Showing 141 – 150 of 193 matching resources

Silviculture, and Why it Belongs in a Sugarbush

We are seeing new challenges for our maples and their offspring. Invasive species, climate change, poor forest management, and other factors are all serious threats to the productivity of harvesting maple sugar in the decades to come. However, there are things we can do to protect the tradition of maple sugaring in our regions. Silviculture is our primary tool.

Some Background on the Asian Longhorned Beetle

The beetles were first discovered in Brooklyn, New York in 1996 and spread to neighboring Queens, infesting areas in Sunnyside, Woodside, Astoria, Long Island City, Maspeth, Ridgewood and later in Bayside and Flushing. Small infestations were also found in Flushing Meadows Park, Forest Park in Woodhaven and Kew Gardens Hills. New York city has lost over 4,000 trees because infested ones have to be cut down, chipped and burned.

Spotted Lanternfly: A New Sugarbush Threat

A new foreign invader could have a substantially negative impact on the eastern North American hardwoods in general, and sugarbushes in particular. The Spotted Lanternfly (Lycorma delicatula, SLF) was first detected near Philadelphia, PA in 2014 and since has spread throughout much of the Commonwealth and has been sighted in about a half dozen New York counties and in several sites in southern New England.

State Regulations for Maple Production

Cottage food laws vary considerably from state to state, and are generally intended to be a way for small farmers and food processors to establish small businesses offering value-added food products. Some states require food producers to pay a fee, obtain a permit or license, or register with the town, county or state. Periodic health inspections of home kitchens and even product testing may also be required depending on location.

Storing Your Bumper Crop

Once the season is over you need to use a little TLC when it comes to storing maple syrup so it will maintain its quality and value. If you have a lot of syrup setting in drums here are a few suggestions.

Sugar Maple Health and Management

Most of us understand how to tap trees, gather sap and produce maple syrup. Yet, one of the most important and least thought about tasks of a sugar bush owner is maintaining the health of the sugar maples. To do that effectively, the majority of us can greatly benefit from the help of a professional forester.

Sugar Maple Sap Yields Using One or Two Tapholes Per Tree

Studies currently underway at the University of Vermont Proctor Maple Research Center (PMRC) are examining the effects of accumulating internal taphole damage on the ability to support future tapping, as well as related subjects such as the effects high vacuum sap extraction might have on tree growth, all with the goal of developing new sustainable tapping guidelines. However, along with focusing on the possible negative effects of tapping and sap extraction, it is important to examine how certain practices might lead to greater sap yields.

Sugar Maple Tree Improvement Program

Maple producers and rural landowners throughout the maple syrup producing regions of the Northeast have expressed interest in acquiring improved sugar maple seedings for future sap production. A sugar maple tree improvement program for high sap concentration began in the 1960s under the direction of the USDA Forest Service.

Sugar Maple/Ginseng Research Projects

This project was conducted to determine if ginseng could be cultivated in a sugar maple forest for alternative income.