Posted on 02/03/2014 10:44:37 AM PST by Theoria
This reads like something from The Onion.
1. Everybody knows sap rises...but here they act like it is a new discovery.
2. How can a sapling live and keep producing after you chop off its top?
Uh... how is that tree going to survive long-term if it’s been decapitated?
Beat me by a couple of minutes.
Thanks for doing the math. I assume that they will have to have a rotating field system. If the saplings mentioned in the article are 3 or 4 years old (just my guess) and assuming they will have be replanted after the year of production, they would only net 1/3 to 1/4 of that.
We had that set and it set for 5 years before we decided to try it. It was excellent. Does real maple syrup ever go bad?
I always buy amber.
So people who use this method will be known as sapsuckers?
I suspect the plan is to replant every few years getting just one harvest per tree. Maples are tall and skinny when young so you could plant a lot of them per acre.
set up a seven acre producton cycle. Plant the trees and then seven years later top tehm for the syrup. Once harvested, pul them up and replant
Might even be able to plant very closely in a greenhouse for first two years and then transplant to the field for year three. Saves two full acres.
At 1/4 of that they are still on par for costs compared to 50 gallons/acre per year for wild trees. Good way to utilize marginal farmland and sloping woodland.
That’s kind of like Christmas trees with about a 50% shorter production cycle.
I don't know, it never lasts very long with my 3 sons eating it!
Yes but how does a tree live with no top/leaves.I was under the impression the leaves via photosynthesis is the “food” trees lives on....a topless tree with no leaves is pulling all its substances from the earth...so what are the reason for green leaves? Just an alternative food source path to let the soil rest recover during the other 9 months of the year so the tree can feed on the soil during winter?..
Agreed. I think a lot of people are going to take a look at this.
One thing to consider and it’s mentioned either in comments or in the article, but the price of maple syrup would drop significantly, maybe even to the point of not worth doing.
Current wild production is something like 1.1 million gallons per year. That’s only 2750 acres producing 400 gallons/acre year.
mmmm, I’m going to try that.
A major DUH, that the roots take up the water. However, if the tree doesn’t have a nice crown or enough leaves to support it, it will die. Nope, sorry, not buying the new theory.
Subtlety is probably not important to most pancake and waffle eaters.
LOL, that would explain whipped cream on waffles.
Canada Ping.
With whipped cream, you have a “Belgian” waffle, tho in Belgium, they are usually called Brussels waffles. No matter. Best I ever had was in the wonderful old city of Bruges, one of, if not THE best-preserved medieval cities in Europe. As I recall, syrup of any kind is not overly popular on these goodies.
Here’s some info plus recipes:
http://www.europeancuisines.com/Belgium-Belgian-Waffle-Recipes-Liege-Waffles-Brussels-Waffles
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