It may feel like summer in the Triangle, but we’re glad it’s still early spring in the northern states where our maple syrup is harvested. The farmers of Maple Valley Co-op are in the throes of maple season, with warm days (which cause the sap to rise) and cold nights (which cause it to run back down). In addition, a handful of cold days have kept the trees from budding. They even had a major snowstorm this weekend!
Our contact at the co-op, Adrienne, shared these stories and photos from the farmers. It sounds like a great season for maple syrup.
Last year when maple season began, when the first week of days over 40 degrees came, we didn’t have sap. The ground was still too frozen for anything to move. This season, however, got off to a fine start—the sap began flowing really good and hard right away. We caught an early run for six days, harvesting 20,000 gallons of sap—400 gallons of syrup—in February, which will provide a buffer for the season if it warms up quickly.
We then got a cold stretch recently, where the day temperatures were below freezing and the sap didn’t flow. This was a good time to tweak machines, check tubing, and make sure everything was running right. If the season stretches through the whole of March, it will be an awesome season!
—Eric Meyer, interviewed March 4, 2016
So far so good! It’s been warmer the last few nights, but the sap is still flowing. It looks like this coming week the temperatures will be in mid 40s during the day and mid 20s at night. The freeze will reset the trees and the sap flow should be significantly faster again. The lower temperatures at night prolong the season and hold off the budding process. As soon as the trees begin budding out, our maple season ends!
—Jim Neidel, interviewed March 15, 2016
