The signal is above zero during the day and below zero at night. We started on the first of March. It’s been earlier and later in other years. Our closest 10 maple trees give us enough sap to make enough syrup to last the two a year; it’s our main sweetener. Also, we “pressure can” ( aka, bottle ) some of the sap to drink in the middle of the summer. It’s nature’s sport drink. You could freeze it too … our freezer space is limited.

Here are some photos and basic instructions to help you begin. Your local hardware supply store should have the supplies if you need them and we are using recycled ice cream buckets. We bought the official blue lids through Home Hardware to keep out rain, snow, blowing debris and bird/squirrel droppings : (

Using a 1/2″ drill bit make a 2- 2.5″ deep hole on a slight angle so the sap runs downhill out of the spile ( the things you tap into the tree ). We have an impact driver; an electric drill will work as well as an old timey brace and bit. We’ve found that you’ll have to recheck the spiles because of the weight of the sap in the buckets and the warming and freezing seems to causes an expanding and contracting of the tree … its pumping up water through its roots. The sap is sterile coming out of the tree, so even if you think the surrounding soil is contaminated the tree filters that out.

For a tree 12- 20″ in circumference use 1 tap; 21- 27″= 2 taps and 27+”= 3 taps. We find that the sunny side of the tree has more sap running than the shady side. Trees in full sun do better than those in shade at the edge of the forest.

The holes ideally should be ~ 3 feet from the ground and if you tapped last year 6″ from the hole you made then.

When the sap stops running after about three weeks, ( it stops being sweet and gets darker ) cut a small live branch off of a maple tree the same size as the drilled holes and make peeled plugs 3-4 inches long to stop up the hole you made. Cut the plugs flush with the bark with a small handsaw. The tree will heal around it.

You can do this! Brian and I learned many of the skills we know in the past three years. We will post the syrup making soon.