Nice!
Do i see a big Maple in the yard, more down by the pond? Makes me think of springtime sap collecting in about 6 weeks ...
Nope, we actually got ripped off in the maple tree department. 18 acres and we know of 2 maple trees on the whole property, both of which are not quite the right diameter for tapping. Neighbors all have maples galore.
However we recently learned that black walnut can be tapped, and we may have a couple of those. We also learned that sycamore can be tapped, and we have at least one of those. So we may give it a try. Do you have experience in tapping?
Maybe you can barter with the neighbors - tap their maples and promise them some syrup when you are done?
We had a few large maples in the yard when I was a kid. Dad bought the taps (I still have), used his Dad's bit brace and bit to drill the holes, drove the taps in and hung plastic buckets. IIRC, we collected roughly 50g of sap, boiled it down to about a gallon of dark syrup on the kitchen stove. My mom said she'd never do it again, the moisture made a mess condensing on the windows throughout the house. Strongly recommend boiling it down outside!
Yeah we have no idea the amount of sap we'll be able to collect. Probably not much but then again we don't use syrup that often so even a pint or two is at least a year long supply. I'll post pics if we end up trying this exercise!
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