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For a suitably thick tree trunk the March sun enough has enough energy to warm the trunk so that the sap begins to move under the bark. Vello Keppart at Luua says that in maples the sap is already flowing. Exactly when and for how long depends on the weather – if it turns very cold or cloudy then the flow will stop for some time.

 

It is worth to try to collect sap if there is a suitable maple near your home. The tree, for drilling a hole in, with a spout in it, must not be too young but a fully grown tree. The larger the tree, the more sap will flow – from a thick trunk there may be up to a couple of litres in a day. The tree sap is sweet: it originates from water that is taken up by the tree roots from the soil and then flows up the trunk to the branches. The sap contains saccharoses, wholesome minerals, vitamins and microelements – even squirrels value the health-boosting properties of it. When the sap flow ends the hole must be carefully closed: so there will be no damage to the maple from the procedure.

 

Maple sap is sweeter than birch sap; the birch sap flow does not start until in April.