Hi, my name is Theresa and I'm a tree hugger. I don't need tree huggers anonymous. I hug our walnut trees because I'm thankful they give me sap to make into wonderful syrup!

Sugaring season usually starts in late February or early March in our area (southwestern WI), when the day time temperatures get above 40 degrees F, but stays below freezing at night. That's when the sap will start to run.  So it's time to gather or buy your supplies so you're prepared when it gets a little bit warmer.

If you need instructions, see our Making Walnut Syrup page, which includes info about:

• what trees can be tapped (not just maples)
• necessary supplies
• how to turn milk jugs into sap collectors
• how to tap trees & collect the sap
• how to boil the sap down into syrup
• recipes for homemade syrup butter and syrup ice cream. Yum!

If you live in the North and are hankering to get out into your garden, sap is something you can harvest while there's still snow on the ground! 

If you're trying to be self-sufficient, here is a way to make your own sweetener.

Enjoy!

We're continuing our challenge to buy "nothing" into 2015. We're trying to remove ourselves from the American consumer cycle as much as possible to save the Earth's resources. We want to learn to be happy with what we have and to know how much is enough.

Click to see our buying rules for 2015

We started our challenge in 2014. If you want to start at the beginning, see the main page of our: 
Buy Nothing Challenge