maple tree question

[riverrat]

what kind of maple trees are the ones that make the syrup. If one was to plant them in kansas how many years would it bee before they got big enough to tap them.

[George Fergusson]

Around here we call them Rock Maple, aka Sugar Maple. As opposed to Red Maple, which also gives sap but which isn't as sweet by about 1/2. We never tapped a tree much under 10-12" in diameter so it would be a good many years (15-20?) if you planted saplings now. They're not particularly fast growing, but they live a long time :)

If you haven't got the weather in Kansas you might not get much maple syrup from them anyways. Anyone else make any syrup out your way? Are there any trees in Kansas?

[Hillside]

What you're looking for is Acer saccharum, the sugar maple. It tends to be a more northern tree, although there are probably strains that grow further south. It's definitely not a prairie tree.

In a good location if you plant a one-inch diameter tree you are probably looking at 15 to 20 years to have a tree large enough to tap.

Some people make syrup from Boxelders (Acer negundo). It's much faster growing and handles prairie conditions better. The syrup isn't as high of quality.

[peggjam]

What you're looking for is Acer saccharum, the sugar maple. It tends to be a more northern tree, although there are probably strains that grow further south. It's definitely not a prairie tree.

In a good location if you plant a one-inch diameter tree you are probably looking at 15 to 20 years to have a tree large enough to tap.

Some people make syrup from Boxelders (Acer negundo). It's much faster growing and handles prairie conditions better. The syrup isn't as high of quality.
The syrup from the boxelders is just as good, however, it takes twice the sap as the sugar content is low.

Some folks make birch syrup, which they claim is as good or better than maple syrup, I haven't tried any so couldn't tell ya for sure.:)

[George Fergusson]

Thanks Hillside for the scientific name. It escaped me.

[George Fergusson]

The syrup from the boxelders is just as good, however, it takes twice thce sap as the sugar content is low.

That'd be a lotta boiling...


Some folks make birch syrup, which they claim is as good or better than maple syrup, I haven't tried any so couldn't tell ya for sure.:)

I've had it, it's good, dunno if it's better than maple syrup, just different. It too is thin sap and takes a lot of boiling (or the same amount of boiling to make half the syrup?). An old lady around here used to make birch beer (non-alcoholic) similar to root beer by taking birch sap, boiling it down some, then adding some sugar and yeast. It was yummy. I bet you could do that with maple sap..

[drobbins]

I have a friend from New Hampshire who came for a visit and brought a jug of maple syrup
it's good, but I wouldn't trade it for honey
it's nice to have both but I like honey way better
of course I gave her a jug of honey:rolleyes:
just my 2 cents

Dave

[bigeddie]

We call them hard maple here. All that was said before is true and I agree. I think you could get sap in your state, just not as much.

[Shapleigh's Bees]

I have the trees, but the labor and fuel required to boil 40 gallons of sap into 1 gallon of syrup just doesn't make sense. I thoght about some sort of solar evaporator, but figured I'd just make a big vat of yeast and bacteria.

[xC0000005]

I have the trees, but the labor and fuel required to boil 40 gallons of sap into 1 gallon of syrup just doesn't make sense. I thoght about some sort of solar evaporator, but figured I'd just make a big vat of yeast and bacteria.


Aka a brewery. Maple beer, anyone?

[MapMan]

I have the trees, but the labor and fuel required to boil 40 gallons of sap into 1 gallon of syrup just doesn't make sense. I thoght about some sort of solar evaporator, but figured I'd just make a big vat of yeast and bacteria.

You can always tap the trees, run lines to a storage tank near an access point, and sell the sap to a maple syrup producer who makes runs to pick up sap. We have quite a few outfits that do it in this area - you can make some good money if you have quite a few trees to tap.

MM

[MapMan]

what kind of maple trees are the ones that make the syrup. If one was to plant them in kansas how many years would it bee before they got big enough to tap them.

You need the right sort of climate to be able to get sap running from them to be productive enough to make syrup. Cold nights, slowly warming days.

MM

[Shapleigh's Bees]

MM, I'm on 20 acres, plenty for a back-yard sugarin' establishment, but I don't know how much saleable sap I'd produce. Might as well look into it.