When we lived in the suburbs, a friend and I got curious about how Maple syrup was made. We did some research and found out that you can collect the sap of Silver Maples to boil down for syrup as well as Sugar Maple. So, we bought the equipment and made some yummy syrup from her big Silver Maples.
22 years ago, when we moved out to the country, that was one of those things on my "must have" list - a Maple tree.There was a young Maple in the yard but it was not large enough yet to tap. Come to find out that a "noxious weed tree", the Box Elder of infamous Box Elder bug fame, is part of the Acer family.
I trudged out with my kids to tap all the Box Elders we could find (no trouble there!)and made lots of syrup. Yes, it tastes just like Maple syrup and has the same consistency. The problem is that it takes twice the sap!
This year, with the nights freezing and the days above 32, I got the bug to tap again. I found a really big Box Elder and put in three taps. I'll check daily to make sure I hit the sapwood - it is tricky when the tree gets to be larger than 12-18 inches in diameter.Geo is worried that the steam from the boiling will take the wallpaper off in the bathroom - a room that is around the corner and down the hall from the kitchen - that is how bad the steam is when it is cooking! But, it will be worth it and I need new wallpaper in there anyway;-)I'll keep you all posted!
Tapping is one thing I haven't done yet. I will have to check for trees around the farm. We have lots of pine trees so I may have to go to the woods. Good luck!
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