2 minute read
SWEET, SWEET SPRING
Lily Smith l Social Media Coordinator
As temperatures begin to rise and you can almost taste a hint of sweetness in the air, it’s sugar maple tapping time! The Arboretum’s Maple Sugaring Manager, Richard DeVries, starts tapping trees when the winter chill eases and daytime temperatures settle around 40 degrees.
In 2024, due to the lack of snow and warm weather, the Arboretum set a record for the earliest tapping date in more than 40 years.
“Last year, everything was a month early. We usually tap in the beginning of March,” said DeVries. “We tapped the trees on Jan. 31, and by Feb. 1, we were already pumping out tanks of sap.”
The Arboretum taps 400 sugar maple trees every year, producing more than 6,000 gallons of sap in a season. The sap is processed into syrup a short distance from the trees at the Maple Sugar House. It takes about 40 gallons of sap to produce just one gallon of syrup.
The Maple Sugar House is surrounded by maple trees connected by an intricate network of vacuum tubing and blue sap collection bags.
“We have three different tubing systems set up. Each system has about 120 to 150 trees connected! Plus, for demonstration purposes, some trees are tapped with buckets and bags instead of tubing,” explained DeVries.
In the spring, visitors can experience the syrup creation process from tapping to tasting at the Arboretum’s annual Maple Fest on March 22. The Maple Sugar House is home to two different evaporators for two unique educational experiences for visitors.
“We have a pretty impressive evaporator so visitors can see how the syrup process is executed in a major commercial operation and we have a smaller wood-fired outdoor evaporator which you can even use in your own backyard. We try to do and show a bit of everything,” said DeVries.
“Syrup tapping gets people out to the Arboretum and it’s so nice to have people out here to learn something new and start spring!”
LEARN
View live demonstrations, learn about maple sugaring and enjoy a pancake breakfast at Maple Fest on March 22. Find details and register at arb.umn.edu/maplefest.
