. I took them down the lane to a retired neighbor and we figured we could tap trees. I was 10. After much studying of the rolled aluminum spiles, we determined that gravity must bring the sap down the tree, land on the spout of the spile, then flow through the spile and drip out the little hole. As for the hook, we figured it must have been put on backwards at the factory, therefore defective and the reason Grampie gave them away.
On this fine spring day, we bored some holes in trees and watched in amazement as the sap ran from the hole. We'd have syrup in no time! After setting the splies ( backwards if you've been following the story) said sap continued to run from the hole and down the tree, the spile merely interrupting the steady trickle as the sap soaked the bark and headed for the ground. Hmmmn.
Back then, a long distance phone call to my grandparents was a huge deal, an event saved for Christmas and birthdays. After much pleading with Mum and Dad, and probably a family meeting on the topic, I made the call.
Maple lesson #1 for Darren - sap runs up the tree.
Maple lesson #2 for Darren - proper spile installation.
We made a taste of syrup that spring, and then the maple bug would lie dormant for some 30 years.
Fast forward to March 2001. Grammie and Grampie are now gone, and I have two kids of my own. They are 4 and 2, and I've just embarked on a new journey - Mr. mom - while my wife works full time. Snow as deep as the 2 year old is tall, we tramp around the woods and tapped 22 trees that spring. Next year 48; then 65; then 130 and you know how it goes.
I still have those old taps, spouts all bent from being pounded in the hole backwards and vise grip marks from being straightened. I tap some trees by the camp with old sap cans each year and happily recite this story to whoever will listen.

[bees1st]

Back in 1965 or so, and I have no idea how I came up with this, I cut short lengths of 3/8" copper tube for spiles,drilled some holes in some maples out back in the woods. I don't think any of them were any bigger than 4" dbh. After pounding in my spiles I hung dixie cups under them hung on small nails.I gathered the sap and stored it in 1 gallon milk jugs ,in a warm room ,until I had enough to boil. Of course when it came time to boil it all ended up going down the drain after I took one whif.Didn't try it again until I was in my early 20"s.

[Flat47]

My parents visit friends every spring who run a large operation, so I was introduced to sugaring as an infant. We visited every year, and every year I was interested in doing it myself. Around 1985 my parents let me tap the few maples in our yard. I think I started with 3 taps. I've grown up, moved around, and started a family, but have always maintained ties to sugaring. I've done my own thing, worked for others, and now back to my own opertion. We still visit our friends who taught me to sugar, and we are very grateful to have them as friends. They are now into their fourth generation sugaring, while I am a first generation sugarmaker. There's 40 years in a nutshell.

[3% Solution]

Well I need to thank Morris Putnam (Putnam Farms in Charlestown, NH) for getting me infected with this awesome bug.
may he rest in peace, God Bless him.
He's been gone a few years now.
Morris did a lot for me and I never knew it until later in life.
That was in the early 70's and didn't do much for 30 years.
Then the grandson wanted to make syrup after I retired.
Started with 100 taps, now we're at 220.
Wonderful trip so far.

[SDdave]

I don't recall the year at all, but remember all the fun. We (older brothers and I) would save milk jugs, ice cream pails, and feed sack strings. We used to fight over who got to use the ice cream pails. Mom wised up real fast when it was time to boil it down...so she made the 2 taps per kid rule. And the ever important, " if you spill in my kitchen then no more!" We never made more then 2 qts of syrup. I still use the old brace and bit that Grandpa gave us.

Only about 3 months to go!

SD dave

[tbear]

My father-in-law was an interesting man. He was well read, well traveled, inteligent and had a wide range of interests. As for myself I've come to the conclusion that I should always have a "project" going; it seems to keep me out of trouble. About 10 years ago he and I were talking about various "projects" we had tried over the years. He mentioned that as a small child (6 or 7 years old) he had taken some Elderberry (I believe) twigs, drilled some holes, collected sap and his mother had boiled it down in the kitchen. He went on to say that the resulting syrup was the best he ever had. This intrigued me to the point of doing some research into syrup production. If this forum was up and running at that time I had somehow missed it. So, I purchased 12 spiles, buckets and lids and gave it a go. A few weeks later I came to the conclusion that I HAD to have more taps and buckets so I ordered 10 more. The first year I was boiling on a wood stove and made very little syrup. During the next few years I added more taps and buckets and also progressed to a cement block arch (which by the way was my invention); remember I had'nt found this site yet. Ed (my father-in-law) used to come by while I was boiling and we'd drink coffee and shoot the crap about my set up and other important things. Ed passed away 5 years ago and boiling became a rather lonely occupation. However I remained determined and kept at it. Last year I found this site. Needless to say I no longer feel like a lone wolf, one voice crying out in the wilderness...syrup production is'nt real big in my area. Thanks to you folks I've found out why my syrup tasted "off" from time to time...NO PLASTIC EVER! And have had several questions answered and had several "theories" confirmed. Ed left a big hole with his passing, some tasks not getting done, some getting done but not with the same attention to detail. I miss him most during syrup season. Last year my mother-in-law and father came out and spent a few hours shooting the breeze while I was boiling. The local cub scouts have been out a few times which is always fun. Anyway...thank you for the company and the information. I now have a SS 2x4 flat pan, a cement block arch, and 50 spiles, lids and buckets. I'm hopeing to produce 10 gallons of syrup this year none of which will I need to throw out. This year I also hope to give our local school board a sample of syrup and ask about maybe starting a school project (producing syrup) as a fund raiser. Wish me luck!

[miller maple]

started when i was around 10 years old. had a amish guy just down the road that made syrup, and i would go help him i was hooked. got some taps and started, boiled in a big cast kettle, ill admit i burned a batch one, because it was around 3 in the morning and were out boiling, got tired and figured we would rest for a little bit, woke up like 3 hours later. and had a crisp film in the bottom of the kettle. that was the last time i did that. started with 10 taps, and have growin to 500 in 2012, with my first evaporator, so excited for this 2012 season.

[Bill'sSugarShack]

Kinda have sugaring in my blood...I'm a Bascom...lol
Grew up visiting my Dad's cousin's sugar house (Bascom's) most every spring.
I didn't do any of my own till after college ('77)..but have done some just about every yr since.

[Tithis]

I've only been to a sugar shack once back when I was a little kid as part of a school field trip. I think it was McCrays in South Hadley, MA. Exposer was too short and I was too young to actually take an interest in it at that point. It wasn't till I was a teenager I started to get an appreciation for real syrup both for its taste and its cultural ties to New England.

The idea to make syrup came to me after coming home from the Big E in 2010. I had specifically made a point to buy some Massachusetts syrup there after I ran out of the stuff I bought at the grocery store; wanted to support local producers and whatnot. While walking through my dinning room to put the syrup away I looked out the window at the trees outside and thought 'hmm, those are maples'. I went and did some research on the subject, got permission from my landlord to tap the trees and that February I was making my first batch in my dads backyard. I didn't make much syrup that first year, maybe a gallon. It wasn't a good year for many and I don't think the close crowding of the trees I tapped nor the fact they were almost all norway maples helped.

And here I am getting ready for my second year. Got all new trees that are growing out in the open, made improvements to my still somewhat crappy cinderblock arch, got a real filter and a sap hydrometer. I'm hoping for a much better year as I'd like to make enough to sell a limited amount to cover production costs.

[LawnMowerMan]

wanted to show my 7 year old daughter what happens when you took sap and boiled it......(google and this site taught me everything I needed to know) our 3rd year this year we did 7 gal the first year 30 gallons the second year and who knows this year but I believe we will scale back just a bit...no urge to go huge...just enough for our friends and family...and I may give it as a customer gift in my landsape business. First year was on a turkey fryer, second year I bought a pan from WEGNER METAL WORKS bought a 55 gallon drom stove kit, fixed the pan to the top, added some air injection...and now on full blast flames shoot out the chimmney that is 10' high and sounds like a jet engine...lol.......