By Ryan Trapani
Snow is falling outside my window while the temperatures are barely above freezing. It’s March 22nd and spring supposedly began two days ago. Who could believe that one year ago today it was in the 70s? Yes, I remember how the abnormal warmth had brought about skepticism, pessimism and the like – surely global warming was the culprit. The buds of fruit trees awakened prematurely and brought a dismal crop to the region’s apple farmers. Another tree farmer – maple producers – also felt the weather back then as well. Mr. Warming had showed up early in January creating an early sap flow and those maplers who had hit the snooze button lost out too on some of their crop. It had warmed up too fast in March ending the season prematurely.
It seems this year; Mr. Warming has yet to make an appearance. Or will he be fashionably late? Sometimes he comes too early, too late, or whenever. Who knows? In fact, it’s been too cold for most maple producers – especially those who have sugar-bushes in the high country of the Catskills or more northerly regions of the state. Depending upon where you are has had a lot to do with this year’s maple sugaring season. Where I work in Arkville, Delaware County the elevation sits around 1400 feet. Their season began on time in late February and early March – although there was an early run for a few days in January. The sap was sweet, but then had shut off as cooler temperatures sank in and have remained so presently. They’re waiting for Mr. Warming still to show.
Where I live is at approximately 850 feet in elevation in the Town of Olive overlooking the Rondout Valley. The trees I tap sit on the side of a ridge and look towards the southeast – directly in line with the Mohonk Mountain House. This is significant since these trees wake up earlier than others as the sun rises over the long Shawangunk Ridge – warming their bark and their limbs and making the sap flow. Last year I tapped extremely early – January 23rd – but this year I tapped on February 10th. Since this sugarbush starts early, it also ends early too. My season has already ended since the tap-holes have begun to heal over.
While it has been colder in the upper elevations for the sap to flow, temperatures in the lower elevations have been extremely conducive to making a whole lot of syrup. Sugar contents were extremely high – measuring at 2.5%. What does this mean? Well, normally maple sap will come out of the tree somewhere between 1.5% and 2% depending upon how crowded your trees are. Trees that are more free-to-grow during the summer will have more sunlight in which they can convert the mysteries of sunlight into the mysteries of maple syrup. When it is 1.5 – 2%, a producer will have to boil down somewhere between 56 to 42 gallons of water before making one gallon of the sweet stuff. And you wonder why you pay so much? At 2.5%, he will have to boil down about 33.4 gallons to make one gallon of syrup. Big difference! Therefore, this year’s high sugar content must have something to do with last summer’s good growing conditions. In addition, temperatures hovered during the day in the upper 30s to lower 40s and reached below freezing at night which added pressure inside the tree causing sap to flow – and flow they did. I collected more sap from 51 taps than I ever had. Some trees were giving over 2.5 gallons of sap per day.
Even more interesting was the conditions in which the sap was flowing. There was about a week when it was flurrying snow, temperatures were around 38°F, and the trees were still dripping away. When this happens, I am told the wind must be perfect. South and east winds cool the tree faster, while north and west winds have less effect. In this case, wind was not an issue and the running sap remained incredibly fresh and clear since the cooler temperatures provided added refrigeration. During warmer temperatures, sap will eventually cloud up from bacteria that begin to grow and multiply. Although they are killed in the boiling process, the syrup is usually harder to filter afterwards when this happens. Ultimately, there are three components that must come together to make a good maple sugaring season: good weather for sap flow; healthy trees for sugar content (and sap flow); & a willing and able human (and a tolerant spouse) who doesn’t mind waiting a whole lot. “It’s gittin’ there,” is a saying that should be posted above every sugar house, or pasted to a sign for holding out when their spouse wonders when they are coming to bed.
Despite Mr. Global Warming and the pessimism he brings, I do believe that maple producers in the Rondout Valley had one of their best years. In fact, last year wasn’t too bad either if you tapped earlier than “normal.” What maple sugaring has taught me is that I need to relinquish control over what I cannot control and adapt to present conditions. Cursing the weather and the change it brings will not make me any happier, or fuller. If tradition dictated that March is the time for maple sugaring because “that’s when they always did it,” I would neither be happy, nor have as much maple syrup. The weather has changed, so I tap in January or early February and am done “earlier.” Hopefully, next year will be half as good as this year, but we’ll have to wait and see how it all boils down while it’s “gittin’ there.” www.catskillforest.org
