Sunapee

2024 Maple Season Wrap Up

2024 Maple Season Wrap Up

I’m not sure that we thrived at times, given the looooong season, but we survived! The 2024 maple season came to an end on April 9th with the last boil. Our first boil at the sugarhouse was January 29th… that means we were in operation for 71 days. When you add in the days spend tapping trees in January, we had a maple season that lasted 86 days! We do not boil every single day during the season, but that is still a long time to be riding the roller coaster of Mother Nature to yield a good crop.

2024 Maple Month Final Week

2024 Maple Month Final Week

While some of us are losing steam (get it?) as we near the end of our busiest season, we did just finish a four night stretch of boiling at the sugarhouse. It has certainly been a weird season and an even weirder two weeks. After spring-like weather and a total meltdown of our snow pack, Mother Nature roared back to life last Saturday. The spring snowstorm dropped over 20 inches of snow in the Sunapee area.

2024 Maple Weekend Recap

2024 Maple Weekend Recap

Maple Weekend was amazing once again! We’re guessing that we welcomed at least 700 visitors but most likely more over the course of two days. Saturday was our incredible breakfast/lunch with Scott Brothers Kitchen. They served up pancakes, sausage, eggs, and pulled pork sandwiches. They sold out for the second year in a row, and don’t worry - they’ll be back next year. Our crew of friends and family greeted folks and educated all on the maple process. We couldn’t do it without them!

2024 Maple Month Week 1 & 2

2024 Maple Month Week 1 & 2

We're back and excited to welcome folks for the 2024 maple season at Harding Hill Farm! Behind the scenes, it doesn't feel like the start of maple season - we've been at it for months already. We've been working hard in the woods since early January. Our earliest first boil in farm history was on January 29th, and we are now approaching a hopeful half crop.

2023 Maple Season

2023 Maple Season

We made the maple syrup, and people came…

A record Maple Weekend turnout is in the books! On Saturday alone, we can only guess that around 500 people passed through the sugarhouse on a stellar weather day. Maple cookies were devoured by noon, maple popcorn ran out shortly thereafter, and afternoon visitors enjoyed syrup drizzled over ice cream. On Sunday, mother nature didn’t cooperate quite as nicely, delivering 20 degree temperatures and windy conditions. We’ve got some die hard maple enthusiasts though! At 10am, we kicked off our first ever outdoor pancake breakfast… and it sold out by 11:15am. Yikes. Did you miss it? Stop in March 25th and 26th with continued Maple Month open hours at the sugarhouse.

2023 Maple Month Week 3

2023 Maple Month Week 3

We made the maple syrup, and people came…

A record Maple Weekend turnout is in the books! On Saturday alone, we can only guess that around 500 people passed through the sugarhouse on a stellar weather day. Maple cookies were devoured by noon, maple popcorn ran out shortly thereafter, and afternoon visitors enjoyed syrup drizzled over ice cream. On Sunday, mother nature didn’t cooperate quite as nicely, delivering 20 degree temperatures and windy conditions. We’ve got some die hard maple enthusiasts though! At 10am, we kicked off our first ever outdoor pancake breakfast… and it sold out by 11:15am. Yikes. Did you miss it? Stop in March 25th and 26th with continued Maple Month open hours at the sugarhouse.

2023 Maple Month Week 2

2023 Maple Month Week 2

March is roaring, but no big sap runs yet…

The first weekend of March brought us a foot of snow, but this week’s Nor’easter decided to really throw us for a loop. From Monday night through Wednesday morning, snow piled up around two feet on the farm, maybe upwards to 30 inches in some of our sugar woods. So off we went to clean up snow and check on any damage to our woods. Also - an overview of where our maple sap comes from. PLUS - March 18th and 19th is Maple Weekend in NH.

2023 Maple Month Week 1

2023 Maple Month Week 1

And so we wait not so patiently for the next big sap run…

February may have given us the opportunity for huge early season Maple Syrup production, but March seems to be playing some funny games. The first weekend of Maple Month brought us over a foot of snow on Saturday. Skiers and snowmobilers are thrilled! We are too - it brings folks to the area and keeps our woods blanketed, prolonging our season. There is a term called ‘sugar snow’ when snowstorms can lead to a decent sap run. Come visit March 11th and 12th.

HHF 2023 Maple Updates - Early Season

HHF 2023 Maple Updates - Early Season

"Maple Season has arrived in New Hampshire! I'll admit it snuck up on us earlier than we wanted it to, but when Mother Nature brings as sap… we make the liquid gold."  Above is an excerpt from our first newsletter of the 2022 Maple Season. It seems that we are repeating a similar thing this year! Heading into 2023, we've been working on a big maple expansion. Come visit us at the Sugarhouse starting March 4th and 5th for some fresh Maple Syrup.

HHF 2022 Maple Updates - Week 5

HHF 2022 Maple Updates - Week 5

Another successful NH Maple Month month is behind us, and March certainly went out like a lion as the weather changed last Sunday. Sunday’s weather brought wind, rain, sleet, snow while a front came through. We finished up boiling all the sap we could gather before the woods froze solid to start the week. On Monday, we barely made it into the 20s with wind chill feeling sub zero. This cold spell was a good thing - resetting the trees, giving us farmers a moment to catch our breath, and extending the maple season.

HHF 2022 Maple Updates - Week 4

HHF 2022 Maple Updates - Week 4

We survived Maple Weekend 2022! Thank you so much to all of you that joined us to celebrate all things maple - we hope you had fun. It’s definitely the point in the season where us farmers get tired. The weather cooperated this week with a few freezing nights and some nice sap runs. The downside is, we haven’t had a day of rest. It’s hard to believe we’ve only actually had 17 boiling days in the sugarhouse since February 12th when we started. It feels more like 170 days!

HHF 2022 Maple Updates - Week 3

HHF 2022 Maple Updates - Week 3

We took Monday as a fresh start, and, fingers crossed, we’ve gotten over the hump. The weather this week has been unseasonably warm. The sap ran hard through the weekend and into the first part of this week. The past couple nights, we have not seen a freeze… so the sap flow has slowed down. A freezing night is needed to reset the trees’ sap flow - which is why we only make syrup this time of year. Right now, it looks like we won’t see that much needed freeze until Monday night. This makes sugarmakers nervous.

HHF 2022 Maple Updates - Week 2

HHF 2022 Maple Updates - Week 2

Since my last post we’ve seen every possible weather change here in New Hampshire. We’ve had subzero nights. We’ve had 55 degree days. We’ve had a 40 degree temperature change in less than 24 hours. We’ve had wind, rain, freezing rain, and snow. It’s been a wild ride. Needless to say, our 2022 maple season arrived a bit earlier than we anticipated.

HHF 2022 Maple Updates - Early Season

HHF 2022 Maple Updates - Early Season

Since my last post we’ve seen every possible weather change here in New Hampshire. We’ve had subzero nights. We’ve had 55 degree days. We’ve had a 40 degree temperature change in less than 24 hours. We’ve had wind, rain, freezing rain, and snow. It’s been a wild ride. Needless to say, our 2022 maple season arrived a bit earlier than we anticipated.

The 2020 Maple Season Wrap Up

The 2020 Maple Season Wrap Up

In the final days in the sugarhouse and during cleanup, we reflected back on the whirlwind that was the 2020 maple season. Although there are many great memories of the old sugarhouse on the Johnson property, we absolutely love our new building and proximity to our main farm. We have much more space for maple production, storage, retail activities, and parking.

The 2020 Maple Season is Here

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A new look at Harding Hill Farm

We have so much to share as we move into our 2020 Maple Season at Harding Hill Farm. As a newsletter subscriber, you are the first to receive all this exciting news! We've had some big changes between moving the sugarhouse (only a couple miles!) and rebranding the farm business. I will resume my usual weekly Maple Season updates after the weekend, so stay tuned for more. In the meantime, you may have caught us in the news - we were recently featured in Ausbon Sargent Land Trust's 'Chatter' newsletter and Lake Sunapee Neighbors magazine.

The Sugarhouse at Harding Hill Farm on Stagecoach Road!

We spent the last year planning and constructing our new sugarhouse adjacent to our main farm. You can find us this season at the corner of Stagecoach Road and NH Route 103 in Sunapee. The new location is just a couple miles east from our previous location. Although we hoped to be further along before the season, we hope you understand as we continue fine-tuning our new setup.

A few highlights

  • Our retail room will protect you from the elements with more space, woodstove heat, and room to shop and socialize.

  • Larger evaporator room allows us more room to make syrup and allows you to enjoy a tour

  • Loft space above for maple sap storage & expanded storage outside for sap and firewood

  • Larger parking area in our own lot and along the right side of Stagecoach Road

  • Bathroom - temporary outhouse available. Later this year, we'll finish the permanent one.

  • Access from the snowmobile trail (weather permitting) and recreational trail system

NH Maple Month starts this weekend

Are you ready for the smell of maple steam and the taste of spring? Maple month starts this weekend. We're open from 10am till 4pm on Saturday, March 7th and Sunday, March 8th. Expect us to be open for at least four consecutive weekends in March. We just started boiling this week, so we have syrup available... but limited specialty bottles and grade choices. 

Grand Opening and Maple Weekend Celebration ~ March 21-22

Get ready for the highlight of the season! We are putting together some fun features to our maple weekend this year. It will include our typical free tours, samples of maple recipes and our own beef, plus a farm-to-table lunch available for purchase from Scott Brothers Meats. Visit our Event on Facebook or our Website for more details as they become available. 

We hope you enjoy our new platform to share HHF products, services, and events. I'll also be more active on our farm blog and recipe page. We hope you enjoy these upgraded features. As always, contact us by phone or email with any questions or to request a price/availability list for farm products. 

Thank you for supporting local!

~ Kelly Webb

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