We always look forward to February when it's time to tap our four maple trees in order to get sap for maple syrup.
Sap flows when daytime temperatures rise above freezing (32 Fahrenheit / 0 Celsius) and nighttime temps fall below freezing. Best temps are 40s during the day and 20s at night. The rising temp creates pressure in the tree, thereby generating the sap flow.
We have two sugar maples (acer saccharum) and two red maples (acer rubrum).
We used a 7/16" drill bit to drill a 1" deep hole in the tree. Then the spile or spout was tapped into the hole with a hammer, a bucket was attached to a hook on the spile and the cover was put in place. The sap began dripping immediately.
It takes approximately 40 gallons of sap to produce 1 gallon of finished maple syrup.
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| Spile in place and sap beginning to flow 2/6/17 |
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| Large sugar maple tree with two taps. |
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