Tap those trees!

[treerooted]

Looking at the long range forecast and it looks amazing!

Think I'll try to tap the maple trees tomorrow!

Anyone else making syrup this year? I love having a sugar source from my property. I only have between 5-10 trees but if the weather cooperates we can get quite a bit of syrup produced!

This year we'd like to build a little evaporator as our boiling efforts didn't go that well last year. I'll be spending this afternoon deciding on a design, though I've been looking at ideas all winter.

 

[NH Homesteader]

Yep! It's running today. I'll try to get some pictures, headed out now to check on everything.

DH built an evaporator last year and is improving it this year

It's going to be too warm this week, not sure how it'll affect everything!

 

[baymule]

That is so awesome! Post pics so we can see!

Here in the south, sorghum syrup used to be the big thing. A mule walked in a circle to run the mill. People fed the cane stalks in, the mill squeezed the juice out. Evaporator pans were approximately 4’x8’ under a pole type shed to keep the rain out. A fire was kept burning under it and other people kept stirring and scooping the foam off. When the syrup was thick enough, it was drawn off and packed in cans with lids. I remember as a little girl eating biscuits and sorghum syrup at my grandparents in the fall and winter.

 

[NH Homesteader]

I have a cruddy old phone and cruddy internet service but I will try!

 

[TexasLisa]

That is so awesome! Post pics so we can see!

Here in the south, sorghum syrup used to be the big thing. A mule walked in a circle to run the mill. People fed the cane stalks in, the mill squeezed the juice out. Evaporator pans were approximately 4’x8’ under a pole type shed to keep the rain out. A fire was kept burning under it and other people kept stirring and scooping the foam off. When the syrup was thick enough, it was drawn off and packed in cans with lids. I remember as a little girl eating biscuits and sorghum syrup at my grandparents in the fall and winter.

Baymule, I have seen this done in Oklahoma. Pretty fascinating. I didn't realize they did it in Texas. Cool! Love LOVE LOVE sorghum.

 

[treerooted]

Yep! It's running today. I'll try to get some pictures, headed out now to check on everything.

DH built an evaporator last year and is improving it this year

It's going to be too warm this week, not sure how it'll affect everything!

Tell me about the evaporator. We don't want to do anything permanent this year, so we're going for inexpensive.

 

[NH Homesteader]

Oh ours is ugly, not permanent and cheap. Lol I'll post about it tomorrow!

 

[treerooted]

Oh ours is ugly, not permanent and cheap. Lol I'll post about it tomorrow!

 

[NH Homesteader]

We did buy a used pan though, which was pricey. Had baby goats today, derailed my boiling plans but DH got a little boiled. Not as warm out as we thought!

 

[treerooted]

We've looked into getting pans. group of 4 4" ones were $100. And we'd use them on any evaporator we'd make, so figured the investment should hopefully last awhile.