Turtle Lane Maple Farm

Update: Friday, November 14 2008

Although it’s not “high season” we have been busy, busy, busy all through the summer and fall preparing in various ways for the upcoming season.  We have become part time lumberjacks, cutting down trees all over so we can utilize the wood for fuel for the evaporator.  As of now we have approximately 11 cord cut, split and stacked ready for next season.  We still have more to split and stack, and that’s what will continue keeping us busy over the next several weekends.  We’re shooting to have all of the wood split and stacked before snow comes.

We also purchased a new piece of equipment which allows us to make some additional maple products.  We spent a weekend perfecting the art of making maple cream, which is a delicious spread or dip.  We hosted a demonstration in the lobby of Butcher Boy Marketplace in North Andover and sold out of this delicious treat!  We also have the ability to make maple sugar and maple lollipops, so these are things we will be making over the next several weeks as we prepare to create gift baskets for the upcoming holiday season.  If you are interested in purchasing a gift basket, please contact us via either email or phone.  We do not ship, but would be more than willing to work out a place to meet or you could swing by to pick it up.

In January we will be making final equipment inspections to ensure everything is in tip-top shape for the 2009 season, and making any necessary repairs.  In February we will be tapping, then in March we will be once again boiling!  WOO HOO!

To Join Us For A Boil

We are more than happy to share our passion with you. We can talk with you about everything from identifying trees to tubing, tapping and the history of maple sugaring. You will be able to see our evaporator running and sample sap multiple times as it goes through the finishing process to eventually become syrup. We will tell you about filtering, bottling and grading and will tell you about the process of making maple candy.

We’re located at 25 Turtle Lane in North Andover – second house on the right. When we boil we put a sign out at the intersection of Salem Street and Turtle Lane. We welcome visitors, so feel free to stop by if you’d like to see our operation. When you arrive, just park on the street and walk up the driveway and around the house to the back yard where you’ll see the sugar house. C’mon in and check it out! There are many new things since last year, so you are sure to see and hear something new. 

Maple production season generally starts near the end of February/beginning of March, and lasts for approximately 4 weeks.  We will keep the site updated with boiling times and schedules as we get closer to the season.

Schedule – 2009

We are just beginning to think about our schedule for the upcoming season, and we have received many inquires already for scheduling large groups.  During the month of February we will begin scheduling, so be sure to either call or send an email to info@turtlelanemaplefarm.com and in February we will start reserving time slots for groups.  It’s too difficult to plan at this point since we are so dependent on the weather.  As we build out the schedule we will post it here so everyone can see our scheduled tours and open visiting hours.