Hey fellow Penns'ers! Just want to say that if any of you were looking to make maple syrup for the first time, the beginning of the season is only about 5 weeks away and doesn't last long! All you need is one maple tree and you can produce your own! I have 7 and I can make A LOT of maple syrup.
The Sugar Maple is one of my very favorite trees, in the top ten anyway. I don't have any in my small quarter acre yard. When I bough the house almost 8 years ago, there was only lawn. I planted 3 larger shade trees and 10 smaller ornamental trees. The closest is a Red Maple. If I had silty soil rather than all clay soil I would have been happy to plant one of the cultivars of Black Sugar Maple that grows a little faster and tolerates drought more than the regular mother species of Sugar Maple.
No Tracey, typically you would tap a tree that is minimally 8-10 inches in diameter, but not until that point. I actually tapped about a 10 inch tree this year, it was the first time I've tapped it since it was always too small, and it is producing about 3/4 of what a large maple produces. GOOD LUCK!!!
Tracey Yasi z6PA said:
Hey Sparticuss - does the tree need to be fully mature? I'm afraid my sugar maple is only still a young 'un.