Tapping maple trees to make syrup

[Montsta]

Has anybody here had any experience with this? It was just recently brought to my attention and I wanted to try it as it seems like a very cheap, fun, and renewable way to get some great maple syrup during the spring.

I don't have any sugar maples near me I don't think but my neighbor has two HUGE maples in his backyard and we think they are Bigleaf Maples, which I've now read are indigenous to my area. So the sugar content is lower and more sap will be needed to produce some syrup, but I'm not too worried about that.

Any tips or tricks I should know? I found some spires to tap the tree on Amazon and a nice setup that has tubes going into a food grade bucket. My neighbor also has a giant fire pit in his backyard so we were gonna use a nice old chain link gate over it with a big pan to do the initial boil.

Hoping I can yield something. Seems like a fun project to do with my daughter and my neighbors kids. Plus, I'm a bit of a Doomsday Prepper (not AT ALL like the show) so these kind of outdoor self sustaining things always interest me.

[Panthro]

bear bait

[Montsta]

bear bait

The "how to pick better friends that won't try to get you killed by indigenous wildlife" thread is incoming shortly.

[PandaPancake]

Where the fug is the Canadian? Don't they teach this in school there?

 

Also I think you have more knowledge than 99% of the Huddle. I have found a cool magazine article a couple years ago in Urban Farmer about it,

[Bronn]

So... you're saying you want to tap that?

[KSpan]

So... you're saying you want to tap that?

Gotta get that sweet syrupy nectar bro.

[Hawk]

Where the fug is the Canadian? Don't they teach this in school there?

 

Also I think you have more knowledge than 99% of the Huddle. I have found a cool magazine article a couple years ago in Urban Farmer about it,

 

that's them eastern Canadians tapping them trees...out west we tap mooses.

[Jeremy Igo]

I saw an episode of dirty jobs on the subject.

Amazing how much sap it took to reduce down I to syrup

[PhillyB]

share the results if you don't get eaten by bears… i would like to do something like this too at some point

[Hotsauce]

Backyard chickens > maple sizzurp

[Jangler]

seems like it would be boring, for not much syrup.

[Montsta]

Backyard chickens > maple sizzurp

My neighbor has chickens. They have the best eggs and he brings me half a dozen or so on weekends.

I'd like that too but my wife won't be having any of that at my house.

[4Corners]

I saw an episode of dirty jobs on the subject.

Amazing how much sap it took to reduce down I to syrup

 

We made our own tomato sauce last year from our garden's tomato plants ...I was shocked when I saw how many maters it took to make 1 jar of sauce. 

[PandaPancake]

that's them eastern Canadians tapping them trees...out west we tap mooses.

 

That explains this flag my neighbor flies.