Do you have any information on Birch Tree Sap ? I came across a few videos of people harvesting Birch Tree Sap. I happen to have some Birch Trees in my yard and would love to get some sap.
@Tithis We use plastic spiles and plastic tubes, which may cause smaller scars on the trees, but contribute to the over 200 million tons of plastic manufactured each year. The sap is sometimes directed to collecting bins (more plastic) and then transported via vehicles and/or ATVs (yet more pollution), and then is sometimes reduced with propane and/or natural gas. Stating we did it better than the natives requires qualification (in my opinion). Best wishes.
@arthurdhaines The damage to the tree is what I was refering to. The natives didn't have drills like us and would gash the tree to collect sap from. The small holes we use do less damage and heal quicker.
Things like reverse osmosis and modern evaporators mean processing takes much less energy than the hot rocks and hollowed logs used by natives. Energy is a huge cost to producers so energy efficiency is important to them.
@Tithis I can appreciate your interest in less harm to the tree. I try to look more holistically. The energy used by the modern producers is often extracted, transported for refinement, and then transported to the end user (i.e., it isn't really more efficient). Formeldahyde was commonly added to tap holes to produce more sap from each tree. Unfortunately, I believe our modern practices have less to do with the tree's health and more to do with time and labor. Thank you for your comments.
@Tithis the natives did have drills. also they have been here for somewhere between 40,000 and 20,000 years and up until roughly 400 years ago the continent was mostly intact old growth forests and tall grass praries. you can't possibly argue that these people were more destructive to natural ecosystems than our densely populated, industrialized, S.U.V. driving, McDonalds eating society. I live in coastal Virginia. There were trees 7ft. in diameter here just 400 years ago.
@brunomoosecharles They are much better containers than no containers at all. I'm really trying to remove plastic from my life, especially those uses where liquid, fat, and/or acid items can leach various chemicals into our food (which act as endocrine disruptors). If I had no metal buckets, I would create containers from tree bark (if I had access to forests). Otherwise, gallon milk jugs would work. They certainly are an inexpensive choice, and that counts as well! Best wishes.
could anyone recommend a place to purchase maple sugar? I believe I live too far south to tap it myself and i do not own land. I wish I could just trade puccoon, roanoke beads, freshwater pearls, smoked oysters or other commodities from tsennacomacah for it.
Wonderful to see. Thank you Arthur. Learning a lot from you! Going out to find some sap here were I live in Sweden. We've got early spring on it's ways as well. :-)
@gotrocksinhead Both of the species you mention can be tapped for their sap. Acer circinatum (vine maple) was tapped by the Clallam and frequently drank straight from the tree. Acer macrophyllum (bigleaf maple) was tapped by the Clallam and Thompson People. It was drank straight from the tree or boiled to create maple syrup. I encourage you to get out there and do some tapping. Myself, I tap red maple and yellow birch because those are species available to me. Good luck!
Do you have any information on Birch Tree Sap ? I came across a few videos of people harvesting Birch Tree Sap. I happen to have some Birch Trees in my yard and would love to get some sap.
youngloudand88 2 weeks ago
Even with the plastic tubing we still do it better than the native americans did.
Tithis 1 month ago
@Tithis We use plastic spiles and plastic tubes, which may cause smaller scars on the trees, but contribute to the over 200 million tons of plastic manufactured each year. The sap is sometimes directed to collecting bins (more plastic) and then transported via vehicles and/or ATVs (yet more pollution), and then is sometimes reduced with propane and/or natural gas. Stating we did it better than the natives requires qualification (in my opinion). Best wishes.
arthurdhaines 3 weeks ago in playlist Uploaded videos
@arthurdhaines The damage to the tree is what I was refering to. The natives didn't have drills like us and would gash the tree to collect sap from. The small holes we use do less damage and heal quicker.
Things like reverse osmosis and modern evaporators mean processing takes much less energy than the hot rocks and hollowed logs used by natives. Energy is a huge cost to producers so energy efficiency is important to them.
Tithis 3 weeks ago
@Tithis I can appreciate your interest in less harm to the tree. I try to look more holistically. The energy used by the modern producers is often extracted, transported for refinement, and then transported to the end user (i.e., it isn't really more efficient). Formeldahyde was commonly added to tap holes to produce more sap from each tree. Unfortunately, I believe our modern practices have less to do with the tree's health and more to do with time and labor. Thank you for your comments.
arthurdhaines 3 weeks ago in playlist Uploaded videos
@Tithis the natives did have drills. also they have been here for somewhere between 40,000 and 20,000 years and up until roughly 400 years ago the continent was mostly intact old growth forests and tall grass praries. you can't possibly argue that these people were more destructive to natural ecosystems than our densely populated, industrialized, S.U.V. driving, McDonalds eating society. I live in coastal Virginia. There were trees 7ft. in diameter here just 400 years ago.
MrCrunchybizzle 3 weeks ago
Really nice video! What is your opinion of using gallon milk jugs for collection?
brunomoosecharles 3 months ago
@brunomoosecharles They are much better containers than no containers at all. I'm really trying to remove plastic from my life, especially those uses where liquid, fat, and/or acid items can leach various chemicals into our food (which act as endocrine disruptors). If I had no metal buckets, I would create containers from tree bark (if I had access to forests). Otherwise, gallon milk jugs would work. They certainly are an inexpensive choice, and that counts as well! Best wishes.
arthurdhaines 3 weeks ago in playlist Uploaded videos
could anyone recommend a place to purchase maple sugar? I believe I live too far south to tap it myself and i do not own land. I wish I could just trade puccoon, roanoke beads, freshwater pearls, smoked oysters or other commodities from tsennacomacah for it.
MrCrunchybizzle 5 months ago
Awesome Tutorial! Thank you!
DopeDivinity 6 months ago
Wonderful to see. Thank you Arthur. Learning a lot from you! Going out to find some sap here were I live in Sweden. We've got early spring on it's ways as well. :-)
vildavilhelm 11 months ago
Interesting. Thanks, I might give it a try. Dan
gotrocksinhead 11 months ago
Great information Arthur. Unfortunatey, we only have vine and bigleaf maples here in Western Oregon. Thank you for sharing. Dan
gotrocksinhead 11 months ago
@gotrocksinhead Both of the species you mention can be tapped for their sap. Acer circinatum (vine maple) was tapped by the Clallam and frequently drank straight from the tree. Acer macrophyllum (bigleaf maple) was tapped by the Clallam and Thompson People. It was drank straight from the tree or boiled to create maple syrup. I encourage you to get out there and do some tapping. Myself, I tap red maple and yellow birch because those are species available to me. Good luck!
arthurdhaines 11 months ago