Ambler Farm

Ambler Farms is owned by the Town of Wilton, CT but run by Friends of Ambler Farms, a volunteer organization. Every winter, the farm offers a training session to teach people about the process involved in making maple syrup. After a brief training session, each family is assigned a sap bucket that they are in charge of collecting every week while the sap is running. They explained to us that the trees needed to be tapped within the first 2 inches of their bark… this was the “living wood” where the sap flows. Any further in and you would hit the “dead wood” and not get sap. Also, we were only able to tap trees that were 12 inches in diameter or larger. It was 1 bucket per every 12 inch diameter, so if you had a tree that was 24 inches in diameter, you could add two taps with buckets. The reason being is pretty simple… you don’t want to take too much of the trees food away from it.

Sap Collection:

My dear mother, who is gracious enough to join me on a lot of my crazy explorations in the past,  as well as my husband and 2-year-old son, came with me to collect the sap.

Each day when we approached the sugar shack, the air was filled with a smokey, sweet aroma of boiling tree sap. I reflected on the fact that something like the aroma is EXACTLY why I love to participate in the actual process to learn about how something is done. The full experience of all the five senses combined with obtaining the knowledge of maple syrup making from a seasoned expert is priceless…

Our Sugar Maple Tree and Bucket

Little Helper

Walking towards the “Sugar Shack”

Delivering our sap to the “Sugar Shack”

We would grab our bucket and trudged through the snow and/or mud while a cold winter wind blew,  towards our assigned tree. We were surprised how quickly the bucket filled up with sap… And also surprised at how clear the sap was. The director had told us that the sap was running very well this year and informed us that if we found any water/ ice in our buckets to collect that as well. Sure enough, there was a thin layer of ice over the clear sap that had flowed into the bucket several times. The abundant sap this year is due to the weather – cold nights below freezing and warmer days – above freezing… but not too warm! If the days become too warm (in the 50′s) bacteria can begin to grow and eat away at the sugar in the sap, giving the sap more of a yellowed color. In the beginning of the season, we had the opportunity to drink a little bit of sap straight out of the tree after it was filtered. It tasted just like sugar-water and flowed like water… I had always imagined it would be thick, sticky sap that you see on trees sometimes but it wasn’t anything like that.

Clear sap flow early in the season

Sap straight out of the tree, ready to taste!

Each time we collected the sap, we then poured it into another bucket and carried it back to the sugar shack where they were getting ready to boil it down. The boiler was heated by a wood fire which gave off that smokey, sweet smell we noticed the first day we arrived. You need 40 gallons of sap to make 1 gallon of maple syrup! We also learned that the different grades of maple syrup come from the time during the season that the sap was harvested. In the very beginning of harvest season, you get what is called “Vermont Fancy” and then Grade A syrup. This syrup is sweeter and lighter in color. Later in the season, towards the end, the sap produces a darker grade maple syrup – Grade B. This grade has a stronger maple flavor and is a favorite for cooking.

Sap boiling in the evaporator

Grade A Syrup

Grade B Syrup

Towards the end of the season, Ambler Farms held an “Open House” inviting families to come see, learn about and taste test the maple syrup. They explained how the Native Americans first made maple syrup – They would carve out a log, pour in the sap, and then, using deer antlers, take red-hot stones out of a nearby fire and drop them into the sap to evaporate the water until they were able to get the thick maple syrup… I can only imagine how long THAT took!

Native technique for making maple syrup

When the colonists arrived, they adapted the native technique but used a caldron suspended over a fire to boil the sap down to a maple syrup.

Colonial technique for making maple syrup

Over all, this was a really cool experience! It could not get any more New England than this! A snow-covered farm with sap buckets hanging on every tree. A crisp, cold winter breeze blowing as we trudging through the snow with the fresh aroma of smoke and maple syrup making in the air… and the maple syrup?… Delicious!

Organic gardening has its advantages over synthetic gardening because you will save money in the long run, have better looking yards and healthier plants and properties. Rick has taught these unique methods for some twenty-five years and offered a free lecture at Gilbertie’s Herb Garden in Westport, Connecticut.

If you live in the area or you don’t mind taking a quick drive to Westport, Gilbertie’s offers a variety of wonderful workshops and lectures throughout the year, almost all of them for free! Here is a link to their Calendar of Events.

They also have a great sale on plants and herbs at the end of June!

Here are my notes from the lecture:

• Get a pH test done on the soil in your garden by collecting a soil sample and sending it out to be tested.
• Ideal pH levels for soil is 6.5 – 6.7
• Connecticut Soil is naturally acidic – Connecticut rain is acidic (acid rain) – A fun science experiment for kids: Collect rain water and test the pH levels of the rain water with the pH testers you can buy for aquariums in a pet store.
• You want your soil to be slightly acidic – if it is too alkalin, the metals in the soil are not readily available to the plants, if it is too acidic it is bad for the microbes in the soil.
• Early spring or autumn is the best time to apply lime to your soil or lawn.
• Cut weeds below the soil line – In an organic garden, the microbes will attack the exposed root top and kill off the plant.
• Mulch helps hold in moisture and keeps soil cool. Too much mulch can cause yellowing of ornamental plants because of nitrogen deficiency in soil. The decomposing mulch is taking is away from the plants. It also inhibits gas exchange in the soil. Re-mulch when you really cannot see the mulch anymore (it already decomposed).
• Peat Moss is not good for organic gardening – it is acidic, holds on to water too much, Does not decompose well – Use compost instead.
• Coast of Maine compost is good – Does NOT have to be applied every year.
• Most common garden mistake – having too much organic compost, not enough soil. Your garden soil should consist of 10″% organic matter.
• If you have too much organic matter in your soil, add some coarse sand.
• Raised beds are great but do not separate the soil underneath, utilize it! 12″ – 16″ tall is ideal for raised beds.
• The no-till method works IF you have good, established, balanced soil. If you do, do not turn over soil. It destroys the structure.
• There is no organic “selective” herbicide. However, Lemon juice and vinegar are a great “non-selective” organic herbicide. Spray lemon juice and vinegar of weeds to help kill them off. Just be aware where you spray it because it can kill your good plants too if you spray them with it.
• Fertilizer is NOT food, it is a mineral supplement. Plant food only comes from photosynthesis. Fertilizer can help provide the plant with the minerals needed to perform photosynthesis.
• Blueberries and mountain laurel like very acidic soil.
• Separate blueberry roots from rest of garden by digging a barrier in the ground around the blueberries. Add Garden Sulfur or Aluminum Sulfate to soil to increase acidity.
• Seaweed is good for compost – Just be sure to rinse it off well to remove the salt water before you add it to the compost.
• Another cool science experiment for kids – Get a clear jar and collect soil samples from your garden. Add water and Shake Shake Shake! Put the jar on a counter and let it sit still for several days. watch all the contents of the soil separates. sand will break out of suspension first, then the silt, then the clay. Organic matter will float. Measure off on a piece of paper and figure out what percentage of sand/silt/clay/organic matter you have in your soil.

There are hundreds of  butterflies that fly around the garden area as you walk through the conservatory. If you wear bright colors and sit still, you have a pretty good chance of one landing on you.

…or several…

There is an assortment of different butterflies along with a butterfly hatchery where you can watch young butterflies hatch out of their chrysalis. There is also a  beautiful pond area with huge Koi fish:

Young quail that scurry around your feet as you walk:

A beautiful variety of tropical plant life and flowers:

And an assortment of reptiles and amphibians hanging around:

In addition to the butterfly conservatory, The Yankee Candle Village is right down the street. They have every candle scent you can imagine along with an assortment of gifts and items for your home and garden.

It is like a mall of candles, home goods, little treasures, fresh-made chocolate fudge and popcorn, and if you have kids there is a huge toy store (where santa hangs out during the off-season). The decor of the village is beautiful and includes a waterfall and fresh snow fall every 4 minutes:

It is so easy to make a day trip of the whole area. We like to start off at Magic Wings in the morning, drive down the street to the Yankee Candle Village to eat lunch at Chandler’s restaurant and then browse through the Village stores.

Depending on what time of year you go, the front gardens of the village are always well landscaped with whatever beautiful flowers are common for the time of year you go.

So, if you are looking for a fun little day trip to take with your little ones, Magic Wings and the Yankee Candle Village is definitely a must!

I recently took a trip up to Wethersfield, CT to visit the historic Comstock, Ferre & Co. which has sold heirloom garden seeds for 200 years. They are the oldest continuously operating seed company in the United States. The new owners are looking to preserve the historic building and its heritage – They are all about pure, natural, non-GMO (Genetically Modified Organism) foods that taste good and is readily available to the average home gardener.

The building is gorgeous! When you first walk in you can browse through a selection of local honey, cheese spreads, handmade soaps and garden tools. They have a room dedicated to antique gardening and farming tools and upstairs that have more antiques for sale.

And the seed selection… WOW…

There are rows and rows and ROWS of every type of garden vegetable you can think of as well as flowers and herbs. Each seed variety includes a description of the plant:

They also have a selection of seedlings that you could purchase if you got off to a late start:

Here are a few of the antiques they had on display:

They also have garden-related cards, posters and postcards for sale…

This place is definitely worth a visit if you are looking to buy some heirloom seed varieties for your garden!

http://comstockferre.com/

Happy Planting!