Each year when the Christmas parties fade behind us and a new calendar year arrives, our attention at the farm focuses in on two primary things: the arrival of baby lambs and a new sugaring season. This year has been no different and as we enter the final days of February a lot has transpired in the first two months of 2018. Almost all of our expecting mother sheep have given birth to this year’s baby lambs, many of which are now multiple weeks old. These lambs spend their days exploring the barnyard and testing their running and jumping skills in small herds of youthful exuberance. A select few of this group will get to meet all of the farm’s...
Tree tapping for the 2011 season at Windswept Maples Farm was completed today. This year's total number of taps is 6070, which is an increase of approximately 600 taps from the previous season. At our farm, the majority of maple trees have only a single tap per tree, which means around 5900 trees are actually in production. Studies have shown that for trees on a vacuum system, increasing the number of taps on a tree does not result in a significant increase in sap yield. Therefore, to maintain yields while minimizing tree damage, we generally will only drill one 5/16 inch hole in a tree under 24 inches in diameter. With all the trees tapped, and good sugaring weather in...
The sugaring season has started early this year. A stretch of warm weather allowed us to start tapping on February 13th. Click the link below to see photos from one of our maple orchards.
Sugar Orchard Views Feb. 20, 2010
