Tree Tapping Good Time

by | Feb 24, 2016

When I checked the weather forecast late last week, it showed freezing nights and nice warm (40*-50*) days.  That’s a perfect forecast for running sap!  We were all set and ready to tap our first five trees this weekend, with plans to watch the weather and tap the other five later in the season.  It’s all about learning, at this point.

By the time our gorgeous Saturday came, the forecast had taken a dip.  We ignored it and tapped anyway!  We will see how it all goes, but thus far, the sap seems to be running fairly well in the trees with the southern exposure.

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Tree tapping is a family affair around here.  The kids love the drilling, watching that first bit of sap start flowing, and traipsing wild-like through the woods.

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We mark our trees in the fall, when the leaves a clear indicators of the trees identity.  We buy clean buckets and lids from the local bakery, grab our stainless steel spiles and drill with 7/16 bit and head out to find those marked trees.

The hole needs to be drilled at a slight, upward angle.  We’ve found that shrugging your shoulders, setting the drill, and then dropping your shoulders before drilling gives the perfect angle.

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Now we just watch those buckets fill, so we can boils our sap into syrup!

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About The Author: Sarah Antonio

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4 Comments

  1. zrodimel

    I’ve gotten 3 gallons since Sunday. Looks like it’s going to slow down for a bit now. How long do you guys keep your sap before boiling it? I partially boiled down 2 gallons last night to 2 cups because I was running out of room in the fridge.

    Reply
    • sewmanywildthings

      Last year, I kept it on the porch, where it was cold. I think I kept it up to a week and didn’t have a problem. As long as it’s cool, you should be fine!

      Reply
  2. Bonnie Way (@KoalaMomBlog)

    Cool! This is something I’ve never done… Alberta doesn’t have many trees for tapping. My hubby did it when he lived on a farm in Ontario. Someday I’d love to visit a farm during tree tapping season and experience it in person. šŸ™‚

    Reply
    • sewmanywildthings

      It was a really fun thing to do, especially with this kids! And since they love al things Little House on the Prairie!

      Reply

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4 Comments

  1. zrodimel

    I’ve gotten 3 gallons since Sunday. Looks like it’s going to slow down for a bit now. How long do you guys keep your sap before boiling it? I partially boiled down 2 gallons last night to 2 cups because I was running out of room in the fridge.

    Reply
    • sewmanywildthings

      Last year, I kept it on the porch, where it was cold. I think I kept it up to a week and didn’t have a problem. As long as it’s cool, you should be fine!

      Reply
  2. Bonnie Way (@KoalaMomBlog)

    Cool! This is something I’ve never done… Alberta doesn’t have many trees for tapping. My hubby did it when he lived on a farm in Ontario. Someday I’d love to visit a farm during tree tapping season and experience it in person. šŸ™‚

    Reply
    • sewmanywildthings

      It was a really fun thing to do, especially with this kids! And since they love al things Little House on the Prairie!

      Reply

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *