Anyone make any of their own maple syrup?

I know some folks in the NC mtns that do it.

I have a few trees around I am going to try next spring.

Biggest thing I can tell, making sure you are ready for the window. It is much smaller here vs up North.
 
Some of the people I’ve met somewhat local (within an hour) say to be ready around Christmas/New Years.

that’s sooner than I was planning but will be ready. Ordered taps, tubing, Tees, etc. I should be ready. I have about 30-40 red maples I can tap as well as a few sycamore trees.

should be another time consuming, labor intensive, expensive hobby to avoid paying the $ for the real stuff in grocery store. :rolleyes:
:D

like I need another time consuming hobby. At least it will be fun with the kids. They love scouting for the trees and will be good little helpers. And educational as well. And one more step to being less dependent on store bought items and more dependent on survival and living off the land and what’s out there and available with a little bit of work.
 
rockcity said:
Some of the people I’ve met somewhat local (within an hour) say to be ready around Christmas/New Years.

that’s sooner than I was planning but will be ready. Ordered taps, tubing, Tees, etc. I should be ready. I have about 30-40 red maples I can tap as well as a few sycamore trees.

should be another time consuming, labor intensive, expensive hobby to avoid paying the $ for the real stuff in grocery store. :rolleyes:
:D

like I need another time consuming hobby. At least it will be fun with the kids. They love scouting for the trees and will be good little helpers. And educational as well. And one more step to being less dependent on store bought items and more dependent on survival and living off the land and what’s out there and available with a little bit of work.
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That's good to know.

I have heard when highs are in the 40s and lows in the 20s... But that's half the winter here.


I figure I will tap them early and just check the buckets every few days.


I have also heard of folks tapping them now and getting sap as it flows down.
 
I’ve heard of fall tapping but everyone says it’s not a great idea. Hurts the tree more and sugar content is much lower. It’s the tree’s “antifreeze” so tapping in the fall isn’t the best. Plus you can’t tap that tree in spring if you do.
 
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We really like this stuff. Order off their site. Expensive in my opinion. As long as the son doesn't get into it, it last us a good while.
My wife makes a cookie with them that's out of this world.

Found it at a small Festival in Brevard they have every 4th. Of July.
 
I've got several 20-24" dbh trees in my yard (tall. 60' at least), they're tall, droopy limbs. I thought they were sourgum but looking at the tree book they aren't. I'm sure they can be tapped but would it taste good.. saw a video I didn't watch that said something about 20+ species that produce decent syrup sap.
 
obullfish said:
I bet a black walnut tastes like shit.
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Actually, black walnut is highly prized as a syrup. It can go for over $150/gallon for syrup. Good quality home grown maple syrup can go for $100/gallon as well.

however, it’s not your average wal mart customer that purchases these products.
 
a_kelley said:
I've got several 20-24" dbh trees in my yard (tall. 60' at least), they're tall, droopy limbs. I thought they were sourgum but looking at the tree book they aren't. I'm sure they can be tapped but would it taste good.. saw a video I didn't watch that said something about 20+ species that produce decent syrup sap.
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I’m assuming you mean maple trees?


Most maples can produce syrup quality sap though sugar maples are the best as their sugar content is higher than the rest. Most in NC are red maples or sometning other than sugar, so we do what we can with what we got.

there are many other types of trees to tap as well, including black walnut, birch, and even sycamore. Sycamore has me intrigued; it’s syrup supposedly has a butterscotch flavor. :)
 
@rockcity no I don't believe it's a maple. I'll try find a leaf or two and get a picture of the tree.. almost reminds me of a poplar (which you can tap also) wifey says they drop half dollar overall size spikey balls .. and i remember they do now that she mentioned it.
 
a_kelley said:
@rockcity no I don't believe it's a maple. I'll try find a leaf or two and get a picture of the tree.. almost reminds me of a poplar (which you can tap also) wifey says they drop half dollar overall size spikey balls .. and i remember they do now that she mentioned it.
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If the tree drops spikey fruit, it’s more than likely sycamore. Those can be tapped as well. The bark is very distinct as it looks like camo.
 
UTfball68 said:
Geez...and here I am wondering if it’s worth the effort to get up and snag the butter pecan syrup from the next table over when I go to IHOP. Respect to folks that can get in to hobbies like this.
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Walked the land again today and marked another 10 trees. I think the total is up to about 35 maples. While it’s not really affordable or cost effective to make your own syrup from 35 trees, it is certainly educational for the kids. That alone can pay dividends 10-fold later in life.




Plus, it now has me turned on to planting a black walnut plantation somewhere close to the house. While I originally planned on planting those to tap, I quickly learned that black walnut trees can be worth $75k to $150k per acre in timber with careful management. So, the focus has shifted from pines to black walnut. :)

@Ron may have some insight on this. ;)

NC is OK for black walnuts not the 100% best location. But, it is possible and can be a good retirement plan if done right. :)
 
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rockcity said:
Actually, black walnut is highly prized as a syrup. It can go for over $150/gallon for syrup. Good quality home grown maple syrup can go for $100/gallon as well.

however, it’s not your average wal mart customer that purchases these products.
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Sounds like I need to tap a few that’s on my property. The nuts are bitter as hell to me. Go ahead and make the nut jokes now.
 
Planted about 100 black walnuts a few years ago, with the idea of future use, hadn't thought of tapping them, the shells seam to be worth more the nuts (industrial abrasive). I've heard blackgum makes good syrup also, good firewood if you don't have to split it.
 
rockcity said:
Walked the land again today and marked another 10 trees. I think the total is up to about 35 maples. While it’s not really affordable or cost effective to make your own syrup from 35 trees, it is certainly educational for the kids. That alone can pay dividends 10-fold later in life.




Plus, it now has me turned on to planting a black walnut plantation somewhere close to the house. While I originally planned on planting those to tap, I quickly learned that black walnut trees can be worth $75k to $150k per acre in timber with careful management. So, the focus has shifted from pines to black walnut. :)

@Ron may have some insight on this. ;)

NC is OK for black walnuts not the 100% best location. But, it is possible and can be a good retirement plan if done right. :)
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Do some more research on the walnuts. Those are perfect world numbers. 9 times out of 10 you'll have better return on investment with pines and a lot less hassle.
 
I'm very interested in tapping maples and poplars though. I have probably 100 of the 2 on my property. I have the little helicoptor seed pods all sver my house from that wind yesterday to prove it. All my trees are 15" dia or smaller. Is there a minimum size to safely tap?
 
awheelterd said:
I'm very interested in tapping maples and poplars though. I have probably 100 of the 2 on my property. I have the little helicoptor seed pods all sver my house from that wind yesterday to prove it. All my trees are 15" dia or smaller. Is there a minimum size to safely tap?
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Most people say to not tap anything less than 10-12” dbh as it is at risk of killing the tree.
 
awheelterd said:
Do some more research on the walnuts. Those are perfect world numbers. 9 times out of 10 you'll have better return on investment with pines and a lot less hassle.
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Yeah I know. I’m looking at a mixed plantation between pine and black walnut and some maples, so hopefully it will work out. Looking at several options.
 
Hope you have an outdoor place to cook it down. Takes a long time and you will need a really good exhaust system if doing it in the house. I made some many many moons ago. Was it good? Hell yea. Was it worth the effort? Hell no..lol ..now I don't blink when I buy it. But as stated, it will be a good experience for sure.
 
This first year I’m going to use my 3 turkey pots and burners outside. It’s not going to be cost effective but just using what I have this first time.

if all works out ok, I’ll build a small wood burning evaporator.
 
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