Yea it's the vat, wood fire and straining that takes a bunch of labor.

Clint S
First try at syrup and I think the boiling down will be what makes this a limited endeavor.  Just want to see how it goes. If I get half gallon I will be happy.  

Generally a 40 to 1 ratio Clint. 40 gal of sap yields 1 gal of syrup. A healthy Maple Tree with one tap averages 20 plus gals of sap in a season.

Really easy to identify Maple Trees in my area during syrup season. Amish have buckets and wine bags hanging everywhere.

After watchng those folks make Maple Syrup I think I'll wait for thier product to hit the roadside stands.

I was going to try and use my turkey fryer for cooking down the sap until I learned I would need 10 gal of sap for just a quart of syrup. Not sure how much propane that might take but I'm thinking the cost might be more than a quart of Amish Maple Syrup. Plus, I need a 10+ gal pot.

Good luck, have fun and I hope all turns out well.

Well day one yielded about 4 gallons of sap from 5 trees. 1 tree gave 2 gallons the others about a half each. Going to try to boil outside on an old woodstove and then finish it up inside. I am guessing if I used propane it would be cheaper to buy it.

 One yr. my son forgot to take it off the heat. The syrup turned to solid, best tasting candy I've ever tried & a tiny piece seemed to last forever. Heard ov Rock Hard Maple before but that stuff was like having a sm. river gravel in your mouth.
 
 He prob. sells a truck load ov taps & hose a season. Have a place near Linesville on Maple Rd.
 
crappy

I'm using everything I can find to put dirt in.
The 1 picture on. The floor is herbs.
The other is veggies. We ate some spinach tonight.
My total investment has been about $50-75 in.. I bought some strawberries, asparagus and more garlic today. I'd be happy and think the berries will be the producers. Sorry crappie, I got junebearers. It's all about a jam harvest and they produce the most. I still have 2 peach trees to purchase this spring.
I am going to look into more berry shrubs.
Any thoughts ? Not sure if I can pull it off this spring though. I understand you need netting.

After I get back from this steelhead itch next week, I will be building the pig pen. Hopefully it's complete by first weekend in April. From then on its getting the soulshine ready to splashdown on stripers. She goes into dock the week of April 15th

If you want a smaller scale for late season crops...consider a cold frame.
 
https://www.growveg.com/guides/how-to-make-a-cold-frame-step-by-step/

I have been doing raised beds for about 10 plus years and I'm expanding big time this season.
I get max results in limited space. I will elaborate later tonight from my experience. Others please share theirs

Another great score! Tons of uses as is and some great wood for projects too. 

Compost, garden soil, fertilizer, and lime. Have had poor results with cucumber, zucchini, and winter squash. But tomatoes, peppers, herbs, carrots and beans have done well.

So I did some relocation. The beans , peppers, sage, basil and spearment are not germination going. Moved closer to woodstove. In my cheesy greenhouse, it's 45-50 degree. Cool weather stuff is healthy.
Time to try some heat.

Nice!! I used to like rock candy as a kid. No clue what I was eating. Trial and error is fun . I'm still learning and when I stop, I'm probably dead.

Nice review on the syrup Clint. Hope the improvements work as I'm sure your very skilled at adapting. I'm still hoping to get those stainless bird baths. No crates this week but I scored a clean new 55 gallon steel drum. My thoughts are to scald the pigs to scrape the hair.
Not much new in my garden. I cut the large crate in half and both sections are 17" deep 35" wide X 67" long.. I still got the other ones as well. I cut some nasty thorn bushes but with just lopers, they kick my butt as well as draw blood, dang things.
Otherwise I didn't have much energy yesterday. I'm feeling older and older each day, my bones and muscles ache.

With a usual tax day arrival of herring in my creek, it's time to get my gear together.
Tackle is accounted for and I'm working on a boat project . My goal is to uncover the soulshine next Friday. There is still great access to a solid 12" ice on my laker waters so if I can find a willing sole, I may try again.

Got some ambition and took a walk out back. Found a few scores that were not there a month ago.
Gonna get chainsaw going Wednesday when I get some help. The white church is across my front yard has been abandoned for 30 years. It's being refurbished for what I'm not sure yet. The brown one is out back and being dismantled by the same guys

the winds and sun have helped dry up the mud. I don't need anymore rain right now.
Got real ambitious this afternoon and worked on the pig pen. They are coming in 2 weeks, I need to be ready.

For my next project, I'm going to build a real smokehouse. I'm certainly in the planning stages and watching YouTube .
I'm looking towards cold smoke and preserved meats that can be frozen.
My plan is an external steel drum stove . Getting a barrel stove kit , pipe out the backside into the smokehouse on blocks
Thoughts and suggestions welcomed .
Pros and cons of a smokehouse