Traditionally, March is the month when galvanized buckets begin to appear hanging on the sides of stately sugar maples. In recent years, clear plastic tubes running in long webs from tree to tree have begun to replace the old methods. Either way, the goal is to collect the sweet sap from the tree to be boiled down to that wonderful maple syrup for our pancakes.

In the autumn, deciduous trees such as the maple send sugars from their leaves down into the roots to be stored for the winter. This provides the energy to produce the first set of leaves the following spring to renew the growth cycle. In March, when the days are warm but the nights are still cool, the stored sugars are sent back up the tree.

Over the centuries, people discovered that the sap of the sugar maple is especially sweet. By drilling a hole through the bark and into the vascular system of the tree, we can interrupt the flow and direct it into buckets. Timing is important since the flow only lasts a few weeks.

Although several species of maple may be used for syrup production, the sugar maple (Acer saccharum) and the black maple (A. nigrum) provide the best production. The amount of sap that can be safely taken from a tree without causing damage is a judgment call. If the previous growing season included major stresses such as a serious drought, trees may be short on the vital energy needed to sustain themselves. In this case, the tapping season should be shortened to avoid further stresses on the tree.

The sap itself contains only about 2 percent sugar. That is why it must be boiled down and concentrated into the sticky, slow flowing syrup. It takes approximately 43 gallons of sap to produce one gallon of syrup. That is one reason that the pure stuff is relatively expensive.

If you are really into this topic, you might want to order a copy of the North American Maple Syrup Producers Manual. This 178 page publication covers every aspect of maple syrup production. It is available from:

The Ohio State University
Publications Office
385 Kottman Hall
2021 Coffey Rd.
Columbus, OH 43210-1044