Backyard Sugarin': A Complete How-To Guide, Third Edition

"Backyard sugaring" used to be a big thing among families here in Vermont and I'm glad Rink Mann wrote this simple and practical book to help get us back to it.I bought this book 20 years ago with an eye to give sugaring a try since I have plenty of sugar maples here. Mann starts off with good practical advice about selecting the trees to tap (and they're not limited to only sugar maples) and gives a lot of ideas about times, buckets, equipment, and solving problems (ex: frozen sap).A great portion of the book has a ton of information about making your own sap evaporators from simple parts like cinder blocks and pans all the way up to near-professional oil-fired evaporators made from 50-gallon drums. His instructions are so good there's little that can go wrong. In my first attempt I used the cinder-block-and-pans method, and the instructions are so clear and practical there was little problem in producing my first 10 gallon batch of great maple syrup!Since then I've graduated to developing a sugar bush (large stands of maple trees) and pooling resources with neighbors who professionally produce and market local maple syrup. All thanks to Rink Mann for the inspiration.

My husband and I decided to try tapping our maple trees this year. Since we live on a very limited budget, and also on only one-third of an acre on suburban Long Island with 5 maple trees in our yard, we did not want an expensive or elaborate set up. This book was perfect for showing us how to make a maple syrup without any fancy equipment. Very interesting, easy to follow, and a fun read full of great ideas. We managed to get about 2 gallons of maple syrup in this, our first, year. And it is absolutely delicious. The only reason we quit at 2 gallons is because my husband got sick (flu?) and wasn't able to sit outside tending the fire. So the last batch of sap we collected we have fermenting into maple beer instead. Hopefully that will turn out as well as the maple syrup itself. Anyway, I highly recommend this book.

If you are just getting started in the awesomeness that is maple sugaring; this book is a great introduction.It will give you general idea on what you'll be getting into and how to do it yourself without spending a fortune on manufactured sugaring equipment (after you've caught the bug you will spend a fortune on manufactured sugaring equipment, trust me).The author goes to great depths on his descriptions and there are pictures as well (the pictures look better on a color tablet than a black and white kindle).Having completed a few batches of syrup now, I am happy with the information and techniques contained in this book. Remember, this book is for the hobbyist and an introduction to maple sugaring. If you're a pro it will seem like a kindergarten picture book.

the author had a ton of great ideas. This was my first book about syrup making and I learned a ton!I was mildly disappointed to find that the bulk of the information was regarding the engineering of an outdoor evaporating system. I know the title Should have been a give-a-way, but I thought that "backyard sugarin'" meant collecting the sap from your own yard.We are just experimenting with syrup production on a tiny scale for homeschool purposes. I had hoped that we could use the book as a text for learning history, methodology, etc. Unfortunately, this book did not fill that expectation.

This entertaining read was exactly what I was looking for as I prepare to tap some of the sugar maples on my land for the first time. The breezy conversational style made it a very quick and fun read, but its helpful advice on every step of the sugarin' process was the primary reason it is receiving 5 stars. Included were specifics on when/where to tap, yield, evaporation times, and quite a few variations of outdoor evaporation designs. I'm only entering the world of backyard sugarin' as an educational quest for myself and my two children and do not expect to produce more than a little syrup this first year, but I was able to glean enough information for a miniature operation this year and for next year's expansion if we're successful.

I bought this book just after the 2009 maple sugaring season. I am interested in running small batches of maple syrup this coming season. I am not looking for an expensive new hobby. This book seems to provide most of the information that I need to start on a small back yard sugaring project. Now I prep. In 2010 I do. We will see how helpful the book is in practice. I will update my review after the 2010 season.

I have not yet tried making syrup however I feel this book gave me enough of the correct information to successfully do it. I gave it only 4 stars because, as an e-book, the pictures were useless, but that has been an issue with all the e-books I have purchased. I would suggest the actual book to get the benefit of ideas the pictures would provide for building your sugaring site.

This year was our first year maple sugaring and this book is the best. Filled with all the information you need to get started and beyond. I had the book at my side the whole time I boiled sap! It is great for getting your tap started and how to recognize the "good" trees. I highly recommend it. I had gotten the book from the library among many others and this was truly the best book. I bought it to help me survive my first maple sugaring year and it worked! We've got yummy syrup to enjoy now.

good book

Not what i was expecting, and a pretty cheap book.

Great!

A good entry level guide for a small scale sugaring. Very practical, if a bit dated, however maple sugaring process has not changed much.