Using Maple Syrup Instead of Molasses?

[Smokin Moose]

When I dilute the maple syrup I do it at 40ml/10 liters. This takes it to the same concentration when it comes out of the Maple Tree as sap (1:40). The ph is 6.5. The major carbohydrates found in maple syrup are sucrose, glucose and fructose. It has a sugar content of 66%. Then of course the other elements and minerals, and what I call natural plant "zest".

It is interesting to see how maple syrup iis made so you can see why I consider it so good for cannabis. It has no particulate matter like molasses has, so would be good for hydro specially. Molasses has been known to clog pumps, etc. Maple Syrup costs $9 a bottle and you get 6 treatments out of it.

Introduction

An event associated with spring is the production of maple syrup from the sap of the sugar maple tree (Acer saccharum Marsh.). This process, which was originally discovered by Native Americans, is one of the relatively few uniquely North American crops and it is one of the oldest American crops (Willits, 1958). The monks of St. John’s have made syrup since 1942 when, perhaps spurred by sugar shortages during the war, the monks tapped 150 trees, collected 1440 gallons of sap, and boiled it down in the candle shop to make their first 45 gallons of pure maple syrup. This springtime tradition has continued until the present. During today’s lab we will visit the St. John’s maple sugar operation and learn more about this monastic ritual.

 

Sap Chemistry

When a sugar maple tree is tapped, sap flows out of the hole. A single tap will produce about 10 gallons of sap per per and yield approximately one quart of finished syrup. The sap contains sucrose, glucose and fructose, and trace amount of oligosaccharides including raffinose (Willits, 1958). The concentration of sucrose, glucose and fructose in the sap is typically 2-3%, though it can range from 0.5 - 10% (Kozlowski & Pallardy, 1997). Environmental conditions can affect the yield of sugar. Trees grown with adequate moisture and fertilizer produce higher yields than trees in infertile soil and dry conditions. Sap yield is also lower if leaves are defoliated in the previous season. Trees with an exposed crown produce greater amounts of sap than trees grown under crowded conditions - presumably because of the advantage due to photosynthesis (Kozlowski & Pallardy, 1997).

 

Other organic compounds in the sap include organic acids, amino acids, amides, ammonia, and peptides. The organic acids in the sap include malic (0.21%), citric (0.002%), and traces of succinic, fumaric and several others. The total ash (mineral) content of the sap is 0.66 %. Common minerals include potassium (0.26%), calcium (0.07%), silicon oxide (0.02%) and lesser amounts of manganese, sodium, and magnesium (Willets, 1958).

 

Syrup-Making

To make maple syrup, the sap is concentrated by boiling to yield a solution which must legally contain 66.7% sugar or have a specific density of 66.5 degrees Brix or 36 degrees Baum. In practice a syrup-maker uses a hydrometer to measure the density of the syrup. An alternate method is to monitor temperature - the syrup is finished when it boils at 7 F above the boiling point of water.

 

It takes approximately 40 gallons of sap to produce one gallon of syrup. Thus, there is a 40 to one ratio of sap-to-syrup. The lower this ratio the better because it means that less boiling is required to produce a gallon of syrup. At St. John’s our average sap/syrup ratio is almost exactly 40. However, early in the season our sap/syrup ratio is usually slightly higher (50 or 60 to one) but it declines toward the end of the season. The reason this occurs is because the concentration of sugar in the sap varies with the season.

 

To estimate the number of gallons of sap needed to produce a gallon of syrup (sap-to-syrup ratio), a syrup-maker can use the Rule of 86 (Willits, 1958) which is mathematically expressed as follows:

 

Equation 1: Gallons of sap per gallon of syrup = 86/[sap sugar concentration]

 

This equation is derived from the fact that finished syrup has 86.3% solids. Thus, to calculate how much sap is required to produce one gallon of syrup, divide 86 by the sugar concentration of the sap. For example, the sugar concentration in trees at St. John's is typically 2.0%. Thus, according to the Rule of 86, it would take approximately 43 gallons of sap (86/2 = 43) to make one gallon of syrup. Or, in other words, you must boil off 42 gallons of water to leave one gallon of maple syrup (Willits, 1958).

 

We can rearrange Equation 1 to use it to estimate the concentration of sugar in sap as follows:

 

Equation 2: [sap sugar concentration] = 86/(gal sap/gal syrup)

 

For example, if we found that we cooked down exactly 40 gallons of sap to produce one gallon of syrup we would know that the sugar concentration in the sap was approximately 2.15% ([sap sugar] = 86/40).

 

Maple sap has little maple flavor. The distinctive flavor of the syrup is caused by the heating which changes certain nitrogenous chemicals in the sap (Kramer, 1983). Part of the flavor of maple syrup is due to vanillin and furanones; the darker the syrup the more the furanones and the stronger the taste.

 

During the boiling process, minerals and other insoluble materials form a sediment, called the sugar "sand," which must be filtered and removed from the final syrup. The main constituent of the sugar sand is calcium malate (Willits, 1958).

 

Sap Flow

Sap flow requires cool nights (below freezing) followed by warm days. In central Minnesota, sap typically flows best from mid-March to mid-April although it can flow anytime the trees are dormant from October to late April (Kramer and Kozlowski, 1960). Sap flow stops when the buds expand and the leaves develop (Marvin, 1958). Flow will also stop if the temperature is continuously above or below freezing or if the night temperatures are no longer below freezing (Kramer and Kozlowski, 1960). At night there is little sap flow. As the day warms, sap flow begins. By noon, approximately 60% of the flow has occurred and the flow begins to decline (Kramer, 1983). The temperature of the previous night appears to be one of the most important factors for flow (Marvin, 1958).

 

Physiological Explanation for Sap Flow

First, let's address a common misconception about sap flow. Since grade school we've learned that the xylem transports water from the roots to the aerial parts of the plant while the phloem transports sugars and other organic materials. Though true, this has lead to the erroneous idea that sucrose-rich maple sap is being removed from the phloem - which is wrong. Maple sap that drips out of a spile in the tree comes from the xylem. In fact, this is the only time during the year when the fluid in the xylem is rich in sucrose and is an exception to the wisdom we garnered in grade school.

 

The cause of maple sap flow is complex and our understanding of the process is relatively recent. Sap flow is not related to the normal process (Cohesion-Tension Theory) by which water is transported in stems during the growing season (Kozlowski & Pallardy, 1997). According to the cohesion-tension model, water is essentially "pulled" up through a plant as it evaporates (transpiration) from leaf surfaces. Clearly this can't be important to maple sap flow since: (1) maple trees lack leaves during the time period when sap flows; and (2) the xylem in trees that are transpiring and transporting water is under a negative pressure (or tension), not a positive pressure as is measured in maple stems during sap flow.

 

Sap flow is not related to root pressure. Plants can generate sizable root pressures that can play a role in water movement. In some species, like birch (Betula sp.) and grape (Vitis sp.), the sap that flows from cuts or wounds in the stem in the spring is a consequence of root pressure. The root pressure increases the stem pressure which results in sap flow. However, root pressure is not responsible for maple sap flow (Marvin, 1958; Kramer, 1983; Kozlowski & Pallardy, 1997). Root pressure is absent in maple trees, even when there is stem pressure (Kozlowski & Pallardy, 1997).

 

So, if root pressure and normal water transport mechanisms are not involved, what causes sap flow? The crucial factor is apparently related to the age-old observation that sap flow requires warm days and cool nights. Stems must experience a freeze-thaw cycle for sap flow. When pieces of maple stems are given a source of water and then placed in a freeze-thaw cycle, they exhibit sap flow. During the cold period the stem pressure decreases and the stem absorbs water (Kozlowski & Pallardy, 1997).

 

As the temperature cools, gases in the xylem dissolve and the pressure decreases. This draws water from adjacent cells which, in turn, are refilled by water absorbed from adjacent cells and ultimately from the root. As the temperature continues to drop, water freezes along the inside walls of hollow xylem cells and in the intercellular spaces. Additional ice forms as water vaporizes from surrounding cells, much like the formation of frost on a misty winter morning. When ice formation is complete, the remaining gases in the stem are compressed and locked in ice. As the temperature warms, the ice melts and the ice-compressed gases expand forcing the sap out of the stem (Tyree, 2001).

 

This hypothesis explains why freezing and thawing temperatures are required and why sap flow is always followed by re-absorption of water (Marvin, 1958). However, it doesn't explain why sap flow requires: (1) sucrose in the sap, and (2) living cells. It is possible that both are necessary for cellular respiration that yields carbon dioxide. This gas may be the main component of the gases that undergo thermal expansion and contraction during the freeze-thaw cycle (Marvin, 1958; Kramer, 1983).

 

The sugars in the sap are derived from carbohydrates that accumulated in the stem during the previous season (Kramer and Kozlowski, 1960). These are converted to starch when the weather becomes cool in the autumn. The starch in living ray cells is hydrolyzed to sucrose as the temperature warms in the spring. The sugary sap is then pushed into the xylem (Milburn, 1979).

Why maple?

Spring sap production is a relatively rare phenomenon, and occurs in the maples (genus Acer) and just a few others. So, what it is about maple? According to Dr. Mel Tyree (2001) the distribution of sap and gas in maple stems is the critical factor. Species like sugar maple and butternut (Juglans cinerea) that have air-filled fiber cells and water-filled vessels will exude sap. In contrast, species that do not exude sap, such as willow (Salix), aspen (Populus), elm (Ulmus), ash (Fraxinus) and oak (Quercus), have gas-filled vessels and water-filled fibers.

 

Syrup/Sap From Other Species

As mentioned above, when grapes or birches are pruned in the late spring they will exude sap. This process is not temperature dependent as is the production of sap from maple trees and is due to root pressure. Because of the amount of bleeding that can occur you should avoid pruning grape vines in the late spring. Syrup can be made from birches, and is a commercially important product in some areas.

 

Hickory syrup is a sugary syrup flavored by an extract of the bark of Shagbark hickory (Carya ovata). The bark is gathered, extracted, strained and aged.

Climate Change

Evidence strongly suggests that global climate is changing. Climate models suggest that winters in the Great Lakes region will likely be warmer and wetter. One advantage of this warming trend is that it could extend the region of maple syrup production further west in the state. Currently Minnesota is on the western edge of the range for sugar maple trees.

 

http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=2477709

Edited July 22, 2009 by Smokin Moose

[BaronS]

WELL, after reading the earlier description about the making of treacle I've added a dash of golden syrup (the good CSR stuff) to my spray gun used for foliar feeding.

 

One way or another I'm getting 'sticky heads' :-)

[playfieldmta]

Thanks Moose for the excellent info. I am going to try some maple syrup discolved in water on my plants.

 

peace.

 

EDIT: Ive only got golden syrup in the cupboard.. would this be ok to use?

 

Second edit: Did some more searching on the site and will go and get some molasses =)

Edited September 21, 2009 by playfieldmta

[pisslips]

Thanks for the info guys. I got given about quarter of a bottle of canna boost

and am just using the last of it. Last night I read that using molasses would

give the same results. Now that I have read the above and have half a bottle of maple

in the fridge (love them pancakes with ice cream and maple syrup) I am going to give it

a go. What I would like to know is, do I just add it to my nut tank(run/waste)

and for how long do I use it. I am guessing all the way through flowering, the same as

the boost I have been using. Thankyou.

.....Pisslips......

[KAPOW]

I think i'm going to try that when mine start budding or can i start during veg cycle?

[zappalover]

high guys ,new to stoners but very curious about the maple syrup or molasses idea can it be used outdoors as a foliage spray and will it attract any nasties especially those bloody possums i have been doing battle with the last couple of seasons ....cheers from zappalover

[Cyclone]

I got given about quarter of a bottle of canna boost

and am just using the last of it. Last night I read that using molasses would

give the same results.

 

In my experience Canna Boost doesnt add bulk and weight,

It helps with general bud development and maturing, and the thing I notice the most about

using canna boost, is the smell and flavour intensity of the plant is significantly greater than without.

 

If you were to use maple syrup instead of boost, I think you would find the difference in price is not that much.

To buy real canadian maple syrup its about $11-15 for 200ml.

I think It could be good to use both. and I may try using it also,

but if you get the same results from molassas, your paying 10X the price...

And if your buying 'maple flavoured syrup' $5 for a L, then thats just funny.

 

Cyclone -

[smashed1]

whatch out useing maple syrup , it might be to sweat , had a mate he try'd sumthiung like that cant remember what exactly but he got a shitload of ants !!

[kungfukid]

I found mollasses in healthfood hippy shops

[gtrip]

whatch out useing maple syrup , it might be to sweat , had a mate he try'd sumthiung like that cant remember what exactly but he got a shitload of ants !!

 

I was gunna say - true that