City trees

[highlandcattle]

Since leaving our farm and sugarbush...Ron taps our front yard trees. Gives him something to do. We're on village sewer and water,but a rural setting. Farm fields across the road. So no heavy traffic and trees are set back from the road. Of course so light, little maple flavor. Needs to be blended with purchased dark. My question...others want to try tapping in the main village. Sidewalks and heavy traffic and small areas. I only think massive contamination from multiple sources. Are the trees able to filter out most contaminants or is this a safe practice on a very small scale?. To me total yuck. Would love to hear from others.

[Ed R]

Here in Michigan there are several cities and villages that tap their maples. Two of them have syrup festivals, I have eaten at both, and their syrup was excellent, but not quite as good as our own. I have tapped the yard trees at my office in Toledo for 8 years or so and have not had an issue with vandalism or adulteration (I was concerned since I'm not there at night). My only issues have been getting the sap home at night to boil 8 miles up in Michigan. I have one tree outside my office window that I can check on during the day which is nice. Some times I'm fooled because City trees run a little differently than my trees out in the country. With cars running on unleaded gas now I wouldn't be as concerned as 40 yrs ago. Septic issues are probably worse in country road trees than city.

[DrTimPerkins]

Not much danger of lead in sap of city (or country) trees due to roadside lead. Very little (or no) lead is actually transmitted in the sap stream because it is actively excluded by the endodermis (a layer of cells where water and nutrients must move INSIDE cells rather than just along/within the cell wall). Plants have no need for lead, so it isn't taken up like other nutrients are.

[Michael Greer]

I tap nearly 500 trees in the village of Potsdam, NY. These trees are awesome because they often have the space to develop a huge crown. It doesn't matter how big the trunk is because it's the leaves that do the work of creating sugars. In ten years I've only had one beer can and one wad of tobacco to interrupt my peace of mind.

[jdircksen]

Any tips on gaining access to more trees? I'm in a city in Ohio, so people don't always realize we can make syrup with the abundance of silver maples around here. I put a message on a public neighborhood website and didn't get any takers. So I made up some 3.4oz jugs from last year's syrup that I will drop off on select doorsteps. I see one neighbor that I could put 8 taps in their front yard.

[Michael Greer]

No secret methods really, I started out with about forty trees and gained more bit by bit. Everyone loves Maple syrup and bragging up your sugarhouse gets people interested. I've found that a lot of people wish they could do it too, and lending their trees makes them feel like they're part of it. Nothing beats a bit of generosity.

[jdircksen]

With your 500 trees around the city, I’m curious what is your process for collecting sap? Are the trees on city land or private homeowners?