Manitoba Maple (box Elder) (Acer negundo)
it makes decent Fire wood... you can coppice it... drought resistant and this year I tapped 10 of my older trees and in a week got 43 litres of sap that boiled down to 2 litres of quite tasty syrup. just don't plant them near a farmers field cause round up kills them.
"Beets, Blacksmithing, Bow hunting"
We had one in our backyard in town and it grew incredibly fast to the point it became dangerous. We had many neighbours who needed to have tree services come in to take them down because they were so overgrown and within falling distance to houses if a storm knocked them over. I only looked at the negatives back then 🙂 hmmm...firewood 🙂
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*´¨`•.¸¸Anita <>< *.•´¸¸¨`*
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Quack, Cluck, Moo, Hee-Haw, Meow and Baaaaaaa from Shalom Engedi Farm
http://adventures-in-country-living.blogspot.com/
Yeah they are considered a weed out east
"Beets, Blacksmithing, Bow hunting"
A weed they are. The only good thing is they grow fast and provide lots of shade. They are to maples like balmagalion(sp) is to poplar. A softer, crappier cousin. Their branches spread out and thicken but are not strong enough to hold their length so break off regularly. Never heard of getting sap from them for syrup but I do know they drip on your car all summer long. And dirty! Man they shed leaves forever so steady raking them up.
You also get Box Elder Beetles. A wonderful insect that birds will not touch, and in the fall they swarm to warm spots, like in your house.(They are harmless and inedible.) Despite this pest, the tree is wonderful, but I had no idea you could make syrup from their sap. Useful info, thanks for sharing.
Rob