Any variety of maple can be harvested, but the best sap comes from sugar maple trees harvested in the spring. You can touch almost any deciduous tree (broad leaves, not needles) in late winter to collect sap to make syrup and sugar. Red maples have a lower sugar content, so you need more juice to make syrup.
Sap flows within maple trees when daytime temperatures rise above freezing and nighttime temperatures fall below it. this typically corresponds to the time between the middle of February and the middle of March. As a rule, it is best to tap for sap when the days are warmest.
For better tapping, look for maples with an open, extended crown with large, strong branches. They are often found as single trees outdoors, in a row along a fence or road, or in woodland used for syrup production.
Ideal Metrics for Tapping Trees
The tree must be at least 10 inches in diameter, measured 4 1/2 feet above the ground, before being tapped. Trees 10 to 20 inches in diameter should have no more than one tap per tree. A second tap can be added to 20″ to 25″ diameter shafts. As the tree diameter increases, additional taps can be added at the rate of 1 additional tap for every additional 6-8 inches of trunk diameter.
The number of strokes you apply to a tree depends on the diameter of the trees. Measure your tree to determine how many cranes you can fit and determine where you will place them. According to the University of Maine, a tree 10-20 inches in diameter can take 1 touch, 20-25 inches 2 touches, and 25 and above 3 touches.
This takes time, but even if you only have one or two trees in your backyard that are 10 inches or more in diameter, you can use them to collect sap. You can collect the sap until the buds start seeping onto the trees and the sap starts to taste bad.
Making Maple Syrup
Turning juice into syrup can take a lot of time and effort. If you have access to some maple trees, you can make maple syrup – remember, one or two trees will be enough to collect enough sap. However, if you have two or three trees, you can touch them and make maple syrup in your garden.
So rest assured, there are many trees to touch (not just the sugar maples) and many areas to touch (not just the maple belt). I am sharing a complete list of 31 trees that can be used to make sugar right here.
Take a second to join my Maple Syrup Making Facebook group for details on smashing practices around the country. If you want to try petting a tree in your yard this year, let me give you some tips based on years of experience. If you have maple trees in your yard or want to try them on wild trees, this guide will help you get there.
You might think that you need dozens of trees and a lot of time to make maple syrup. An open tree is capable of producing half a gallon of syrup in one season, compared to half that for tree maple.
Syrups from Different Maple Trees
Black maple is the second most favorable for syrup production, as it has the second highest sugar content in juice. Yes, but it is the sugar maple that has the highest sugar content in the juice.
Sap yields vary widely depending on harvesting method, tree size, and seasons. The sugar content of the sap produced by different trees in the forest varies widely. The ratio of sugar concentration varies from tree to tree (sugar maple is the highest), however, all maple trees produce a sap that can be boiled in maple syrup.
Black, red, and silver maple can also be used to make syrup, but the sugar content is lower and more juice will be needed to make syrup. Before winter, maples store starch in their trunks and roots, which turns into sugar. As spring approaches, the sap melts and the sugar in the sap rises to the tree.
The combination of freezing temperatures at night and moderate daytime temperatures helps push the sap from the tree’s roots to the trunk and branches, where it freezes. Rising temperatures create pressure inside the trees, causing the sap to flow.
When a hole is drilled in a tree, the wood fibres, which are the vessels through which water (sap) flows, are cut and the sap flows from the tree. The first thing you need to do is to touch the tree, letting out all the sap that comes out. The holes you touch in mid-January will leave an inch or two of juice in the bucket every day, if that’s the case.
Best Practices for Tapping Sap
It is best to open the taps just at the moment when the active flow of lymph begins, but the weather, no matter how unstable, can lead to new blackouts for several days. If you notice a little flow from a few clicks, move them to a different location in the tree.
Press on hot days when temperatures are above freezing to minimize the risk of wood splitting. Make sure you do the actual drilling at above freezing temperatures so you don’t damage the wood.
Maple harvest time is early spring when snow is on the ground and temperatures are below 32°F at night and above freezing during the day. Maples are exploited when temperatures alternate between freezes and thaws. Most of the trees are exploited when the daytime temperature reaches 40 degrees, but at night it still drops below zero. You need at least a week of those temperatures for the juice to start flowing.
Your juice will turn into syrup when it reaches 7.1 degrees Fahrenheit. Boil the juice to evaporate the water, resulting in a liquid with the characteristic taste and color of maple syrup and a sugar content of 60 percent.
Traditional Sap-tapping Practices
The original mokuk was made from birch bark and tied with tree roots (as opposed to twine) and covered with pine sap to seal the container. Stop for a hot breakfast, then take a sugar plantation tour to see the maple sugar making process, including tree tapping and sap boiling.
For example, you can collect sap in buckets that hang from spikes attached to a tree. The second option is to use a tube that connects to plumes, bringing all the juice into a large collection vessel. Buckets work well, but you can buy special buckets for harvesting maple; any bucket that will hang on the pile will do.
Each faucet typically produces 10 gallons of juice for a final output of one quart of syrup. Ideally, however, you should pour as soon as possible, as early season maple water has a higher sucrose content, and the final syrup is usually lighter (both highly desirable), and late in the season you get more fructose and glucose. . , and the end product tends to be darker (equally delicious by my standards, but less good if you make it commercially).