Anyone in Burke VT know of sugar bush in Burke Hollow?
Hi everyone,
My wife and I have been looking for property in the northeast kingdom of VT, for recreation and retirement. As a hobby producer in MA with 150 taps, I plan to continue in retirement, so our criteria in VT of course includes having at least that many sugar maple taps, but I'd like to have more like 300-500. I don't plan to get bigger so I don't need any more than that. There's a beautiful piece of land on the market in Burke, VT, on Burke Hollow Rd across from the Burke Town School. It's 156 acres, has a great VAST trail through it from end to the other. On the north side it almost reaches Sugar House Rd, but not quite. With a road name like that, I figured there must be a lot of sugar maple nearby. I walked a little of the property last weekend, but not enough to get a sense of potential sugar bush. So I thought maybe some of you may live near there and could speak to the size of the sugar bush there. I only walked the VAST trail and a little bit off it, and didn't see alot of sugars. There are some trees I'm not that familiar with whose lower bark resembles maples, but the higher parts don't, and I think those may be quaking aspen. So, does anyone know if this lot has much of a sugar bush?
Tom
2022 is season 7
2016: 20 taps on buckets, 4 gallons on a borrowed 2x3.
2017: 32 taps on buckets, 8 gallons of syrup, on a "loaner" Lapierre 19x48.
2018: 80 taps. First time tubing. New 10x12 sugar shack, Lapierre 2x5. Made 17 gallons
2019: 100 taps. 22 gallons. Added a small RO 50 gph.
2020: 145 taps, 30 gallons, sold half. Murphy cup is a great addition.
2021: tapped Feb 23, 150 taps, 35 gallons.
2022: 200 taps. I lost 50, added 100. Having fun but short season?