Now that you have boiled your sap down into syrup, it is time to put it in containers for storage. If you bottle your syrup correctly, it will be shelf stable indefinitely. However, if you do it incorrectly, you can get mold growth in your bottles or crystals forming. Here are some tips to help […]
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Category: Products from the forest
How to tap trees for optimal sap production
Now that February has arrived, many of us are itching to get outside and tap some maples for sap. One of the critical parts of this process is getting the tap hole right. It is easy to do it incorrectly and this will impact the quantity and quality of your sap. To make sure you […]
Forest Farming – Agroforestry for Any Property
The last agroforestry practice for this series is forest farming, i.e. growing crops in the woods. Forest farming makes use of a multilayered woodland to produce specialty crops that cannot survive in simplified environments like a typical garden or farm field. No matter what your woods currently looks like, forest farming offers a lot of […]
Riparian Buffers – Agroforestry for Any Property
Wisconsin private landowners care for over 10 million acres of woodlands that are critical to protecting watersheds across the state. Do you know what watershed your land is in? If not, SEE HERE. A watershed is an area of land that drains rainfall to a common outlet. In Wisconsin, the common outlet we all share […]
Is Silvopasture an Option For Me? By Randy Mell
Professional foresters are educated in the basic needs of establishing and growing trees. During the course of their work, they share with woodlands owners activities they can do in their woods that mimic natures’ way of establishing and improving their trees. Foresters occasionally get questions from landowners on how they can earn more income from […]
Leasing Your Sugarbush
It’s that perfect weather, with the fire roaring, and you sit down at the breakfast table with your steaming mug of coffee, a stack of warm pancakes, and that sweet local Wisconsin maple syrup. Chances are pretty good it’s from Wisconsin anyway, since we are 4th in the nation for production. In 2010, we reported […]
Walnuts: It’s what’s for dinner
A few years ago, I got into using natural dyes for some craft projects. I was experimenting with different plants and flowers, and read that walnut has a nice color. Since I have a nice supply of walnut trees in my yard, I grabbed a few nuts and went to work peeling them and using […]
What’s going on in your woods (Spring edition)
I’m in the middle of doing Learn About Your Land classes on the eastern side of the state right now, and this week’s class is all about “What’s in Your Woods”. Good time to be thinking about this month’s blog post. Before I started the class last night, I asked folks what they had most […]
Strawberries, and raspberries, and blackberries, OH MY!
Creating the best conditions for growing berries in your woods can be a part of the rest of your objectives for your woodland. Berry picking is a big part of our family’s tradition and we take an active role in creating optimal conditions for berry production. It really isn’t anything special or difficult and fits […]