Here at Chiot’s Run the first warmup in the spring signals the start of sugaring season.
Early last week we had a day that warmed above freezing so we went out and put taps in all of our maple trees (about 25 taps total).
Our predictions were correct and the sap started flowing in some of the trees immediately.
Tapping your maple trees is a wonderful way to get back outside in the spring weather. The season starts before you can do much of anything else in the garden. It really helps cure my cabin fever. Many people think that you can only tap sugar maples, but that is not the case. Most types of maples can be tapped. You’ll get a little less syrup as the sap has a little less sugar in it. None of our trees are sugar maples, and our final syrup is fantastic! Of course you have to live in an area with the right climate and you have to have days above freezing and nights below freezing.
If you’re interested in sugaring your maples I’d recommend it. It’s really not that difficult, basically you collect sap from maple trees, boil it down, finish to a certain temperature, strain and enjoy. I’d highly recommend getting a book like Backyard Sugarin’ to read through before you begin. I’d also highly recomend reading the book Sugartime: The Hidden Pleasures of Making Maple Syrup, it only the how to of making maple syrup, but some history and an explanation of the beauty of the process. OSU has a great article about hobby maple syrup production that is very in depth if you want to get started right away and don’t want to get a book (and it’s FREE).
You can purchase supplies at on-line, if you don’t need tons of supplies Tap My Trees is a great place. I go my local Lehman’s store to purchase what I need, you may also be able to find a local store if you check around. There are a bunch of places on-line so search around, I’m guessing if you live in an area where you can tap your trees you’ll be able to find supplies locally.
We already collected 25 gallons of sap, then the weather turned cold and the sap stopped flowing. It will start again when it warms and we’ll keep collecting sap until the trees bud out. Last year we were able to get over a gallon of syrup from our 10-15 trees, hopefully this year we’ll get more if the season is longer!
Do you or have you considered tapping your maple trees?I can also be found at Chiot’s Run where I blog daily about gardening, cooking, local eating, beekeeping, and all kinds of stuff. You can also find me at Not Dabbling in Normal and you can follow me on Twitter.
