Syrup making has begun - open for the season!
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We started gathering sap March 10 and making syrup on March 11!
Many of you are interested in knowing if we will have a good syrup season in 2025? The easy answer to this question is – ask us when it’s over! However, if we look at our history and data, we can provide a prediction based on our experience.
If we assume we will manage all the factors within our control such as the performance of our sap collection and syrup production systems, the major factor driving maple syrup production is the weather. Weather determines the overall length of the season as the trees move from their dormant state at the start into growth mode as temperatures warm up and daylight hours increase. The average duration of the season – that period of time that we collect and process sap – over the past 6 years has been 33 days; roughly 5 weeks. Over this time period, the earliest we made syrup was February 23 in 2024 and the latest date was April 18 in 2019.
Cold nights (below freezing) followed by warm days are classic syrup production weather. However, with vacuum systems we collect sap whenever the temperatures are above freezing, so this increases the window of opportunity for us. So, we started gathering sap on March 10 and made syrup on March the 11th. Our average start date over the last six years has been March 9, so we are starting on time and if the weather conditions remain stable, and we get our 33 day season, we should have a good one. The fact that there is a lot of snow in the woods and some frost in the ground should also help to mitigate any major warm-ups that could give the trees ideas to start growing!
With the syrup season now underway, we have fresh amber grade syrup available. It has a great early season flavour! On the weekends, The Kettle Boys and Shanty Men are all set up and operating so we are fully open to visitors.
Our store is open daily between 10 and 4. There is lots of snow and ice in the woods so winter footwear is a must. Bring your snowshoes if you would like a workout!