cjric
03-08-2013, 05:33 AM
We tapped our small sugar bush Monday, have 75 taps in with buckets. Collected 40 gal tues, boiled down a little over a gal yesterday. Collected 75 gal last night and will be boiling again today. We are a unique operation in that we are a small gentleman farm that supports and is supported by an adult foster care community. The residents (impaired) are doing all the collecting. We keep it low tech and high labor so they all have an opportunity to participate. Myself and a couple other volunteers supply wood, keep the fire going and are making the syrup. We just built an official sugar shack this year and are using an old oil drum evaporator with a 2x4 pan on top. Going to try and fashion a pre heater for it soon. This is a big operation for me since the most I've done in the past is 12 taps on the trees around my house for a total of about a gallon a year.