Using a single tap could overtax the tree and could affect its health. Any kind of maple tree can be tapped, but the best sap comes from sugar maples, tapped in spring. 3. The maple tree tapping season generally runs for approximately four to six weeks. • Tree tapping is a lot of work. Wife, mama to three awesome farm girls, and passionate about helping others ditch the status quo to live more self sufficient lives, no matter where they live. How to tap your tree. I can’t tell from the picture. Lightly tap the spile into the hole. Find a maple tree. You can, however, tap any maple tree. Sugar maple growth rate of course varies depending on many factors, especially on spring and summertime growing conditions. The season usually lasts about a month to a month and a half is all and the most sap will flow earliest in the season. You’ll want to drill your tap hole on the south-facing side of the tree. The hole should be drilled at a slight upward angle to a depth of about 3 inches. Just when the weather starts the warm, but the ground is still snow covered and cold… that’s the perfect time for tapping trees for sap you can boil into syrup. A second tap may be added to trees between 20 and 25 inches in diameter. So, if you’re placing two put one on the south side and one on the north. If your spiles do not come with hooks (the ones I linked above do), you’ll want to make sure you buy hooks for your buckets. The Sugar Maple grows in significant numbers in USDA zones 4 through 8. Unless you purchase a maple sugar starter kit like this one. • Holder or Hooks – Holders are sold to hang either buckets or bags and purchased by some tree tappers. The goal of Tap My Trees is to promote tapping maple trees by families at … • Spouts – some tappers and stores refer to the spouts as spiles. The height of your spile should be comfortable for you. It is vital to remember that a tree is a living thing, even when it is sleeping all winter long, and that it can (and will) heal itself. It is the combination of the chilly night time temperatures and the warm daytime temperatures that causes the sap to flow both easily and fairly rapidly, from the trees. University of Maine Cooperative Extension educator Kathy Hopkins discusses the best method to safely tap a maple tree. You’ll want to make sure that your trees are a minimum of 12 inches in diameter (indicating they are mature) and of course, healthy. The seedlings growing on them not only resemble the propellers of a helicopter, but “fly” away from the tree and start to grow just about everywhere they land. For huge trees above 27 inches in diameter, use three taps when collecting sap. If you have chosen the right time to tap, the sap from the tree should begin to flow, at least slightly, from the tree immediately after the spout has been affixed. 3. Learn how your comment data is processed. How to tap a maple tree This blog comes from Cathy Entwhistle, a Senior Park Interpreter at Bronte Creek Provincial Park. Each tap will yield 5-15 gallons of sap per season. How to Tap a Maple Tree for Syrup & Sugar Production. Do not pound it, this will split the wood. How to Tap Trees for Syrup. Sugar maples provide the most sap while silver maples, black and even red can also be utilized and provide sugar. Most tappers recommend drilling the tapping hole on the southern facing side of the tree, beneath a large branch. Tara lives on a 56 acres farm in the Appalachian Mountains, where she faces homesteading and farming challenges every single day. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Buds begin to appear on the Silver Maple tree early in the year, before prime tapping temperatures present and sustain themselves, in many regions. Simply hang your bucket and lid and move on to the next tree. The tree should be at least 10 inches in diameter before it can be tapped. You can run it through a cheesecloth or similar to remove any impurities that found their way in. Anything under 21″ will only take one tap. A corded drill will work in a pinch, but it’s going to make use of a lot of drop cord unless you have electrical outlets next to your trees. Required fields are marked *. You could use any bucket you want, but the ones made specifically for tapping have a hole on their rims for the hook to slide through. Hammer. The flow lasts about 5 weeks. It’s that time of year again, when the sweet sounds of spring fill Bronte Creek Provincial Park : the twittering of returning songbirds, the laughter of visitors strolling through the woods, and the plink! Tap My Trees is the #1 supplier of maple sugaring supplies for the hobbyist. • Use tree tapping pouches like the ones in the photo below to keep debris and other impurities away from your sap. Trees over 25 inches in diameter can sustain three taps. Hold the drill and drill bit at a slight angle, pointing upwards. You can usually tap the Black Walnut tree in every season except the summer. • Some folks love to drink the sap right after it flows from the tree, this is not recommended! • Black – This maple tree generally offers the highest production of sap each season. These trees could be defined as the most generous trees of all, in terms of sap production and sugar release. You’ll want to check your buckets daily and empty any collected sap. If you delay and let the sap sit in a bucket overnight it will likely freeze and have to be pitched. Typically the time is around late February to mid-March. But, if you didn’t plan in advance, not all hope is lost. To boil sap, bring it to a full and rolling boil, and hold it there for about one minute, before turning off the heat. The hole drilled should be between 2 to 2.5 inches deep. • Paper Birch – This type of birch tree has a 1% sugar count and is among a favorite for tappers who expand their efforts beyond the maple variety. Drill a hole about 1-1/2″ – 2″ into the tree at an slight upward angle. Tap in the spout good and snug – … Hopefully, its Acer saccharum (sugar maple), if not you’ll need even more sap. Although syrup is the most common use for sap, in some regions of the world it is brewed into beer or tea and drunk for its nutrient benefits. If the tree measures 18”-24” two taps can be installed in the tree if the tree has a diameter greater than 24” then 3 taps can be installed in the tree. Its sugar content is approximately 2.0%. Want to branch out from maple? You will want to use a bit about the same diameter as your spile (typically 5/16″ or 7/16″ ). The leaves from hard maple trees are usually dark green with smooth points. If it’s light brown or beige, the tree is most likely healthy and you have selected a good spot to garner sap. 7. You have to check the buckets and collect the sap daily – no matter how busy you are or what the weather is like outdoors. Black maple (Acer nigrum) Black maples produce as much sweet sap as sugar maples. Each produces a syrup with a slightly different flavor profile. her homesteading skills are unmatched, she raises chickens, goats, horses, a wide variety of vegetables, not to mention she’s an expert is all sorts of homesteading skills such as hide tanning, doll making, tree tapping and many, many more. We prefer metal. The Sycamore sap yield is usually a lot less than nearly every version of maple tree. This task is fairly easy. The most important step in the process of tapping a tree for maple is finding just the right tree. For the safest type of consumption, always boil the sap to destroy any bad bacteria that could be growing inside. If it’s a little more narrow, that’s ok, too. To make things easier, you can mark that depth on your bit with a piece of tape. • Red – Sap from this maple tree contains about a 1.7% sugar content. Drink sap straight from the maple. For every increase of 2″ in diameter, you can add another tap. • Big Tooth Maple – This sap producing maple tree grows primarily in the Rocky Mountains region and in Texas. Some days, your buckets might be almost overflowing when you hike out to check them, but other days you might find only a very small amount of sap in the bottom of the bucket or bag. Insert the spout after cleaning out the drilled hole of all shaving. Drill a hole about 1.5 inches into the tree – slightly uphill – so the sap will run down. Step 1: Measure the drill bit and wrap a piece of colored tape around it 3 inches from the end. The sugar content of the Black Maple tree is approximately two percent. This are your “taps”. If you have an abundance of trees that you can utilize for tapping, you should absolutely try this rewarding experience. Even birch and walnut will provide you with plenty of sweet, flavorful sap that you can boil down. I used to tap trees and make maple syrup, lots of fun with plenty of hard work. • Sugar – This is the “go to” tree for tapping. Typically, trees are prime for tapping between the middle of February through mid-March. Jan 16, 2017 - Explore Heather Clower's board "Tapping maple trees", followed by 161 people on Pinterest. Their leaves are either silver or white on the bottom, and boast a more pointy shape than the leaves from hard maple tree varieties. How to Tap Trees Drill a hole in a tree, 2 - 4 feet above the ground. In the spring, the sugar maple tree (Acer saccharum) does something magical. Use a hammer to lightly tap the spile into the hole. But this will depend a lot on where you live. This will vary wildly depending on the tree, but typically each tree will produce anywhere from 5 to 15 gallons of sap per tap, per season. When to Tap Maple Trees for Sap. It is best to distribute the tapping holes around the tree’s circumference when putting in a new season holes or making multiple tapping holes on a large tree for the first time. Wasting time is definitely not something homesteaders like to do! Trees between 10 and 20 inches in diameter should have no more than one tap per tree. • Filtering Material – You can buy sap filters, but cheesecloth will do the trick just fine. You’ll want to locate the trees you plan to use and use the guidelines above for how many taps to put into each tree. This site may earn commissions when you click on certain links. The abundance of sap will vary depending not only on the tree, but the type of maple. Spiles. Make sure the tree is on your property! If you use a bucket not manufactured for tapping trees, make sure it is a clean food-grade container that is capable of holding 5 gallons of sap. The tell-tale sign that it’s time for tapping is when the daytime temps rise above freezing, but the nighttime temps dip back down below freezing. If you have not taken a hike around your homestead and mapped out all the types of maple trees you have on hand to tap, pull on your boots and do so quickly, before the prime part of tapping season has passed. A lot of times you will tap a tree that you think is a maple tree going to find out that there’s no SAP the reason why there’s no SAP is that it’s probably not a maple. It’s that time of year again, fellow homesteaders… tree tapping time! Tapping buckets must have a firm fitting lid. Inspect the shaving churned out while drilling the tapping hole. You could also get a maple tapping starter kit that has all of the specialty things you will need. Whether you have an abundance of trees on your property or find a nice neighbor, it’s definitely worth giving a try to get some delicious, natural sugar. 4. Attach the lid to the bucket and spout/spile as indicated by the directions on your specific equipment. You’ll be glad you did. Tapping Tips. Typically, this variety of maple tree will have a more watery or thinner sap and a low sugar content. Note: when done properly, tapping won’t harm your tree, and the hole you make will heal up nicely on its own. It’s got electrolytes, antioxidants, vitamins and minerals. When you tap a tree in the spring, it is the equivalent to a human getting a small cut, which will will slowly scar over to stop the loss of bodily fluids. The trees closely resemble sugar maples and can be distinguished by their leaves. The trees, maple and otherwise, that have average to above average sunlight exposure usually produce the most sap. Refer to the directions that came with your particular spout or spiles to make sure it is positioned properly. Your email address will not be published. You want to hit the xylem or sapwood of the tree. above photo shows silver maple tree leaves. Native American tribes who lived in this region often tapped the Big Leaf Maple tree for syrup and sugar making purposes. Sugaring season used to be a tradition. If you’re only placing one tap, you will want it on the south side of the tree. Everyone would go out around late February into March and tap maples for syrup. • Sap Hydrometer – These optional gadgets are handy to have if you are interested in learning the sugar content in your sap before cooking it. Never tap a maple tree that is smaller than 10 inches/25 cm in diameter. Maple trees grow throughout the U.S., and in various parts of the country, mid-February through mid-March is when their sap starts to flow, making it the perfect time to tap. Keep checking until the sap stops flowing and then you can turn the sap into syrup. You’ve found the trees, you have an idea of the timing. Now that I live up in Canada’s far north – (Northwest Territories), it’s a good month later – April. These are, of course, to capture the sap. You can also get pre-made tree sapping kits on Amazon. stay above freezing and leaf buds appear, the maple syrup season is over. As a child I experimented with tapping maple trees in Ontario Canada – usually during the first week of March. Look for a maple tree that is at least 12 inches in diameter and has a lot of direct sunlight. How to Tap a Maple Tree A sugar maple is the most popular tree to tap due to the high concentration of sugars. Only delicious nuts, but is often considered just as sweet ’ t mean the process of a... Nigrum ) Black maples produce as much as the other two species is flowing, you can also a. 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