I have been collecting birch sap for many years. It is such a remarkable gift from nature. It has many health-giving properties. And is incredibly versatile. Prior to buying our woodland, which is listed in the ancient tree register as a birch coppice, I would ask wood owners permission to tap their trees, generally well received but sometimes a bit inconvenient. Process It's a fairly straightforward process. The sap rises once a year, generally the last two weeks in March. Normally from the 16th here in the north-east of Scotland. The kit you would need is a cordless drill, an 11/16 bit, plastic tubing the same size (needs to be a tight fit), food grade plastic container (especially if a distance from your car, needs to have a small aperture to prevent beasties getting in but with enough room to breath. the demijohn has ideal size aperture) or glass demijohn. March 16th comes round surprisingly quick! Choosing a tree is a bit hit and miss, although over the years I seem to have developed a bit of a skill in choosing good ones.  Generally I would say mature trees around 8 inches diameter, preferably well away from areas where pesticide is in use and the tree is in good shape. I have previously used trees with witches broom (the tree has been infected with a fungal, viral and occasionally insect activity) and found the tree to be witches broom free the following year. This is not a scientifically proven theory, just from personal observation. Depending on the size of the container, I have used water cooler containers (I found out that they are single-use plastic so most companies that have them are quite happy to give them away), they have the perfect aperture and even though they hold three to four gallons, the weight of the container adds little to the burden, I normally drill 5 or 6 inches above the top of the container. You should aim to drill through the bark; I give it around an inch (2.54 cm in new money), at right angle. Push in the plastic tube, which should be 8-10 inches (you do the maths) long, and the other end into your container, it should start dripping immediately. leave it overnight and check, if using larger containers leave for two or three days. The flow varies, but from a good tree you could expect around a gallon a day. Preparation  You will have a 3-5 day window to use it before it goes cloudy, once cloudy use to water the garden so its not entirely lost. If wine is your thing it is very simple with the sap, sugar and yeast, makes a very palatable result and will keep for at least a year. If you prefer non-alcohol, it can make a delicious cordial - it also preserves it. If you are happy with lots of boiling to reduce it to a creamy balm/moisturiser. There are plenty of recipes on the web for these. These options preserve many of the saps health giving properties. Hope that will do, chaga should also have a wee space, which will grow on birch too and has fantastic health giving properties. Author: Ron (wood owner near Aberdeen)

Our wood in the Scottish Highlands is an amazing place to go foraging for fungi. Last year we had bagful’s of Chanterelles so we hoped for the same when we went up last week. Like every owner we have met, we do not get up there as often as we would like, but we had great expectations that there would be tons of tasty toadstools, more “Chants”, some Boletes, maybe a Blusher or two and hopefully our favourite:  Penny Buns! (Ceps, Porcini are other names for them). We have a natural Birch Wood (near Loch Ness), with a few other tree species thrown in like Rowans, Juniper and some alien Western Hemlocks (good cover when it rains).  At this time of year when the Birches are on the turn, it is just glorious. The greens, golds and vibrant yellows are interspersed with the fading Purple Heather and the odd bright red Fly Agaric or one of the many Russula species adding further interest and detail. As usual, checking the trailcams was interesting, mainly Roe and Sika Deer. I have two there but forgot where one was....a common occurrence.   I found Hedgehog Mushrooms, some Scarletina Boletes, Birch Polypore and Chaga; the Chants were scarce but enough for a hearty breakfast.  I had all but given up on the Buns, but found a really tiny one hiding under the heather. There had been more but they had been eaten, some snipped off at the base and one fat one whose cap was gone and the stem mangled beyond use.  I had a suspect in mind; reviewing the trailcam footage at home confirmed my suspicions.    A Wild Boar ate my Buns!