You're right. Great info on this channel but after watching this video I had the sudden urge to buy some leg warmers and listen to Olivia Newton John. 🧘♂️
I want to try doing this early next year. I have several Maples on my property I'm not sure yet if they are sugar Maples or not. However, I'm not looking to make syrup cuz I don't have time. I just want to drink it and perhaps make a health tonic from it.
Tapping silver maples and began Feb 4. Good sap flow during Full Moon. You are a refreshing breath of fresh air and very intelligent. I have tapped Alder, too - very tasty.
A wealth of knowledge, very interesting and inspiring. I’ve just started to forage for fungi and revisiting tree knowledge from my younger years so I too can eventually tap and taste the spring saps. Thanks for sharing your knowledge so we can learn and apply thanks Adam 👏🏻✌️👴🏻🏴🇮🇪
Just tapped some maple and made syrup for 1st time and it was incredible! Beginners luck ! I then found your great video and found it was a Sugar maple I now subscribed to your channel thanks For the most informative videos ever
I grew up in the Soviet Union in the eighties. Birch sap was very popular at that time. I remember in the kindergarten they used to serve us fresh birch sap throughout spring time , just like kids are given orange juice here. What a great taste it was, especially after running around the whole day and then having a cold glass of freshly "squeezed" sap. And healthy too
Please post a few videos on that kind of knowledge from your region of the world. Would be very useful this day and age, refugee trail and all. Thanks.
Other trees that native americans have been known to tap for syrup are: Sugar maple , red maple, silver maple, black maple, manitoba maple, douglas maple, big leaf maple, sycamomre, black walnut, box elder, walnut , beechnut, hickory, black birch , silver birch, paper birch , yellow birch, and the alder tree
I have been watching your videos and learning from you for over a year now. Your lack of ego is inspiring as well. I wish for you and the earth health.
Wow!! I had no idea birch trees could be tapped. My biggest question about tapping is how long do the temps have to be low enough before coming back up to create that flow. I live in the NC Foothills and our winter temps fluctuate from 70 to the teens all throughout the winter. If we had a good week of freezing, would that be long enough? I haven't been able to find this info anywhere. :P
Awesome as always! Can't understand why all your videos don't have a million views? I spent all my teenage years in Alaska. I hunted and fished and loved nature, actually lived in a log cabin for 3 years, but didn't know anything about plants or mushrooms back then. Would sure love to go back and pursue my new found passion.
Thank you for that. However my brain can not take all this super information. My take away is round belly in leaf is sugar maple! All kiding aside, this was the best video.
There is Spring sap tapping times, but there are also options for having Fall sap tapping times. Everything revolves around freezing in the morning, and warming up above freezing (sap flowing) in the daytime. In Fall, the opposite direction will have sap flowing in the daytime, then freezing up at night and stopping until again warming up in the daytime. Most people use the trunk as the tapping point, which destroys the capillary action of that vertical location upwards, ever afterwards. Better use is to tap off the (more and many) limbs and branches. Hanging small catch pots on these, leaning them downward creates the osmotic pressure for draining them in an easier, less stressful fashion. This reduces the trunk destruction and stress. There are multiple trees that have sugar sap. The highest of the high sugar-producing trees are the maples and birches. The other trees produce less percentages of sugar in their sap, but still productive if properly tapped. Maples (sugar, silver, red, black, Canadian, Norway, Japanese, American Sycamore, London plane tree, American Sweet Gum, Box Elder) Birch (paper/canoe, Japanese/Asian/white, river/red, cherry/black/sweet, downy birch, water/western, silver/weeping, yellow/swamp, black, himalayan) Beech (European, American) Osage Orange, Ironwood Walnut (English white, Eastern black, heartnut, butternut, California Black, Northern California, hickories) Spruce needles -and potentially - there are suggestions that fruit and fruit nut trees could be tapped (pear, plum, potentially persimmon, figs, ... and apricot, peach, hazelnut/filbert) NOT ALMOND, NOT APPLE, NOT CHERRY - as they have cyanide compounds. -even potentially - citrus (orange, lemon, lime, pommelo) and tropical (kumquat, loquat).
John Lord good to have in the memory banks, I have read articles that said this also. Cherries have a pain killer in them if you eat them and the cynaide I knew about, also never any willows, they have pain killers in them too, don't know the term it is what aspirin is made of. Kill you dead if you drink that.
salicylic acid - aspirin. I have questioned softwoods, especially those of wetlands (alders, poplars, aspens, ... cottonwoods). Someone said a person did some cottonwood, but it tasted like dirty socks (never tasted dirty socks, but smelly socks might understand the concept !).
John Lord lol, would be hard to tap a cotton wood they are hard hard hard because their grain is twisted in the tree, have had the pleasure of cutting them and wow they are UNsplittable!!!!
Thank you for the effort you put into your most excellent and informative videos. You have come up on searches for mushroom id, and now, maples and birch. You tackle a consumable amount of material for a novice with just the right amount of detail to provide understanding and knowledge. Very much appreciated.
Damn you're a friggin genius! How long did it take you to acquire the knowledge you have to date? I know we are learning every day but man you are awesome thank you !!
Aaron - the sap is excellent on its own. The past few years, I've just been drinking the sap and not converting it into syrup. Many companies sell "maple water," though freshly harvested sap right from a sugar maple tree is, in my opinion, the best.
I added this to as many lists as I could on my channel. Going to share on Facebook too!!! EXCELLENT EXCELLENT EXCELLENT EXCELLENT EXCELLENT EXCELLENT!!! THANK YOU!!!
oh my god! I hope I can remember all this info! put I have a huge Sugar Maple in my yard and I just tapped 3 holes and she's a pouring out the juice!!!!!
Identifying a maple tree in the winter is probably the hardest part of making syrup.I wish I had this video a couple weeks earlier.Great vid adam cant w8 to see what you come up with next.
One of the clearest and most informative videos I’ve watched on any subject. I have subscribed to your channel and am looking forward watching more of your presentations. Thankyou
Another wonderfully informative and well made video. I just read an article that said that sycamore trees could be tapped also. Unfortunately our local night time temperatures are not conducive to tapping trees.
Hey, Adam, just want to add my thanks along with all the others posted - you do such a great job of taking a lot of information and making it really practical and yet you don't "dumb it down." By the end of any given video, I am familiar with the genus and species names - and I love that degree of accuracy. I watch all your mushroom videos, and am loving the tree identification videos as well! It is clear how much you love tromping around in the woods. I'm inspired to go out (February in Michigan, balmy at 18 degrees today) and see if I can identify some trees. Thanks again!
I only have Norways to tap here on the Cape in Mass. I hope you will correct your info on the Norway Maple. The only milkiness you'll see is when you break off a leaf in summer. You'll see the milky color on the leaf base where you broke off the leaf. But any sap collected is as clear and beautiful as any Maple. If I wait too long and collect sap when the tree starts getting into budding, then the sap looks a scant tinted, or as you may say, milky. I think this is the only and biggest confusion, which sadly keeps people from harvesting Norways and making Syrup! That's so sad. If the darn things are going to be so invasive, at least we can get some use from them by making Syrup. Lol. I'd love to have Sugar Maples because it's supposed to be sweeter. But honestly, I get 1/2 gallon of the BEST Maple Syrup EVER from about 25 gallons of Norway sap. That's 5, 5 gallon water bottles of collected and boiled down sap for several bottles of the lightest, most amazing Syrup EVER!! Totally worth it! I can't speak to the sugar sand issue of Sugar Maples vs Norways because I only have access to Norways, but I can say the Sugar sand issue varies from year to year, even on the same trees. I just filter it out, but for the times it hasn't filtered out so well, it didn't affect the syrup taste at all. The Norways live hundreds of years in Norway, where they are supposed to be. But only about 70 years here before they start breaking down. From what I understand, people starting planting Norways as a good road-side tree which hold out better from road salting, etc. that's true. But now that all those trees that, that generation planted are dying off, I worry what will be planted on our roadsides while the Norways seeds establish themselves into forest areas and take up so many reasources in their huge root systems, they are invasive. I hope that helps. And I hope you'll prove my method by cooking down some Norway sap, even a few gallons, to see what I mean about this amazing flavor which has nothing at all to do with milk or bad taste. God bless
Michael, it all depends on where you live. Here in SW PA, the maple season typically starts sometime in late February and can last a few weeks into March. Once the maple trees stop running, the birch trees will flow for another week or so. Years ago, the Pennsylvania maple season started in March, though it seems that the season has been getting pushed into February as of late.
I've Learned So Much About The Land From This Young Man And I'm A HillBilly From The Sticks Of Kentucky Who Thought I Was Pretty Connected To The Land. Thanks For The Wealth Of Knowledge You Share Adam. I Have Put Alot Of It To Good Use. This Is Now My Second Season Shroom Hunting And First Trying To Tap All Because You Helped Me Realize Mushrooms Are Not Tryng To Kill Me But Rather Heal Me!!
Transpiration, respiration, cation exchange capacity, floem, xylem... lol...This kid reminds me if myself back in the day! lmao Former: BLA/CLT/WA State RLD, pesticide applicator .17 yrs running nurseries, field work. Definitely a young mans' sport! Got out of it at 42. Now I have back, neck, shoulder, hip, arm, etc. Injuries. Advice son? Don't stay in the labor part of it longer than 5-6 yrs.
So I had a few thoughts that I was curious to ask you about. First thank you very much for the video. This is nice. Well,... for birch (or was it beach) trees they are related somewhat to aspen trees. Does this mean aspen trees could also be used for collecting sap for syrup then also? Or could someone in theory collect sap from ANY overwintering tree? People remark that aspen and birch are very similar in traits, and close to each other somewhat as a species. And when you do collect sap & syrup do you have to worry about taking too much sap and damaging the tree? I don't want to damage the tree, but how do I know much is OK to take and how much is too much? And also curious if you've ever tried processing the tannic acid out of acorns for eating also? (Yeah that's a different topic, but I'm curious in nature to learn.) Thanks.
I don't live in a place that this is acceptable. (apartment, not near any place wild) But I do share your channel with every person I know! Some live in a space that could be called wild. Most don't, but they can drive, while I can't. Also, your videos seem to be old, and I hope truly you are in good health. You don't have to answer, I just wish the best for you.
May I ask why not the walnut??? It's supposedly better than birch in production, flavor and sugar content; tho some of that is admittedly subjective. Nevermind I heard you mention walnut and now I see the purpose of this video is to show two diff flow types in this vid, hence the birch. Imma leave the comment in case that context helps anyone
I’m from iowa but bro I would definitely come to phile just to learn from you. I’ve always been fascinated in natural living but in iowa it’s hard as it’s mostly corn, pigs and city here
This is fascinating when I was younger I learned about sapping birch trees from library books I knew what kind but wasn't sure how l though I might make my own birch beer but never got any more information just one of those silly child hood ideas
Hi Adam, I know that maple leaves, seeds, sap and bark are edible. Can you please please confirm for me if maple shoots are edible? - the little seedlings - eaten as microgreens with cotyledon and first true leaf formed? I appreciate so much if you can reply.
i wish i could find a local class to learn from folks who know such as yourself. its hard to know whether or not im correct based on pics and descriptions. lol ty for your channel yoir amazing in knowledge and your delivery have a positive life growmie
Kills the tree. Just takes years. One little nail in a tree can kill it. You'll just never notice. Just as one hardly notices a tree growing, the same with dying. Its a very long process. It's sad humans are so ignorant to let these things go unnoticed.
I live north east of Pittsburgh and hike much of the familiar landscapes I see you in looking for many of the same trees and plants. Would love to run into you some day and talk shop.
I love that u share your knowledge about the species of trees. If u have time to answer my question could u please answer what happens to the sap if no one taps it and how much sap can u get from a tree that u tap?
Can you find chaga on the darker colored birches? Where I am there are none of the white ones (they seem to start a couple counties to the east in Berks). Also you can tap black walnut and... grape? That's cool!
Which tree in SW VIRGINIA, can you find chaga? Can you find lions mane here and reishi? Thanks if anyone can help I'de appreciate it very much. I've been researching ALL of these plants , trees, mushrooms etc. Adam is the Best teacher I think. The products I'm trying to find are not sourced from USA ? They may not be fresh, that sounds nuts... but I WANT the best and purest products. Thanks everyone!!🙏🏻🌹
Hey Adam! I'm wanting to tap some birch trees here on my property in minnesota. A quick google search brought me to an article on a University of Minnesota extension site called "My Minnesota Woods". The Article is from last spring and in his paragraph about birch trees and other tappable trees, Mike Reichenbach mentions your list of 22 trees. I thought it was a cool shout-out. Keep rockin'!
I don't know what you meant to say, but sugar maple diameters are not typically 2-3 feet wide. Maybe 20 to 30 inches. That sounds about right in my experience. 30 inches is pretty big though.
It’s that time of year for maple syrup, but sadly I’ve never done it. Searching RU-vid videos on tree identification and I knew you’d have a video on the subject. Always a great resource. Thanks for what you do Adam.
Adam, your videos are always a level above other lesson videos. I love being able to watch any of your videos no matter the age and learn something new. Personally, I love the smell of yellow birch in the wood stove best. We live halfway up a ridge. There are red maples around the house but sugar maples just up the hill interspersed with our hemlocks and Eastern White Pines
