This week the Cooking Buckets Sugar House team will be rigging up sap tap lines at their Sunny Meadow Farm site.
Ten years ago, Town Meeting approved a 10-year lease to allow Cooking Buckets to try something that was, and still is, new and experimental for this region. A plantation or bush-style approach to maple syrup production.
The roots of this idea go back to the 1970s, when Connecticut maple farmer Dave Kline began questioning the traditional way syrup had always been made. Instead of relying only on mature forest stands, he explored treating maple trees more like an agricultural crop. Trees intentionally planted and spaced for sunlight, long-term health, and productivity, with tubing systems designed into the site from the start. At the time, it was a radical idea. Maple syrup was something you harvested from the woods, not something you planned decades in advance.
Chelmsford chose to take that long view.
Years ago, scores of residents came together to prep the site and plant trees at Sunny Meadow, knowing full well that they might not see results for many years. That patience is now paying off, as some of those original trees are ready to be tapped for the first time.
Yes, this is experimental. But we are New Englanders. We have always been willing to try something new, even when plenty of people say it will not work. It makes you wonder. If the Wright brothers had been from Massachusetts and someone told them that would never fly, the response probably would have been, Hold my beer. In this case it is more like, Hold my beer and give me the tap line.
Jamie and Dave will also be at the same conference next Saturday, and between speaking with other growers, they will be sharing experiences, lessons learned, and ideas for what comes next. Expect plenty of photos and updates as the tap lines go in and the season gets underway.
This is precisely the kind of momentum we should be building on. New and experimental farming ideas. Real educational opportunities. And practical ways to keep farming alive in town.
It is exciting to see Chelmsford willing to support not only farming but also new ways to farm, test ideas, learn, and think long term at Sunny Meadow Farm.