Saturday, March 14, 2015

Maple Syrup Time

It's been several years since we made maple syrup.  So long that Paige and Allie don't remember ever making it.  In our effort to eat more natural and whole foods, we decided to make it this year.  We have about 8 trees that could be tapped, but my schedule is so crazy that we decided to just tap two this year.  I'd hate to have the sap go to waste because I don't have time to cook it down.

Last weekend, Mike and I tapped the trees and began collecting sap.
Drill hole about 2-2.5" deep at an angle.  Use a sharp drill bit to protect the tree and get better sap production.


The sap began running immediately.

We purchased our spile at a local farm store.  Some people make their own from piping.

Hammer into the drilled hole.

The sap should begin flowing down the center of the spile.

We added clear hose, so the children could watch the sap flow and so we could set the buckets on the ground.

We purchased buckets with lids from the Home Depot.  Mike drilled a hole in the top for the hose, then we washed and sanitized the buckets,

The sap collecting is underway.  It flows best when the daytime temperatures are in the 40s and the night time temperatures are in the 20s. 


1 comment:

Barb the Evil Genius said...

Since you seem to still have snow, you should make candy like Laura and Mary did!