Am I the only one.....

[stirfamily]

Counting the days to maple sugaring time? Can't, wait!
Karen in NE Indiana

[glazed]

I'm sure Forerunner and Rebel Lemming are ready!

[FarmerChick]

We make molasses at our lassy mill on the farm.

WOW is that stuff good we make.

I bet your maple is wonderful!!!!!!


The cows and goats can't wait either...they eat up the canes after we squeeze!
Everyone wins..LOL

[farmerbrian]

its on my list of new things to learn this spring. Gonna have to get busy soon since i think the sap starts flowing here in End of Feb - early march!

[rowdyrob]

I am just starting to learn my homesteading skills, when tapping for sap how big should a tree be in width,height,etc?

[Oldcountryboy]

So do you tap the tree when the sap is flowing up or coming down? Or both?

For some reason I always thought that maple sugaring was done in the fall. Also, what all other trees can be tapped into. I was thinking the old timers around here use to do the same thing with hackberry trees. Although I was told it doesn't make as good of syrup as maples.

[glazed]

Originally Posted by Oldcountryboy

Also, what all other trees can be tapped into.

I was thinking the old timers around here use to do the same thing with hackberry trees.

Okay, y'all now have my undivided attention.

Start teaching!

[Forerunner]

Sycamore, birch, walnut, box elder and others yield a lesser but workable product.

I don't know if I'm looking forward to the season or not.
Last year we were run out of the riverbottom twice by flooding, and the year never dried out. The big winter storm just this last week has the river as high as it's been in 6 months, again..... The river has been our nearly a dozen times this year.....unheard of for this area. 90 % of our trees are soft maples, most of those within 50 feet of the riverbank. It looks like it's going to be mud or ice for months to come.

[Oldcountryboy]

Originally Posted by Mama Crow

Okay, y'all now have my undivided attention.

Start teaching!

In case you didn't know, hackberry when split up for firewood smells real good. I don't mind burning it as it makes the house smell good. Very berry like. I need to split some up and try my luck at using it to smoke meats with.

[glazed]

No sir, I didn't know ... but your posts are why my antennae perked up.



My late father-in-law said the grove of trees that I want to build inside of was mostly hackberries ... I had never heard of hackberry trees before then ... he gave me the impression they were nothing but good-for-nothing weed trees ... i wonder why?

[Windy in Kansas]

Originally Posted by rowdyrob

I am just starting to learn my homesteading skills, when tapping for sap how big should a tree be in width,height,etc?

WELCOME to the forums with your first post. Feel free to query, answer, and give opinions on the various forums under this great umbrella of forums called Homesteadingtoday

Again, welcome, Windy in Kansas

[Forerunner]

Originally Posted by rowdyrob

I am just starting to learn my homesteading skills, when tapping for sap how big should a tree be in width,height,etc?

Hard maples should be a foot or so in diameter before you tap them.
One tap in a tree that size is plenty.
After that, every six inches increased diameter, add a tap.
Tap on the south and west sides for an earlier season flow....the north and west for a longer season flow. Tap directly in line with the larger buttress roots for greatest flow.

Soft maples are a little tougher, less valuable, and grow like weeds in the creek and river bottoms. I routinely tap them about 33-50% more taps per same diameter tree as the hard maples.

[stirfamily]

This will only be our second year sugaring so I'm still learning a lot myself. This year we're switching from buckets to bags and I've got 10 maples picked out to tap. We don't have a single sugar maple on the property but do have lots of silver maples and that's what we'll tap again this spring. We made about a gallon and half syrup last year from 6 trees. Beautiful syrup too, very light amber with a nice smokey sweetness. I have a sugaring house on my wish list. If I ever decide to stop raising chickens the coop will probably be renovated for maple syrup making.
karen in NE Indiana

[tab]

I don't ever place more than four taps on trees, even road trees. The newer stuff I have read says it stresses the trees, etc. Syrup making is always done in the spring, when the trees start to get swollen buds the sap gets darker and yucky.

Amazon usually has some used books about maple syrup making for a very reasonable price. Most of here use "back yard" set up with a few exceptions.

Funny I was thinking about syrup making the other day as well as when I can start seedlings.....

Dh always said we had "junk" trees growing by the creek. Yet he kept saying how he wished had some black locust for fence posts. Well, turns out those "junk" trees are black locust and after some research found out they can be a bit like a weed but are more valuable than weedy. They have a high BTU rating, last for a very long time in the ground and grow on less than wonderful soil. I have several earmarked to become the posts for my sugar shed as they are very tall and straight. Point being, a tree id guide often times is worth its weight in gold. When one doesn't know how to ID a maple tree in the winter its hard to know what the potential is for that golden syrup and one needs to know what trees make good wood to burn to boil that syrup!

[hillbillygal]

Y'all watching Dirty Jobs tonight? I can taste that sap now!

[Oldcountryboy]

Originally Posted by Mama Crow

No sir, I didn't know ... but your posts are why my antennae perked up.



My late father-in-law said the grove of trees that I want to build inside of was mostly hackberries ... I had never heard of hackberry trees before then ... he gave me the impression they were nothing but good-for-nothing weed trees ... i wonder why?

Basically are. They're a softer wood so they really don't last long in the fire stove. They do smell good on the inside. And they will take over a place like weeds if you let them. I'm not even sure if the berries are edible. It would be hard to harvest them as the trees can grow very tall. They do make good shade trees. When alone in a field or yard, the bush out very well.