A Spring Update from our Executive Director, Deb Pella Keen

One of the quintessentially Canadian sign of spring’s arrival is seeing maple sap dripping into pails or tubing systems across the range of maples in Ontario and eastern Canada. This year syrup producers reported one of the earliest starts on record.

Maple trees are usually tapped between mid-February to mid-March, when temperatures typically reach above zero during the day and below freezing at night. This year, some operations in southern Ontario started tapping at the end of January!

Our family has a 5 acre backyard sugar bush and have tapped anywhere from 8-10 trees over the last few years. Backyard maple syrup producers is a growing trend with so many resources available to help you navigate going from sap to syrup. And the fun thing is, you only need one maple tree to make some syrup for your pancakes!

One interesting social media channel I found when looking for tips on filtering syrup before bottling was the public Facebook Group, Backyard Maple Syrup Maker. It has over 85,000 members!

­­ ­If you are looking for a very informative member forum of small producers, many of whom have tried it for the first time in the last few years – I think you will find it a enjoyable site to join.

There are also a number of websites with resources, including these two I thought might interest any want-to -be backyard (or front yard!) maple syrup producers:

• Maple sugaring tips for beginners and backyard maple sugar producers (University of New Hampshire, unh.edu)
• Backyard Maple Syrup Production, Govt. of Ontario, Extension Notes PDF

I hope you might have an opportunity to make your own maple syrup one day!

However, if you aren’t able to make your own, you can also plan to visit one of the many maple syrup operations open to the public at this time of year. For a list of maple syrup festivals, events and sugar shack activities in Ontario – please visit  todoontario.com/maple-festivals/. There are events happening across Ontario now and up to approximately the third week in April.

I hope you will take the time to read Caitlin’s article about growing native maple trees from seed. I plan to be on the lookout for red maple seed this spring and will try growing a few from seed!

Happy Sweet Spring!

Deb Pella Keen and the Maple Leaves Forever Team

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