The Sap Collector's Thread

[Ole and Lena]

I love in western new York in a small city at the moment. The famIly farm has many sugar Naples, but my father refuses to allow anyone to tap any for fear of damaging the wood. I need more info on this, as I'm very interested.

Your father is correct. Quality timber stock should not be tapped, it will degrade the value of the wood considerably. That being said, most maple stands have a large number of low-quality damaged, crooked, forked or cull trees with little timber value that are prime candidates for tapping. In fact, ugly trees with lots of branches yield the most. Silver and Red maple will also yield syrup and have little or no timber value.

 

[lizyusczyk]

There are a lot of maples, the land is about 180 acres. We have a Forrester come and mark the trees that should be cut for firewood every year. I definately dont want to devalue any trees. are there any sites that can give me more info?

 

[wyoDreamer]

Well, my maple syrup connection made 3 gallons last weekend, and it looks like the sap will flow all week again. However, he says the sap has a low sugar content this year. Anyone else noticing a low sugar content in their sap?

 

[Tjschicks1817]

First year sugaring so I can't answer that, but I got a question? I made two 12 0z bottle that I'd like to be thicker. Could I reboil them?

 

[Ole and Lena]

I would talk to the forester when he comes or have your Father designate some low value future firewood maples that can be tapped (tapping will not affect firewood yield). Placing a value on future saw timber is a combination of art and science that cannot be learned in books or the internet, best left to a skilled eye.

 

[Ole and Lena]

Wyo... I haven't noticed any difference in sugar yield. My Silvers are still yielding aprox 40:1. Just opened the floodgates today, so we'll see if the sap is more dilute or not. I have heard that shorter summers or stress during growing season will lower yield, and that would likely vary with location.

TJS... You can re-boil. Add about 50% un-processed sap, then boil down on stovetop to desired consistency, or you can just add it to a fresh run of sap. We had to do that last year with one batch that got too thick and started crystalizing in the jars.

 

[Ole and Lena]

Lizy. This will give you a general idea of what's involved in grading hardwood trees (including sugar maple) for timber value. Warning it is quite a technical read, but should give you a start as far as what to look for. As you'll soon find out, it is best left to a trained eye as given the value of high-grade maple timber, a mistake could cost thousands of dollars.

http://www.ozarkforestry.org/fieldgradinghardwds.pdf

 

[Tjschicks1817]

Ohh Yeaa Sap flowing fast again

 

[eatwhatyougrow]

First Batch...ever....yeah me! ....Next year will do more trees just did one tree this year as a test run...first time and all...have about 10 others I can tap, and I still have about still have about 20 gallons of sap to process....question when I pull the taps do I need to do something to protect the open spot....should I cover it with that breathable tree wrap stuff...im sure not I never see anone else do it but just leaving a hole there is okay huh?

 

[Tjschicks1817]

First Batch...ever....yeah me! ....Next year will do more trees just did one tree this year as a test run...first time and all...have about 10 others I can tap, and I still have about still have about 20 gallons of sap to process....question when I pull the taps do I need to do something to protect the open spot....should I cover it with that breathable tree wrap stuff...im sure not I never see anone else do it but just leaving a hole there is okay huh?

Very Nice.!.