Post by Philipp Hoehme
Everyone likes the taste of sweet maple syrup, but not everyone has produced their own maple syrup by tapping a tree in their own garden.
This year, Philipp Hoehme – an international student at The Forest School – tried his hand at tapping a maple tree for the first time using the big sugar maple at the Yale Farm’s entrance on Edwards Street.
In tapping this tree, he aimed to test the methodology he will use to collect data for his master’s thesis. Through this thesis, he will tap several trees located at different elevations in southern Germany and investigate the effect of elevation on the syrup yield. Outside of this main research question, he will also provide general data on the feasibility of producing maple syrup in southern Germany.
The motivation for his master’s thesis comes from his study experience in Quebec at Laval University where he discovered the tradition around maple tapping. Director of Forest & Agricultural Operations Joseph Orefice, who runs a sugar bush at Yale Myers Forests, contributed his motivation and provided Philipp the knowledge about how to tap a maple tree.
Philipp tapped the big sugar maple on the Yale Farm on February 16th, 2023. Tapping a maple tree is relatively easy. For tapping and collection, Philipp drilled a 2-inch-deep hole into the tree, plugged a spout in this hole, and collected the sap coming out of the tree in a bucket. To reduce contamination of the sap, Philipp used a spout directing the sap into a tube connected to a bucket with a lid.
After installing the tap, Philipp measured the sugar content and the sap volume once a week. These two variables are needed to estimate the amount of syrup that can be produced per tree.
Since tapping is dependent on certain weather conditions occurring mainly during the end of the winter, the tapping season must end at some point. This year, the last sap flow at the Yale Farm was noted on March 26, 2023.
During this tapping period lasting from February 16th to March 26th, the tree produced about 46.6 liters of sap with an average sugar content of 2.2%. This would be enough sap to produce 1.23 liter of syrup or 0.316 gallons of syrup, which is about the average syrup yield in Connecticut.
Using the maple tree at the Yale Farm, Philipp successfully tested his research methods. He will now implement them in Germany for his research. Maybe one day, we will see German maple syrup.