When and how to properly collect birch sap in 2024 and product storage

Birch sap is considered a healthy drink that helps to significantly improve human health. This product is popular with many people. Therefore, the question of when exactly birch sap is collected is considered very relevant. Also, when preparing this drink, you need to take into account other features - choose the right tree and make a hole in it, through which you can collect the juice.

Useful properties of the drink

This drink brings great benefits to the human body and helps improve health in case of various diseases. The healing properties are due to the composition of the product. Birch sap contains vitamins, minerals, and carbohydrates. It also includes many micro and macroelements. These include potassium, magnesium, silicon. In addition, the product contains iron, copper, and manganese.

Includes birch sap and fruit sugar, essential oils, organic acids. It also contains phytoncides, which have an antimicrobial effect.

The varied composition of the natural drink helps achieve a number of effects. Birch sap helps with viral infections, coughs, tonsillitis, and respiratory tract lesions. With its help you can treat headaches, eliminate swelling and symptoms of rheumatism.

It also helps normalize blood pressure, cope with digestive disorders, pathologies of the kidneys and joints, metabolic disorders and other diseases. With the help of birch sap it is possible to eliminate depression and spring vitamin deficiency.

The product is also used in cosmetology. It is used for hair and skin care. The product helps cope with acne, eczema, and furunculosis. It helps with hair loss and wounds that do not heal for a long time. Birch sap has pronounced cleansing properties, has a moisturizing effect, refreshes and rejuvenates the dermis.

When consuming a product, it is important to consider that it can also cause harm. The drink is contraindicated if you are allergic to birch pollen. It is also not recommended to use the product collected in contaminated areas.The fact is that it is capable of absorbing hazardous substances from the environment.

Approximate collection dates in 2024

It is recommended to collect sap in the spring, when active sap flow begins. In this case, you need to focus on the following signs:

• the temperature during the day does not drop below +5 degrees;
• the snow has melted;
• the buds are swollen;
• Sap appears from cuts on the branches.

It is quite difficult to name the exact timing of juice collection. They are determined taking into account the climatic characteristics of a particular region. First of all, people living in the southern regions can collect the product. This is due to the relatively warm winter and early arrival of spring. The north usually experiences long winters. At the same time, spring warmth comes much later.

Middle lane

In central Russia, the time to collect birch sap begins in the third decade of March. In 2024, it is recommended to do this from March 20 to April 20.

South

In areas with a warm climate, it is worth collecting sap from the beginning to the end of March. It is recommended to do this until the buds begin to bloom. After which the juice becomes bitter. In 2024, it must be harvested from March 5 to April 5.

Siberia and Far East

In Siberia and the Far East, the juice appears in the first ten days of April. If there is a prolonged spring, this happens later. In 2024, it is recommended to collect the product from April 15 to May 15.

How to collect correctly

The most suitable time for harvesting is considered to be morning and afternoon. After 18.00 and until dawn the tree is in a dormant state. This leads to a slowdown in sap flow along the trunk and branches. To make a hole in the bark and trunk, you can use a knife, drill or screwdriver. A screwdriver is also suitable for this purpose. At the same time, it is strictly forbidden to take an ax.Using this tool can severely damage the plant, which will lead to its death.

Choosing the right tree

It is recommended to extract pure birch sap from the forest. When choosing a tree for this purpose, it is worth considering the following features:

• birch age – 25, 30 years;
• trunk diameter - at least 20 centimeters;
• wide healthy crown;
• a straight trunk - it should not have damaged areas, cracks, or an abundance of dried branches.

When choosing a specific tree, it is recommended to give preference to plants that are located in open sunny areas. By slightly tilting the tree, liquid collection is simplified. This is due to the fact that it is easier to attach the drink container.

Birch roots are deep in the ground. Therefore, it does not absorb toxic substances located on the surface of the soil. Experts advise collecting liquid in environmentally friendly places. The fact is that trees can absorb harmful elements and exhaust gases through their foliage.

It is prohibited to collect from plants located in the territories of hospitals, parks, public gardens, greenhouses, and sanatoriums. If you damage birch trees that grow in a protected area, administrative liability will follow. It is allowed to collect sap in a birch forest, grove or on your own site. The resulting drink can only be used for self-consumption. It is prohibited to sell it without a license.

Determining the location on the trunk

It is recommended to make the hole in the barrel carefully. It should be shallow. The liquid is located between the wood and the bark.Therefore, as a rule, a puncture with a drill measuring 1 centimeter is sufficient. It is best to do it from the north side. It is there that the maximum amount of juice will be released, and the wound will heal quite quickly.

The number of holes is determined depending on the age of the tree. The older the plant, the more holes you can make. If the trunk diameter is 25-30 centimeters, you can make 1-2 holes. If the birch is larger, it is permissible to perform 3-4 in different places.

It is worth considering that one tree can produce a maximum of 1 liter of juice per day. During the season, you can get up to 10 liters of drink from a birch tree.

How to collect correctly

There are quite a few options for collecting birch sap, each of which has certain characteristics.

Collection from branches

To extract juice, it is recommended to take an upward-pointing branch that extends from a skeletal branch. It shouldn't be too thin. It is advisable to use a branch the size of an adult man's thumb. The end must be cut off and a plastic bottle fixed on it. This needs to be done by the neck. Leave the container for 3-5 hours. If you need a large amount of liquid, it is recommended to use several birches.

Without accessories

If collection devices are not available, you can use the express method. In this case, it is recommended to cut the bark with a sharp knife and bend it back. The result should be a gutter. Then you can collect the liquid in a wide-necked container.

When the juice is collected, it is recommended to put the bark in place and fix it. This can be done using damp soil, moss or rope. Leaving damage is strictly prohibited. A strong flow of liquid can lead to the death of even the strongest tree.

IV

To obtain juice, you can use a medical dropper. It can be purchased at every pharmacy. The adapter that fits onto the hose has a diameter of approximately 4 millimeters. You can easily select the appropriate drill for it.

The tip has a flared base. Thanks to this, it will be possible to fit it tightly into the hole in the birch tree. The second end of the transparent tube should be lowered into a container that stands on the ground or is screwed to a tree with a rope. In this case, the sap from the birch flows freely and falls into the prepared container without loss.

To protect the liquid from debris and insects, you can drill a hole in the lid of the dish and place the end of the tube into it. If there are several holes in the tree, you need to place an adapter from a dropper in each of them. At the same time, the other ends are lowered into the same container. In this way you can get 3-4 liters of useful liquid.

groove

The most traditional method of extracting birch sap is the use of a birch bark groove. It is recommended to place one narrow end of the device into the hole, and from the other, the juice will flow into the prepared container.

A similar option for collecting juice is using a plastic corner. You can also use a cut handle body.

Herbal tourniquet

This method has been used to collect birch sap since ancient times. To use it, you need to make a dense rope from blades of grass, make a hole in the tree and place the workpiece in it. When the juice begins to stand out, it will thoroughly saturate the tourniquet. Therefore, it is worth placing a container at the other end to collect liquid. It is important to consider that it is recommended to take juice only in an environmentally friendly area, which is located far from cities and highways. It is permissible to collect the product in villages and forests.

Processing birch after harvesting

Immediately after collecting birch sap, it is recommended to treat the damaged area. The hole must be covered with dense material. To do this, you can use the following means:

1. Garden pitch is a product with a viscous consistency. With its help, it is possible to protect the damaged area from infection and leakage of juice. This helps prevent the trunk from drying out. Thanks to the use of garden varnish, it is possible to accelerate the healing of damaged areas on the trunk.
2. Plasticine can also be used to close the hole. This will help prevent the juice from leaking out.
3. Wooden cork – it can be easily made from wood. It is important that its diameter matches the size of the hole. Then it is recommended to cover the damaged area with garden varnish. It is also permissible to use plasticine.
4. Laundry soap - this product can easily seal the hole. It is also permissible to use a cork first.
5. Drying oil paint - it is important to make sure that it does not contain kerosene or gasoline. It is permissible to use white paint, which is often used to treat trees.

If the specified means are not at hand, it is permissible to cover the damaged area with earth, moss, clay or grass.

Caring for the tree after the procedure

If cuts have been made on the tree and the bark remains on it, it must be covered back. Then secure with thick material. No additional steps are required. With minor damage, birch is easily restored. This happens quite quickly. If the injury is significant, the tree will die immediately.Therefore, you need to extract juice as carefully as possible.

Storing the collected juice

It is recommended to immediately put freshly collected juice in the refrigerator. In this place it can be stored for about a week. At room temperature the product can be stored for a maximum of 3 days. If the rules and storage conditions are violated, the composition may become hazardous to health. Mold and rot often appear in it. There is also a risk of proliferation of pathogenic microorganisms. Therefore, drinking juice after the expiration date is strictly prohibited.

It is recommended to use glass containers to store the drink. It is better not to keep it in plastic containers. To increase the shelf life of the product, special processing is required. Frozen and twice strained mixture can be stored in plastic bottles in the freezer. The shelf life of this product is 1 month.

If the drink is pasteurized, it must be stored in a glass container for 2 weeks. It is important to take into account that this procedure leads to the loss of some beneficial substances.

To extend the shelf life of the juice, it is recommended to preserve it. To do this, you should use natural ingredients. These include orange, lemon, honey, sugar, currant branches. The canned product can be stored for 6-8 months.

To prepare a healthy and tasty drink, it is recommended to use the following recipes:

1. Combine 1 liter of juice with 100 grams of sugar and 5 grams of citric acid. It is important to stir thoroughly until all the grains are dissolved. After this, the composition must be pasteurized and closed with a lid.
2. Heat the juice to a boil, add the soaked raisins and remove from the stove. Leave to infuse. Then pour into bottles. In this case, there should be 8 centimeters left to the neck.Leave to infuse in a cool place for 2 weeks.
3. For 1 liter of birch sap, take half a lemon, 1 small spoon of honey and 5 grams of dry yeast. Mix all ingredients well until they are completely dissolved, cover with a lid and refrigerate. After 10 days the drink will be ready. You need to drink it within 2 months.

Birch sap is a very healthy and tasty drink that helps improve your health. It is important to prepare this product correctly. In order for it to retain maximum beneficial properties, it is necessary to choose the right time for collecting the liquid and provide it with optimal storage conditions.