Have you ever wondered about how the weather impacts the production of maple syrup? Here are some questions that sugarmakers get year round.
Is this going to be a good season?
Isn’t this perfect weather for the sap flow?
How many gallons of syrup are you going to make this year?
The making of pure maple syrup relies on Mother Nature and her control of the weather. For the start of the season in late winter/early spring, we look for the temperatures to start getting above freezing consistently during the day but still dipping below freezing at night. This is what causes the sap to flow up and down inside the tree.
As weather is an unpredictable factor, a few things can happen at the end of the season:
The temperatures can stop dropping below freezing;
The season may run so long that the holes start to heal up; or
The temperature gets warm for too long and the sap spoils before there’s enough to process.
All of these factors affect the sugarmaking season and make it hard to predict what the outcome and production will ultimately be.
Did you realize so many factors could affect the production of this sweet delectable treat?
