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Profile Image Sacodude  🍅🍎🍐🍒🥒🧅🌼🌶🌻🌷🌲🌳🌞

saco

I am a city gardner in zone 5/6. Dramatic temp swings in this area with cold winters, and hot summers. Love to grow my own fruit and veggies!

Acer saccharum syn. Acer palmifolium, Acer saccharophorum

  • Season Icon Early SpringEarly Spring 2021
  • Like Count 20
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saco

Finishing and filtering maple syrup this aft. #gyo #massachusetts #yummy #maplesyrup

4w
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cowdenkyle

Nice setup😯

4w
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emch

This looks like a complicated operation. Makes me wonder how the Ojibway managed...

4w
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crabby58

I got the pancakes ready😂

4w
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saco

The Ojibway would approve, not being a wasteful people, they would greatly appreciate that this simple machine increases yield by 33%, 15 more gallons of pure deliciousness!! That's a lot of syrup for any tribe to enjoy!! @emch

4w
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Co0ker

very impressed, I dream to taste it 😋

4w
  • Season Icon Late WinterLate Winter 2021
  • Like Count 23
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saco

These sugar maple trees are just a few year's away from being tapped for sap collection. #sugarmaple #massachusetts #gyo

4w
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sherrisgarden

#perfection 😍

4w
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Dragon_Warrior

Wow! Livin the dream 🥰

4w
  • Season Icon Late WinterLate Winter 2021
  • Like Count 21
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saco

Time to make the syrup!! #sugarshack #gyo #massachusetts #maplesyrup

4w
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Dragon_Warrior

OMG 😲That's on my bucket list 😍

4w
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charlotte

As in maple ?

4w
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cowdenkyle

That sounds yummy😋

4w
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crabby58

I see pancakes in your near future🤤🤤😅

4w
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saco

Correct!! @charlotte

4w
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tinaaune

Did the season come in a flash where u are, it came so fast here I think some missed a good portion of the flow😃

4w
  • Season Icon Late WinterLate Winter 2020
  • Like Count 25
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saco

Finishing up with the #sap collection. Time to boil later this week. #maple #mapletree #gyo #mondaymotivation #sugarmaple #maplesyrup

5w
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sieveheadsarah

Oh wow, I’d love to be able to do this, I bet it tastes delicious

5w
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blasome

Awesome!!!!

5w
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anges

This is so cool!

5w
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saco

The syrup is amazing @sieveheadsarah No additives, chemicals, or preservatives! Truly natural product!!

5w
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alysha

Ooooohhh yumm. Syrup time!!!! This is super cool. You did this last year too? Yes? I think I said breakfast 🥞 time!! @saco

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sieveheadsarah

Sounds fabulous 😍

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saco

Tis' a yearly tradition around here @alysha teaching biology and history to my students along the way

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alysha

That’s it!! Very yummy tradition. 😁 @saco

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saco

So yummy!! My favorite is maple drizzled popcorn @alysha

5w
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alysha

I’ve never heard of anyone putting maple syrup on popcorn. Something new to try 😋 @saco

5w
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laketitlow

❀❀

5w
  • Season Icon Late WinterLate Winter 2019
  • Like Count 22
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saco

Syrup that my students have made over the past few seasons. 2014-2017 from L-R. None from last season because we accidentally broke the jar. Silly kids! #maplesyrup #sugarmaple #gyo

6w
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suerichards

Wow yummy 😋

6w
  • Season Icon Early SpringEarly Spring 2019
  • Like Count 17
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saco

Happy first day of Spring all!! Lovely day to be outside boiling sap down to make syrup. #maplesyrup #massachusetts #gyo

6w
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suerichards

How interesting 👍👏👏👏

6w
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carolgs

Getting my head around this and thinking aloud! Is that an old oil drum turned onto a burner with chimney, and the sap put in bain Marie to boil down to syrup, ingenious, there was me thinking in was done on the kitchen stove, I am so intrigued and interested in how it is done thank you again for sharing 😊

6w
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saco

Glad to share with you @carolgs this is a project my freshmen biology and history students have been working on for a few weeks now, finally culminating with this boil!!!

6w
  • Season Icon Late WinterLate Winter 2019
  • Like Count 22
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saco

A dual tap bucket fills up very quickly. A full grown tree can handle up to 4 taps per season. #sugarmaple #maplesyrup #gyo

6w
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terrimclaughlin

Fresh Maple syrup!!! What a treat👍🏻👍🏻😊💕

6w
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carolgs

Wow this is amazing 😊

6w
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kylers

Start making pancakes!😜😜

6w
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carolgs

How has your syrup turned out, I thought about you as I emptied my shop bought bottle this morning

5w
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saco

It was fantastic!! Grade A, beautiful golden amber, with the perfect sweetness!!! @carolgs Have a little bit left on reserve for the upcoming holiday treats

5w
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carolgs

Excellent, I always think about how it is made when I eat now and the time and effort you put into it

5w
  • Season Icon Late WinterLate Winter 2019
  • Like Count 13
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saco

This is one productive tap!! Gushing with sap, it has frozen overnight. Collected about 9 gallons of sap in approximately 18 hours. #sugarmaple #maplesyrup #gyo

6w
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tinaaune

What have your temps been? @saco

6w
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saco

Perfect for tapping the trees; mid 40's F during the day, upper 20's overnight. @tinaune

6w
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suerichards

How interesting 👏👍😍

6w
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joanb

@saco You learn something new everyday, thanks for sharing.

6w
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richard.spicer.7906

I remember you doing this last year 👌🏼

6w
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saco

Maple season is back again!!! @richard.spicer.7906 Tradition, and I'm still teaching Biology to the freshmen. They seem to enjoy this project a bit.

6w
  • Season Icon Late WinterLate Winter 2019
  • Like Count 13
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saco

Tap. Collect. Boil. Real maple syrup. #sugarmaple #mapletree #maplesyrup

6w
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anges

Great! Never seen this before! 😋

6w
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carolgs

Excuse my ignorance but is this how they harvest it I've always wondered 🤔

6w
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saco

No problem, this is the way it's done for sure!! @carolgs Many different designs of taps, and collection vessels, over the years. This is a modern setup, using plastic taps, lines, and food grade buckets.😁

6w
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carolgs

Thank you, my mind is now in overdrive, so many questions, how much does a tree produce? Over how long, do you need to process it?

6w
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saco

Happy to share what I know with you! Production from each tree depends on a variety of factors; age, location, growing conditions, and temperature. Production varies season to season accordingly. Processing takes hours of boiling. To produce 1 gallon of syrup, you need to collect 40 gallons of sap. @carolgs

6w
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carolgs

Wow that's alot of sap! Could you please post a before and after pic when you make the syrup I would love to see it

6w
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lovestogarden

How wonderful. 😋💓

6w
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cpl721

Very cool!

6w
  • Season Icon Late WinterLate Winter 2019
  • Like Count 14
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saco

Once again it's that magical time of winter when we get to tap the maple trees. #sugarmaple #maplesyrup #sap

6w
  • Season Icon Mid SpringMid Spring 2018
  • Like Count 11
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saco

The final product. Grade A dark amber. The kids did a great job on this tasty project. #maplesyrup #massachusetts #diy

7w
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saco

It's so good this season!! Extra sweet!! @KelsiBriana

7w
  • Season Icon Early SpringEarly Spring 2018
  • Like Count 9
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saco

The sap boiling down to syrup in the evaporator. #sugarmaple #diy

7w
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mn-5a

Spring in the North! 🌱❄️

7w
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saco

According to the calendar yes. Mother Nature still thinks it's winter here, and is dropping another 5-10" on us this eve!! Aarrggghh!!!! @mn-5a

7w
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mn-5a

Definitely feel your pain, Saco. There’s still about a foot of snow covering my garden. But on the bright side, a pair of house finches are checking out my front porch as a possible nesting site! Hang in there, Saco, April is coming!

7w
  • Season Icon Late WinterLate Winter 2018
  • Like Count 11
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saco

The sap collecting continues. #sugarmaple

7w
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kimguy

Sweeet!!! @saco

7w
  • Season Icon Late WinterLate Winter 2018
  • Like Count 18
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saco

As part of biology class I have my students tap sugar maple trees on the school grounds. They collect the sap daily. When they collect enough they boil the sap on a wood stove outdoors, and make real maple syrup. They teach kids from other classes about the process, and then serve pancakes and ice cream with their self-made syrup!! #sugarmaple #massachusetts #tree

7w
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tinaaune

That's Wonderful of u to teach this!!!! Most think it just comes from a bottle. What ages are u teaching? @saco 👍👏

7w
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tkept

I’d like to learn that myself. 👍👍👍

7w
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saco

I teach at a public high school, freshman to seniors, grades 9-12. @tinaaune ... we do a blind taste test in the hallway at lunchtime, and the kids always end up picking the real maple syrup as the winner!!

7w
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saco

Your bear pals would certainly enjoy those buckets this time of year Tom!! @tkept

7w
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tinaaune

That's truly awesome @saco keep teaching the real life!!!

7w
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lovestogarden

How nice! This will be remembered always.

7w
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saco

Thanks all, the kids really love doing this. They want to expand off campus, and get permission from people in the neighborhood to tap trees on their property. We'll see what happens, maybe next year.

7w
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saco

Ill try to save you a taste or two Laura @columbiariver

7w
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seclarke

That's such a neat idea!

7w
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saco

We're getting a nasty rain mix, no snow yet. I'm located in central MA, not near coastal flooding spots. @gjones

7w