Want to make your own maple syrup? It's simple. Just wait until February when it's below freezing at night and above freezing during the day. That weather combination causes sap to run in maple trees.

It's lots more complicated than that, of course, but it's certainly satisfying for a guy with a lot of patience and lots of maple trees. Oh, and it takes lots of maple sap: 50 gallons of sap boils down to one gallon of maple syrup.

Greg Probst and his family, of Probst Family Farm, 3463 State Route 103, Bluffton, have the patience, equipment and know-how to accomplish this sweet task.

Last week the Probst family had 362 taps on maple trees on their farm and on surrounding farms. "We always look for sugar maples, but use other maples, too," says Greg.

Generally maple syrup season in Ohio starts around Valentine's Day, but this winter's warmer than normal weather made things complicated for maple syrup farmers.

"There's usually a four to six week run, but this year is different," said Greg. "Depending upon the weather, it could end next week. When it quits freezing at night, it's over."

The taps went into the trees on Feb. 1. As sap collects, Greg pours it into his 325-gallon tank. The sap flows to an evaporator, which pre-heats the liquid to 150 degrees. Then it continues to boil and eventually becomes syrup. That's the short explanation.

The process takes hours of work. It takes constant watching and feeding fuel to the wood furnace boiling the syrup.

"Last year we boiled around the clock. We'd take shifts, referring to Greg and Laura and their five sons. We went 24 hours a day for three and a half days straight," he said.

Greg has produced maple syrup for 20 seasons. "There's lots of trial and error in the learning processing," he said. Recalling the first season, in the spring of 1992, he said he probably produced one pint of syrup.

This spring he hopes to produce 50 gallons.

If you've not yet figured the math in your head, 50 gallons means collecting 2,500 gallons of sap.

"Realistically I hope to get between 40 and 45 gallons," he said.

Using a test kit to determine the grade of syrup he is harvesting, Greg's variations range from (listed from light to dark) Vermont Fancy, A Medium Amber, A Dark Amber and Vermont Grade B. The darker the syrup the more maple flavor it contains.

"Most of our syrup is A Medium Amber," he said.

Maple syrup is available at the Probst farm. It is also sold at The Food Store, downtown Bluffton, and at the Bluffton Farmer's Market, which will open on the first Saturday in May.

Maple syrup is available at the farm for $10 a pint or $16 a quart. If interested call the Probsts at 419-358-7514 or e-mail them at [email protected].

The maple syrup from the Probst farm is "certified natural." That means that no spraying takes place on the ground around the trees and no brass is used in producing the syrup. Instead of brass, everything is stainless steel. Copper is acceptable if it is lead-free copper. The taps on the trees must be plastic or stainless steel.