How to collect birch sap

Now is the most convenient time to collect birch sap.

Collection time depends on the region and weather conditions. Swollen buds are a sure sign that sap flow has begun and you can start collecting juice. Additionally, you can use an awl - pierce the trunk to a depth of 1.5-2 centimeters. If the juice ran, prepare your containers.

At the end of the article, as usual, the video version of this article is in the video on my YouTube channel

You should not make more than 3 holes in the birch trunk - you can destroy the tree. Do not disturb thin birches! Work with birch trees whose trunk diameter is from 20 centimeters.

The technology for collecting birch sap is very simple:

• Make a hole 3 centimeters deep, the same diameter as the tube for draining the juice.
• Insert a tube into the hole (it must fit tightly to avoid leaks along the barrel)
• Place the container (either hang it or put it on the ground)
• Insert the tube into the container.

Literally today, I visited a birch grove to empty the containers I had previously installed. It turned out that I was not alone in the desire to get juice from a birch. In addition to my two bottles, there were several dozen cans, bottles with a capacity of up to 6 liters ...

Tellingly, each assembler used his proven technology.

I will demonstrate these methods to you now. Today, the cold suddenly returned and the juice froze. However, there is something to show...

In the first photo - my modest liter bottle.

I made a hole with a slate nail: I drove it to a depth of 3 cm, pulled it out with pliers, and inserted a cocktail tube into the resulting hole. I made the same hole in the cork of the bottle. The other end of the tube was inserted into the bottle and secured to the barrel with a rope.

The rope must be used one that does not stretch. Otherwise, under the influence of the mass of the bottle increasing from the juice, your container will fall lower and the tube may pop out of the hole in the birch.

Now I will show other people's containers.

In the second photo - the same technology as mine. But the man did not tie up the bottle, but set it on the ground and sprinkled it with a little earth. The tube is about 5-6 mm.

Apparently it was installed by the same person. But now the capacity is more - 5 liters.

Completely different technology in the next photo.

The man did not use straws. He pushed a synthetic rope into the drilled hole, and placed the free end in a suspended 5-liter container.

As you can see, it is a very effective method. There are no leaks along the barrel, but the jar is full and the juice poured through the neck until the frost hit and everything froze.

Looks like it was installed by the same person. Again a rope instead of a tube.

After you have collected the sap, help the tree heal the wound. Drive a wooden chopstick into the hole from which you took the juice. Or cover with garden pitch.

Video version of the article: