![]() Plastic or galvanized pipe also may be used. These may be hollowed out and will do the job. Any type of cylindrical, hollow structure may be used, such as finger-sized, straight twigs that have pithy cores. Once the hole is made, a conveyance is necessary to direct the sap into a container. Make the holes about waist high, three to four inches deep, slightly inclined upward into the tree and clean out all shavings with a narrow, pointed knife. Together they are placed into the tapped hole and with several hammer blows, the spile is driven in snug up to the hook. These trees produce more leaves (have more chlorophyll) and consequently are capable of putting more sugar in their sap.įigure 2: The steel driver, between thumb and forefinger, is inserted into the spout end of the spile. I choose open-crowned trees that have not been reaching for sunlight under the larger Cottonwoods. I try to be selective and choose trees that are not too crowded with Ash or Cottonwood trees. We have over fifty-five Big Leaf Maples along a 3/4 mile stretch of our farm along the South Umpqua River. If it begins to bleed sap, it is time to get your brace and 7/16″ wood bit and start drilling your holes. I generally cut a branch tip off below a bud and watch it for a few minutes. Or we may be blessed with clear, sunny days with above freezing daytime temperatures and crispy, frosted clear nights below freezing. We may have five to six weeks without frosts, overcast days or intermittent rains with night-time temperatures above freezing. At this time of year, west of the Cascades in central and southern Oregon, weather conditions from year to year, however, are unreliable. The time to tap maples for sap is on clear, warm days after a snowy, icy or frosty night, when the temperature drops below freezing. ![]() In most areas of the northwest, January and February are the months to begin tapping. Whether you live in the northeast, midwest or along the Pacific slope, the time to start tapping the trees may come anytime from mid-January to mid-March, whenever spring begins fingering into winter. Properly made syrup from these two western maples is indistinguishable from the syrup of maples of the midwestern and northeastern states. The Box Elder (Acre negundo) and the Big-leaf Maple (Acre macrophyllum) are the only syrup producing maples of the Pacific Northwest. The Sugar Maple (Acre saccharum), often called hard rock maple, and the Black Maple (Acre nigrum) are considered the most important syrup producing species in the United States. These species overlap in geographic distribution from the southern Great Lakes region eastward. There is a great potential in establishment of a seasonal “sugarbush” industry for small farmers of the northwestern states, particularly western Oregon and Washington.įive syrup producing species of maples (Sugar, Black, Red, Silver, Box Elder) are found mainly east of the Rocky Mountains. Syrup From Oregon’s Big Leaf Mapleīy Victor Morejohn, photos by Tal Blankenship The following article appeared in Small Farmer’s Journal in 1983. We are enjoying our ecosystem and in the end it could be commercially viable or just something grandkids do with their grandparents," said Ganguly.NPR ran an article from NW News Network about the Big Leaf Maple, Bigleaf Maple Syrup Flows As Profits Drip From Once-Maligned Northwest Tree, on January 26, 2020. "We are not changing the ecosystem in any way. "You have a hundred year plus tree that you don’t have to cut it down and every single year it returns an investment with very minimal impact on the planet, so that is where the excitement is coming from," said Devin Day with Neil’s Bigleaf Maple Syrup.īigleaf maples are abundant in areas bordering streams known as riparian zones and researchers are excited the native trees can not only play an environmental role, but an economic one too. Retail price for a gallon is 500 dollars. Neil’s Bigleaf Maple Syrup located in Acme was the first to commercialize maple syrup in the Western United States. So it has to go down to freezing few days and then when it warms up and the trees thaw, there’s enough pressure inside the tree and then the sap starts flowing," said Ganguly.
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