By Paige Waskow, Curriculum Assistant
February 21, 2024
A cold breeze rushes over the bluffs. Crowded calls of dark eyed juncos ring from the ground and bushes. Frost holds tightly to branches, buildings, and sometimes even us. It is winter. And some days, it is quite cold.
While much of the landscape seems to pause and hold its breath until spring, the trees are alive! Even though most of them have lost their leaves, they are constantly sending energy up and through their limbs via sap in order to survive the winter. Sap flow is unique in this early year weather as the temperature often drops below freezing overnight and raises to the mid 40s during the day. For us at Eagle Bluff, that fluctuation provides a window of delicious opportunity. It is maple syrup season!
Each year around this time, Eagle Bluff’s teaching staff takes to the woods to make syrup. With a little bit of time; effort; and the ability to not drop a five gallon bucket of sap, we’re able to walk away with a prized and tasty classic Minnesotan treat.
Our Process:
Selecting a tree:
It all starts with the trees. While multiple species of trees produce sap that could be turned into syrup, the lovely and classic sugar maple is always a good bet due to its high sugar content. But, what does a sugar maple look like when it has none of its easily identifiable leaves? We’ll have to look a little bit closer…
Okay, maybe not that close. We will want to get a solid look at it, though.
Excellent! We like to look for two key winter identifiers:
Opposite branches: A tree’s branches can form in two different ways in relation to one another. Maple trees have opposite branching meaning new growth on one branch comes out on both sides in the same location. This can be most easily seen on the newest growth of a branch. The other form of branching is alternate, where new growth does not come from the same place on the branch. Thankfully, for our identification purposes, most other native Minnesota trees have alternate growth formation.
Bark: A maple tree’s bark can also assist in proper identification. Young maples’ bark often has a smoother appearance, typically gray. Older trees can still have a gray look but their bark is shaggier, almost like strips of bacon. Some trees might also have white spots.
It’s important to make sure that your tree is large enough to tap. We recommend a diameter of at least 10 inches.
The Set up:
Once you’ve selected a tree, there are a few tools you’ll need to get the perfect sap collecting set up. There are different ways to set up collection, but this is our strategy:
First thing we’ll do is choose a place on the tree trunk to tap. Ultimately, we want the collection bucket to be a few feet off the ground.
Second, a drill is lined up perpendicularly to the tree. We then drill in a few inches of space in order to ensure we’ve gotten past the protective bark layer.
Third, we’ll line the spigot up perpendicularly to the tree. We make sure to clear out any wood shavings first and then hammer it into the tree.
Finally, once the spigot is in place, a bucket and lid are added. This helps keep the sap in and other things, like rain, dirt, or bugs out.
And now we wait…
We like to check our buckets every few days. If the sap is flowing a lot, we’ll check daily. As it’s collected, you can store your sap in many ways, but we like to use 40 gallon buckets.
The process continues while the weather stays in this daily temperature fluctuation. On March 9th, you can join us for Maple Syrup Fest! This family friendly event is a great way to get out into the wintry woods and learn how to make maple syrup. Tours will start every 30 minutes and include opportunities to tap trees, boil sap, and eat mini pancakes. You can learn more here. Happy sapping!
Please note that in order to tap trees on state land, you need proper state permitting. You can visit the Minnesota DNR’s website to learn more about tapping trees.
