Maple 101 

Description: This course is designed for the backyard Hobby Producer who just wants to start out in maple syruping and wants to put out a few taps. This course will focus on bucket collection techniques and will get into some tubing lessons but will not go into much detail into commercial production. In this class, you will learn how to tap a tree, collect the sap, process the sap, and bottling.

Date: January 13th, 2024
Location: Thomaston High School, 185 Branch Road, Thomaston, CT
Time: 12:30 pm - 2:00 pm
No fee. Max attendees is 20   
Please pre-register here by sending an email with intent. 
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                             COURSE OUTLINE 


-Introduction, history of maple production
-Planning your operation: time & cost considerations, purchasing equipment  
-Tree health and management: species to tap, tree health issues, managing forest trees vs. roadside trees
-Why, when and how sap flows
-The tapping process 
-Collection & storage of sap
-Types of collection systems
-Tubing materials, layout, maintenance & cleaning
-Filtering and handling to maintain quality
-Syrup production
-Evaporator function, design, operation
-Finishing standard density syrup
-Filtering, grading, packaging
-Marketing your products