Who here taps their maple trees?

[gumpsgirl]

I'm just curious, because I am going to tap mine (I have a group of four growing and will get pics later) this coming winter! I've been doing as much reading on the subject as my time will allow me to do and am so excited! We have decided that I have red maples, which I understand aren't the best for sugar content but will do.

Any tips and suggestions on equipment and techniques would be welcome here!

 

[cherig22]

I think the taps are called spiles, you drill into the tree, tap in the spile, hang the bucket from it, covered, and check it according to how fast the sap is flowing.

You want cold nights, and warm days. Not hot, but not freezing. We do ours in late Feb.

Here are some links on what to do.

http://www.frugalsquirrels.com/vb/showthread.php?t=185766&highlight=maple+syrup

http://www.frugalsquirrels.com/vb/showthread.php?t=225655&highlight=maple+syrup

Good luck!

Cheri

 

[gumpsgirl]

Your right! They are called spiles and I've read that the ideal temps. are nights being in the 20's with the days being in the 40's. I guess that's one of the reasons the northeast is such a good location for tapping, along with the sugar and black maples growing there.

Thanks for the links! I'll have to check them out. I also want to share this site with you. It seems to be pretty informative as well

http://tapmytrees.com/

 

[Rosalind]

We tap ours. I

my sugar maples!

Tip #1: Get a medium-size clean garbage can, and line it with three heavy-duty bags. Put it inside a larger clean garbage can, and fill the gap with snow or icewater. Set it up on cinderblocks, and get a siphon to empty it into smaller containers. This is for holding sap you haven't boiled yet. On a nice day, four trees can produce a LOT more than you'd expect. You'll rapidly run out of room in the fridge, and then your spouse will yell at you for coming up with crazy crackpot ideas.

Tip #2: Boiling the majority of the sap on a woodstove or grill outdoors is most efficient energy-wise. Use disposable foil pans, not any pans you actually wanted to save for this process, because you will burn some. I boiled mine down till it was reduced to about 1/10th the original volume, then boiled it the rest of the way in a soup pot indoors. It took three months of scrubbing to get the soup pot back in useful condition. This also keeps your kitchen from getting too humid and sticky.

Tip #3: Boiling indoors, even though it's cold out, make sure you open windows to let the steam out of the kitchen. Also, you might want to temporarily disable the fire alarms, because they will go off too.

Tip #4: Buy about twice as many sap buckets as you think you will need. They will need to be emptied twice daily, and during maple season it will be dark when you get home from work--you won't feel like boiling sap and washing buckets in the dark. Better to save it up outside in the cold and then boil. If you have extra buckets, you can just swap them out.

This year, five taps provided a little over 2 gallons of syrup. Yum!

 

[gumpsgirl]

Thank you Rosalind! I appreciate that info!

We do plan on building an outdoor stove, so I don't have to boil the sap inside. I can't imagine even trying to do that along with what it would do to my already insane power bill!

The lined garbage can idea is fantastic too, although I won't have to worry about getting in late to collect the sap because I'm fortunate enough to be a stay-at-home mom. I also homeschool my children, so I think this will be very educational for them to do, along with tasty!

 

[Paganbird]

Great info... Thanks to the OP for posting!
My dad used to make maple syrup when I was younger... I remember him pouring it on the snow so we could taste it!
After he lost the farm, he "forgot" how to make it (along with all the other great farm info he had.) He just didn't want me to get a farm - I think he thought I'd end up disappointed.
Well, I got a big house on a lot of land, more a hobby farm than anything. And now I'd like to try maple syrup.
Thanks for the trip down memory lane!
(I am gonna try to make that syrup this winter.)

 

[PineBurrowPeeps]

We did it this year for the first time and it was a blast!
I did nothing but boil sap for like a month, but it was so worth it and we will never ever buy junky maple syrup from the store again!
Next year I am using a turkey fryer as my cooking station.

 

[shortcake1806]

We're planning on doing it next spring. My son and I have been reading Little House on The Prairie where they're making maple sugar and syrup and he's dying to try it.

 

[gumpsgirl]

Quote:
Make sure you do it in the winter Tracy. I've read that 20 degree nights and 40 degree days are when its the best, so I'm guessing Jan. or Feb. here for us. Those temps. have something to do with the pressure building up and increasing the sap flow. Check out the site that I posted a link to earlier in this thread. I think you will find it very informative!

 

[TammyTX]

I'm so jealous! I wanna tap a maple!!!

There is a place called Lost Maples down around San Antone. I'm sure it's too hot here to tap.