Summer Update: From Backyard Sugarer to Commercial Syrup Production
Drawing of the proposed Waterfall Mtn. Sugar House. Aaron Floyd (copyright, May 2010)
July 20, 2010. And the Sugar House will rise!
Things do move slower in the mountains,
or so it seems sometimes. I certainly have a harder time continuing my break-neck multi-tasking ways when I am there. The beauty and the harshness slow you down. The steep hills, the rough winters, ....and the meadows and forests so rich with life and beauty that one is spellbound immediately upon entering this world. Ahh...it is summer in the highlands of the Blue Ridge...morning dew, the gentle breeze laced with complex sweetness, deep earthiness... and the people, up at sunrise, are busy as bees maximizing the coming bounty of fall as the inevitable struggle of winter will quickly follow.
Up at Doug Munroe's farm, on the NE side of the amphibolite mountains, preparation is full steam ahead...but not for the resulting fruits of summer and fall. Late winter brings its own sort of sweetness. The sugar maple tree
(Acer saccharum)
gifts its sucrose, nearly all at once, to those that are prepared to receive it!
Here is an update on Doug's effort to shift from simple backyard syrup production to commercial viability:
The utility lines are in
, and RAFI (Rural Advancement Foundation International) has given this stage of construction a thumbs up. Approval on standards and quality was verified today! With major equipment arriving in October, sugar house construction must begin at once.
Over the last 4 months
much preparation and planning has taken place. The site was prepared, wood milled, and plans were drawn up. Doug received a sugar house design from the University of Vermont, but the plans did not quite suit the planned site. Doug worked with
Aaron Floyd to come up with a new design that would meet the unusual needs of a mountain-side site.
For detailed plan drawings, see PDF file:
(by Aaron Floyd, 05/27/2010)
A volunteer sugar house construction effort
will take place from August 2-7. This will mostly be a family affair, with sisters, brothers, mothers, fathers, children, cousins and friends coming from afar to lend a hand. There should be four generations on hand. The goal will be to get the structure up and the roof on....in 5 days.
This week the
horses will return
to assist in the moving of milled sills and posts. With the help of those strong horses and some skilled and hardworking individuals, the sill plates, the posts, and a concrete pad should all be installed in plenty of time for the volunteer construction arriving in early August. Doug has already assigned volunteer roles, job boss included.
Black Locust is the wood of choice
for these parts of the house. It is an Appalachian farm-use staple
(see Native Range Map).
The rot resistant wood is used frequently for fence posts, and it burns hot, lending itself well for heat production in the winter months. Locust posts have been known to last a lifetime in the ground, so this locally growing species of tree is the perfect choice for sill plate material! I should mention that this tree is considered a nuisance by many, as it is hardy and aggressive. This early successional pioneer plant will send up many new shoots when cut to the ground...you will find it advancing into freshly abandoned fields and roadsides (you may even find a fence post sprouting!). Like many hardy and invasive plants, this one can be utilized for so many things. Last spring, my nose utilized the trees' super sweet droop of creamy white flowers!
Species
Fact Sheet:
If you would like to join this volunteer effort, contact Doug Munroe at 336-385-6507.
Image Sources:
>Illustrations copyright Aaron Floyd, 2010.
>Black Locust illustration borrowed from the Forest Service Silvics manual: http://www.na.fs.fed.us/pubs/silvics_manual/volume_2/robinia/pseudoacacia.htm
Links to prior articles:
Introduction 2009
November update, 2009
December update, 2009
February update, 201o
March update, 2010
February Update: From Backyard Sugarer to Commercial Syrup Production
Snow!!
Since the December 18 snow that left 20 inches in Ashe County, the ground has been exposed only three days! A very wet fall and a couple of months of snow have put the brakes on everything at this mountainside farm. Basic annual rituals of planting and harvesting have been stalled. The ground is saturated. An occasional break in the snow reveals either ice or muck. The resulting stress is extra potent in the highlands...in those areas where folks use firewood on a daily basis and rely upon the bounty of their land to produce income.
Slow but steady:
Doug's plans for a maple syrup farm are moving forth, slowly. He received a response to his early-bird Tobacco Community Reinvestment Fund grant application (sent in early December) from Rural Advancement Foundation International (RAFI). They have requested some minor corrections and clarifications. They want to know Doug's plan for getting word out to local farmers about his project. He hopes to get fairly good coverage in a local newspaper and an Agricultural Extension Agent will host a workday to share the details of the project with local farmers. In this way, farmers will get an introduction to this untapped resource and its potential to be a sustainable farming practice. They also wanted to know how much net profit is expected from this operation. The final word on whether Doug is successful in securing the grant will come on March 9, 2010. Right now things look positive.
Some small scale tree tapping and syrup production will take place again this year....with a few changes. Doug has proceeded to order new taps and tubing. The new taps will be 5/16", compared to last year's 9/16", in order to fit the tubing. He expects the taps and tubes to arrive any day now. In fact, the UPS may have attempted delivery already. Doug saw the truck turn around after trying to get up his driveway. Along with these larger items, Doug has been acquiring smaller things gradually, like a wire spooler (which will carry 1/2 mile of 12.5 gauge wire....the spooler prevents kinks) and a cordless drill for tapping trees.
Pouring sap into the cooking pan, February 2009
It is time to harvest sap: For this year's harvest, tapping will begin this week. With the new taps and tubing, the lines will run directly to buckets, and the buckets will be covered with a lid. This will be an air-tight system, which should increase efficiency substantially. Another benefit of the closed system is that the taps won't dry out during windy conditions. Doug plans to tap only 25 trees this year (we witnessed 40 taps last year...some in very hard-to-reach places) and expects a greater output because of the new system. For this year's small harvest, Doug will again rely upon an exterior fireplace and boiling pan. Some preparation work will be needed in the coming week to repair this setup...the weather has wreaked havoc on things. Yesterday Doug plowed snow and ice from the site and he anticipates needing some gravel to level things.The full upgrade to his system won't begin until the fall. This includes full installation of tubes, placement of a collection tank and the construction of a sugar house.
The outdoor fireplace and processing pan, February 2009
This summer sugar house preparation will begin. The foundation will be installed and trees from the property will be milled. Doug hopes to construct the Sugar House during the week of September 20th-24th. He is looking for volunteers, and has some commitments already (Wheeler, Louis, Steve). If enough people show up, he plans to install the extensive network of tubing planned for next year's production.
Links to other updates:
Introduction, 2009
November, 2009
December, 2009
March, 2010
Summer Update, 2010