Sap CollectionĪttach the bucket to the spile, either by hanging it from the spile or by inserting the tube into it. Silver maples with taps and buckets to collect sap. If you tap them in too far, you might split the wood, causing a poor seal.

The spiles are tapered so that they will go in easily but become tight in the hole as you tap them in farther. Carefully tap the spile into the tree until it is snugly seated in the hole. The spiles designed to be hooked to a small collection tube should be positioned so that this one points downward. Position the spile in the hole so that it is pointing up the right way, which will vary depending on the type of spile you are using, but generally you will see the tip open on the top where the sap will flow out. Remove any wood chips from the hole by blowing in it or use a small piece of wire to get them out. Angle the hole up slightly so that sap will easily flow out of the hole. Wrap some tape around the drill bit to indicate the depth you want. Spiles come in two sizes, designed to be installed in either a 5/16” or 7/16” hole that you will drill into the tree about 1 1/2 to 2” deep. Spiles should be installed in the trees before typical sap flow begins, that means by the end of February or early March for most people. Note that just two large silver maples (18” diameter) will produce enough sap to make a gallon of syrup.Ī bucket hanging from a spile on a sugar maple tree. Perhaps they would be willing to help you out in allowing you to tap their trees and maybe even help in boiling down the sap later on for a share of the syrup. If you don’t have many maples in your yard, check your neighbor’s yard. Seeds of sugar maples and boxelders mature in the fall, but some of the samaras may still be attached to the tree in the winter and aids in identifying whether or not it is a maple.īefore starting to make maple syrup, you need to have access to some of the maple trees mentioned below. Silver maple seeds mature in the spring and are generally off of the tree by early June. When the seeds are mature, they fall from the tree and spin or helicopter to the ground. The actual seed is attached to a flat wing-like structure. As it turns out, there are several tree varieties throughout South Dakota that are suitable for tapping maple syrup below are a few of the most-common types.Īll of these maples have similar seeds, called samaras. David Graper has also made syrup from his yard, but used boxelder as his source of sap, also known as Manitoba maple. Peter Schaefer, began experimenting in his home yard, tapping silver maple trees about eight years ago and found that he could be quite successful. Peter Schaefer tapping silver maple trees during a class demonstration.ĭr.

What types of maple trees produce syrup