Aw, Sugar Sugar: Maple Sugaring Season Opens At Natick Farm

NATICK, MA—When the nights are cold and the days are getting a bit warmer, it's a sure sign it's sugaring season around here.

Natick Community Organic Farm celebrates the season with food, tastings, volunteering and, in particular, tours of the farm.

From Feb. 23 to March 24, visit the farm to explore the history and artifacts of maple sugaring from Native American to Colonial to modern times. Organizers explain that you'll kearn about the science of sugaring, visit the farm's tapped sugar maples, sip some sap while it drips into the bucket, and stop by the sugar shack where sap is boiled down into delicious syrup. Boiling and sap flow is entirely weather dependent. But whether or not the farm is boiling, the tours are happening.

Tours run for about an hour and must be booked in advance. The fee is $8 per person and pre-registration is required (go to the "tours" tab under "visit" on the website).

The tours take place Mondays through Fridays at 1, 3:30 and 4:15 p.m., and on Saturdays at 9:30 and 11 a.m.

"We have 700 buckets hanging up in the communities of Natick, Sherborn, Dover and Wellesley," said Trish Umbrell, farm administrator. "We tapped last week. We have made approximately 72 gallons of maple syrup so far. This is a wonderful New England tradition to observe and take part in, so we invite everyone to come and take a sugaring tour and to come to Maple Magic Day on March 3 to try some of our delicious syrup on some pancakes."

The Natick Community Organic Farm is also looking for volunteers to collect sap for the sugar. Find out more about that here.

Photo via Natick Community Organic Farm