HOMESTEADucation

Tapping Trees on your Homestead

December 31, 2021 Angela and Mandi Season 1 Episode 7
HOMESTEADucation
Tapping Trees on your Homestead
Show Notes

Episode 7: Tapping a Tree for Maple Syrup
What to tap and when?

  • All maples can be tapped for sap. Sugar maples are the sweetest.
  • Can also tap:
    • Birch, walnut, black and english walnut, linden, box elder, butternut, sycamore, palm and gorose. All trees’ saps have their own flavor. 
    • Maple (Sugar, Silver, Black, Red, Norway, Big Leaf)

40 parts of sap yields 1 part of finished syrup

Tap when daytime temperatures are above 32F (0C) and nighttime temperatures are below

Birch (European White, Paper, Yellow, Black, Gray, River)

110 parts of sap yields 1 part of finished syrup

Tap when daytime temperatures are 40-50F (4.4-10C)

Box Elder

60 parts of sap yields 1 part of finished syrup

Tap when daytime temperatures are above 32F (0C) and nighttime temperatures are below

Black and English Walnut 

60 parts of sap yields 1 part of finished syrup

Tap when daytime temperatures are above 32F (0C) and nighttime temperatures are below

Butternut

60 parts of sap yields 1 part of finished syrup

Tap when daytime temperatures are above 32F (0C) and nighttime temperatures are below

Sycamore

40 parts of sap yields 1 part of finished syrup

Tap when daytime temperatures are above 32F (0C) and nighttime temperatures are below

Palm

88 parts of sap yields 11 parts finished syrup

http://www.lrrd.org/lrrd11/1/dali111.htm

Can be tapped year round

Gorosoe

40 parts of sap yields 1 part of finished syrup

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/chugging-maple-sap-30413453/

Tap when daytime temperatures are above 32F (0C) and nighttime temperatures are below

https://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/24/world/asia/24iht-maple.1.20393336.html

Tree Identification

Regardless of the variety of tree you are tapping, the process is the same.

  • Be sure to always tap trees that measure 10” (25.4cm) in diameter or more so as not to damage the heartwood. A tree measuring this size can withstand one tap.
  • A tree measuring 20” (50.8cm) can handle two taps.
  • Finally, a tree measuring larger than 25” (63.5cm) in diameter may have three taps.
  • Never install more than three taps per tree. When installing multiple taps, always place them at a minimum of 6 to 8” (15.24 to 20.32cm) apart from one another.

Sugar Maple Identification

  • Bright orange, yellow or reddish leaves in the fall
  • Smoother bark than other maples, dark almost black in color
  • Can often see these trees dripping with sap from holes or cracks in the winter time
  • Look for five lobes with deep indentations

Equipment for Tapping

  • A power drill
  • 5/16” (.8cm) drill bit
  • Spiles
  • Hammer
  • Bucket hooks (if hanging buckets)
  • Hoses (for ground buckets)
  • Buckets with lids
  • Harvesting storage buckets
  • A large pot
  • Thermometer

Equipment for Processing

  • Evaporator (optional)
  • Large pot for boil
  • Small pot for finishing
  • Thermometer
  • Cheesecloth or fine strainer
  • Bottling jars and sealing lids

How to Tap and Boil

  • Tap when temperatures rise above freezing by day, and below freezing by night
  • Locate the s