Tapping Maple Trees - How To Make Maple Syrup

This weekend begins our sugaring season. That is, turning the sap from our maple trees into maple syrup. We'll use plastic jugs, taps, a drill fitted with a 5/16 drill bit and a large pan for boiling. It's not a complicated process at all, and it's sort of fun too with a long tradition in Canada.

Pics to follow.

Normally you'd tap sugar maple trees because they have the highest concentration of sugar in the sap. But other trees will make syrup too. Regular old maple trees, birch and walnut will all make a delicious syrup if you boil down and concentrate the sap. After all, the sap is basically a sugary liquid that the trees use to store their energy over the winter. And you don't even need any special equipment either. The natives used carved taps or hollow reeds. Today we use plastic taps attached to hoses or metal taps with a hook on them for holding a bucket or jug. The thing is to find what works for you and does the smallest amount of damage to your trees. The basic method hasn't changed, just the equipment.

But why make your own syrup? It's time consuming to say the least.

Well, because it's a good sugar substitute, you can sell it, if you buy it in the store it's expensive, it makes a great gift or bartering item, and it's also then part of your food storage. Once you've bought the taps you can re-use them year after year just like the other equipment.

Ok, so have I convinced you to try it? It's easy...here's how.

Determine the best time of year. It's when the night time temperature is below freezing and the daytime is above. Usually in February, March and April depending on your climate.

Locate your maple trees (or birch, walnut, hickory) and determine both the south side and the diameter of the tree. You shouldn't tap a tree of less than 9 inches diameter and then you can put one tap for every 9-12 inches of diameter. Really, the fewer the better for the health of the tree. If there are any large roots or branches on your tree, that's a good area of flow so tap there.

Drill a hole between 20-30 inches off the ground with a very slight upward angle using a 5/16 drill bit and make the hole approx. 1.5 inches deep. Preferably on the south side. Put your tap in and gently knock it into place using a hammer. It'll take a minute but the sap will back up behind your tap and then start flowing down and out of the tap.

Here's where your choices come into play. You can hang a milk or water jug on the hook on the tap or put plastic tubing over it and run the tubing into a central collection tank. Or you can check the trees daily and empty the jugs into a bucket.

Run your collected sap through a filter. A clean pillowcase over a bucket works for this. You basically want to get out any dirt, bark or other bits before you boil so as to not leave a nasty flavour in your finished syrup.

Boil your sap for as long as it takes to reach a temperature 7 degrees Fahrenheit hotter than boiling water in your area, which changes with altitude of course. Here near sea level water boils at 212f so we boil until the syrup is 219. Use a candy thermometer for this part. And really keep a close eye on your syrup once it's getting close to 219, it can scorch so easily and be ruined. One other thing to mention...it takes approx. 40 gallons of sap to make 1 gallon of syrup. That other 39 gallons is going to come off the boiling sap as steam and water vapour and trust me...you don't want that going on inside your house for the 12-24 hours of boiling it could take. So boil outside over a wood fire (free or cheap) if at all possible. Turkey fryers work too. We are going to build a little fire pit with a sturdy support for our boil off this year and hopefully the neighbours won't complain.

After the syrup has cooled for a few minutes, run it through another filter to remove any sugar crystals that have formed. Bottle and enjoy or better yet, trade with your neighbours!

See, I told you it was easy. I'll let you know how it works out for us. Maybe if I get brave I'll tap the trees before Steve comes home this weekend and get a batch boiled down for breakfast on Sunday. I guess it depends on the weather and the sap flow.

Snow Day!

There's no school today so we're hanging out together. Jordan has a science fair project due tomorrow, the girls made me breakfast in bed (eggs and toast) all by themselves which made me a bit nervous, and Chris is just hanging out online as far as I can tell. There's not too much snow though, maybe a couple of inches, and the plow has already been up and cleared and salted the road. Either way I'm not going out anywhere today because the transmission went in Steve's van so he's taken mine into the city for work. We did find a cheap little clunker that runs ok for $700 so we're going to get it and fix it up. It's 2 tone...red and rust, so we'll be doing some body work and a few other repairs in order to get it to pass the required Motor Vehicle Inspection that's mandatory in Nova Scotia every 2 years. We will get the transmission fixed in the other van...but it'll take us a while to save up the money. A rebuilt transmission installed will run us around $2000. A used one about $900 but of course there are no guarantees with a used one and the labour to replace one is $500 per time. It's cheaper to get the little car up and running. I think we'll call it Rusty. We name all our vehicles (call it a family quirk) and Rusty is a 1997 VW Golf hatchback. Perfect for Steve to run around town in. His tools all fit, it's not too bad on gas, and you can fit appliances and coffee machines in the back with the seats folded down. If we save some $$$ on gas then it'll pay for itself eventually as well. Heck, it's supposed to get somewhere around 23 mpg in the city and 30 on the highway. Compared to the 14 mpg city and 20 highway of our van, it's going to save a few bucks in gas each week...possibly as much as $200 a month. Wouldn't that be nice! Especially given our nearly $1.40 per litre gas prices at the moment. We used to have a little Subaru Justy that Steve just loved too. Not great for driving around kids but certainly good for everything else except going to Costco :)

It's lunchtime now. I've had some distractions and the morning had flown past. Jordan's study buddy is coming over soon. Chris has some shoveling to do. Kate is doing her chores and I'm cooking up a delightful lunch of perogies baked with cheese on top, sausage, grilled onions, roasted yams and sour cream. Easy and filling for a nice cold weather meal. Dinner tonight is unknown. Either shepherds pie or fish. I'll decide later and see what I'm in the mood for.

After lunch I've got a bunch of work to get done as well as some reading, research and hopefully some writing. I'm woefully behind schedule.

It's lightly snowing again on top of the 3 inches we now have. But it's not overly windy so that's good. With the wood we've been burning recently I think we've used a couple of cords now to heat the house. We haven't used too much wood because the weather's been pretty warm and also partly because we keep the house cooler and the furnace doesn't run 24 hours a day and the house has good insulation so it holds it's temperature relatively well. Unless of course Jordan has his window wide open...which he often does.

I've gotta run. I'll finish this update later.

Fuel Prices are on the Rise

It's official, gas is up again, for the 8th time in 9 weeks. It's now 137.1 per litre. Sigh. Here in Nova Scotia, the gasoline price fluctuates only once per week. On Thursday, you'll hear a 'best guess' prediction on the radio and if it's going up you'll often see line-ups at the pumps too. Prices here go up on Friday.

That property is still for sale...$40,000 and all 97 glorious acres of it are ours. So if you know anyone who does private mortgages...let me know. Heck, we'll pay upto 10% interest if it means getting the land we want now.

And just when we thought that things were going pretty good...the transmission is gone in our work van. It's not good.

But on a brighter note... the sun is shining and it's a beautiful day. I got a new jacket at Frenchy's (the used and new clothing store) for $6 and my meat order will be ready tomorrow. I got some great news froma friend that her long awaited divorce has come throgh and I got some clothes for a friend who needs some. I got to go visit with my friend Somer which is ALWAYS a delight...and so I'm feeling like no matter what happens with the van, we'll manage. Together we'll get through our trials. I can say 'together' because Steve is coming home today. He'll have to get the van towed home and is planning on catching a ride with the tow truck. I'll just pick him up at the garage in Nictaux. Anyways, I'm enjoying htis glorious day of warm and sunny weather before the snow comes tonight. Thoughts of Spring are dancing in my head and I'm thinking that picking up my taps for the maple trees is a good idea right about now.




This written work by Elizabeth Faires is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 United States License. Please attribute back to the author.

Wild Critters in Nova Scotia - Snakes

You might be wondering about the wildlife that lives here in Nova Scotia. Well, compared to other places we've lived there's not much. Certainly this area has been long settled by humans so the vast deer populations are no more. I thought we'd discuss some of the supposed menaces over the next week.

So let's begin with snakes.

Around the world there are approximately 125,000 fatal snake bites per year. But in North America the snakes are generally less venomous (poison injecting). Various rattle snakes, water moccasin, coral and copperheads are all natives of North America and pose a threat to humans, livestock and pets. But just how much of a risk? In all of North America there are approximately 8000 bites to humans by venomous snakes annually and of that number about .1% die, or 8 people. Why such a low number? Not every snake will inject venom, many will in fact give you a good chomp the first time to get you to clue in to what you're doing to tick the snake off. If you don't smarten up then they'll give you a second nastier and juicier shot. Some snakes are more poisonous than others...even within the same family. Rattle snakes vary widely in how much damage their venom will do. But besides the issue of the exact species of snake...it also depends on where you get bitten (closer to the heart or head is very bad) whereas a foot is better because you can slow the spread of the venom and give your body a chance to fight back. It also depends on if you're being given a glancing blow of a full on bite and injection of venom by a large snake. If you're a small person, child or pet then that's not as good as if you're a horse or a 250 lb man.

Either way, clearing your immediate home site of potentially deadly snakes is a good idea. Having them live out in the fields miles from the house is one thing...having nests in your woodpile or pasture is another. Why flirt with danger when you can just take care of the problem using the age old solution...bird shot. You don't have to worry about having the anti-venom if you don't get bit in the first place.

So, back to Nova Scotia. You'll be pleased to know that there are NO VENOMOUS SNAKES here. And in fact most snakes remain tiny, averaging a foot or so in length with 3 feet being the very largest for a few individuals. Certainly not the rattlers seen in the west. Yes, Alberta has the black widow spider, prairie rattle snake and even scorpions that are native. Nova Scotia has little grass snakes.

Venomous snakes abound the world over, but not here in Nova Scotia. Here's an identification of our local snakes courtesy of the Government of Nova Scotia.

The Garter Snake - common to all areas of Nova Scotia and widely distributed in Canada. We have the Maritime Garter in Nova Scotia. This little snake is brown with 2 lighter stripes down it's sides and averages 45-65 cm in length. Eats toads, worms, frogs, salamanders, fish and small birds. Found near water and hibernates from Sept. to Apr.




The Eastern Smooth Green Snake averages a foot to a foot and a half in length, eat spiders, snails, moths and other insects and are great tree climbers. This little green guy is commonly found on lawns and gardens in town as well as near water in the wild. They hibernate Oct. to late Apr.




The Norther Ringneck Snake has a yellowish band around his neck and a yellowish belly. They average only 25-35cm and eat salamanders, frogs, worms, insects and other small snakes. This woodland / wetland snake is active at night and hibernates from Sept. to mid May.



The Northern Redbelly Snake has an orange to red belly and a back in varying shades of grey, brown or black. The average size is 30 cm but occasional 90 cm snakes have been seen. They eat mainly slugs (I love this snake) and live in grassy areas near water. Active in evening, night and cloudy day times, they hibernate from Oct -Apr.




The Northern Ribbon Snake is black or brown and has 3 yellow stripes running down it's backand sides. Averaging a foot and a half to 2 feet long, this snake is easy to identify. It eats insects, spiders and amphibians and lives near quiet streams, pools and wet areas. They hibernate from Oct. to late Apr. and are active during the day.

Poor and Homeless in America - Did we create this problem?

Really, this covers people in many parts of the world. Europe, Asia, Africa, the Pacific...homeless or extremely poor people are everywhere. Here's an interesting report to view from the BBC if you've got a half hour. But it does show a political bias and seems to blame the bad things that are happening on a lack of welfare programs and employment. And while I whole heartedly agree that the imbalance of wealth is causing some real suffering, I also believe that the education and daily living skills we give our kids, that ability to make do and make the best of a situation, the desire to work for the basics, these are the foundations of a community that can weather storms be they economical or physical. Increasing resilience is important in this next generation of spoiled and coddled children who can barely hold down a 1-5 job at the grocery store because it might interfere with their 'personal life'.

Now I'm not saying that all poor people are lazy. But some families and communities definitely have an accepted idea that it's ok to not work year round or to just not work at all and live on welfare. This kind of culture is evident in many places. And it's this lack of expectation for something better that leaves people trapped in a mindset that poverty is someone else's fault. It's such a complex problem and there really are no magic pills or easy fixes. It's going to take years to educate people so that they want to move forward and so that the work and skills they'll need are there for them.

That's part of the reason that I'm so much into self-sufficiency. If communities can form around the basic idea that we all work together and we share the skills we have for the benefit of the community, then that's great. I'm not talking about communism where we are all equal; Communism does not work. I'm thinking about a community where we all do our own thing and are largely self-sufficient but where we trade and barter too. Those who work hardest and have better skills will do better but those who are less skilled. Sure they won't have all the luxuries but at least it will be a decent life and everyone can reap the fruits of their own labours. The sick are taken care of, children are taught to work and are treasured, the elderly are valued for their wisdom. We all look out for each other. Sigh. This can only happen if we are willing to accept that we are not all equal but that we have a common goal. It's how villages work, and what's the world really but a collection of villages all linked together.

If I had my way, I'd find some like minded people and buy a piece of land (I found a great piece near here that's almost a hundred acres for $45,000) for us to live and farm on. We'd legally divide it up and build our own homes and farms. I'd have some say in who my neighbours are and I wouldn't have to worry about people stealing my firewood or letting out the goats because they would understand and respect our farming philosophies. We'd all have our own homes and farms but maybe we'd trade my honey for your eggs. If this sounds interesting to you...let me know! 2 more families would be really welcome and I can send you pics of the land. :)

But since that seems unlikely to happen right now, we just focus on teaching our children the practical skills that many have forgotten. No teenager wants to be learning how to grow and cook beans when he could be out with his buddies, but we really hope that in the future it will turn out to be useful information and that by building both character and work ethic we have children who are happy and successful adults no matter what they decide to do with their lives. Maybe if some of the people featured in this video had a garden or some food stored away, they could have weathered the tough economic times better or at least bought themselves some time to figure out what to do. Maybe they would realize that food in the cupboard is more important than payments on a new car or computer. Maybe they'd remember that times have been tough before (think great depression in the 30's) and people had sayings they lived by like this one:

Fix it up, wear it out, make do or do without.

Starting Tomato Plants From Seed

So today is the day I start getting everything in order for beginning my tomato plants from seed. SO obviously that means buying seed. This year I'm getting mine from a couple of different places...Incredible Seed and Annapolis Seeds. Both are local to me and sell heritage varieties. I should be able to save seeds from this year for next so I can see what performs well in my garden and hopefully repeat the success for following years.

Here's what I've ordered:

Sunberry - it's actually a fruiting bush that is grown as an annual and the berries used for jam and pie. Grows like it's tomato relatives.

Garden Peach Yes, it's actually fuzzy.
Pink Boar
Berkeley Tie Dye
San Marzano Great for making sauce
Amish Paste Ditto for this one
Chiapis Wild Lovely flavour for snacking
Chadwicks Cherry
Yellow Pear
Pineapple Lovely flavour
Clear Pink
Elizabeth Hey it's my name so I thought I'd give it a try.

This selection has me covered for beauty, salads, sauce, canning, and snacking in the garden. If I get even a 50% germination rate then we should be looking at 160 plants for the garden and I'll likely sell some to the neighbours for a few dollars each. Just think...If I can sell 40 plants for $2 each then I'll have made back all my seed costs and soil and potting expenses. Plus I'll have a bunch of plants for myself. And maybe I can sell more...who knows! If it goes really well then I might try selling a few at the Farmers Market at the local mall...I know that I find it really hard to avoid buying plants once the weather has warmed up. Maybe there are more people out there like me.

Some people will start their tomato plants under grow lights but I favour the more labour intense and cheaper method of starting the trays inside and then transferring out into the greenhouse during the day a month later. On cool nights I'll haul all the trays back indoors again. I won't likely start my seeds until the end of Feb. beginning of March simply because I don't want them to get too leggy before I transplant them into the garden in May. If I figure that I'll keep them 8-10 weeks before transplanting them out then it makes sense to just count back from that date to see when to seed my trays. And the same goes for any early crops you're thinking of planting out after the frost is done. You can get a real jump on the season and increase your chances of getting 2 crops in a garden space by planning ahead. But one word of wisdom from me to you...don't put all your eggs in one basket...a late snowcover could decimate your plants even in May so reserve some seed or plant in the summer. It's a gamble every year to see if I can get an earlier crop than my neighbours and not lose everything to a frost. Maybe I'll put a little wood stove out in the greenhouse this year...we'll see.

I'll post up some pics of these tomato varieties later bt right now I'm due over at the church for a craft meeting. I'll talk to you all soon. Hope things are looking good for you all.

Elizabeth

Wow it's been a busy week!

Got some good things planned to write about tomorrow but it's already late and I'm tired! Chris was an hour late finishing rugby practice so that put a wrench in the works. The rest of the kids are in bed though and I'm heading there in a few minutes. Tomorrow...tomatoes! But to give your spirit a lift, here's a link to a good photo essay showing the beauty of agriculture around the world. Enjoy some lovely pictures!