Tree sap gathering and syrup making

[mowin]

Anyone start yet? Put out 450 taps yesterday. Next week should be fantastic sap weather.

 

[itsasmallfarm]

Anyone start yet? Put out 450 taps yesterday. Next week should be fantastic sap weather.

very nice,

our sap does not run for at least another good month here for box elder.

 

[SheaLoner]

I was going to tap a few trees here but will the sap even run? We've had such warm weather this winter only a few days of true cold. No solid stretches of freezing without hitting over 40+ right after.

 

[mowin]

I was going to tap a few trees here but will the sap even run? We've had such warm weather this winter only a few days of true cold. No solid stretches of freezing without hitting over 40+ right after.

I'm in upstate NY also. Winter hasn't really set it at all. Some large producers in the area were boiling in January, and haven't stopped. Hopefully we'll get a good couple weeks in before the sap turns.

 

[itsasmallfarm]

just started tapping my box elders this year, hoping for a good season!

 

[LaurenRitz]

Have two red maples near my house that I'd like to try tapping. Both are over 12 inches in diameter but I think I'll start with one tap and see how it goes.

I have taps, hooks, buckets, a bin for collecting sap, an outdoor propane stove and lots of firewood. What else do I absolutely need?

The next two days are supposed to be below freezing, then it jumps up to daytime highs in the 40s.

Anyone else in south-central Kansas?

This is the smaller of the two, the other is easily 30 inches in diameter.

 

[LaurenRitz]

I accidentally made the first hole too big, so I cut a section of branch and made a plug for it. Is there anything else I should have done? I tapped the tree again, about 12 inches away and lower down with the right sized bit.

 

[saysfaa]

Have two red maples near my house that I'd like to try tapping. Both are over 12 inches in diameter but I think I'll start with one tap and see how it goes.

I have taps, hooks, buckets, a bin for collecting sap, an outdoor propane stove and lots of firewood. What else do I absolutely need?

I'm not sure what you mean by a "bin for collecting sap." Do you mean an evaporating pan? Something shallow and able to be put over the flames? The more surface area, the faster the process will go.

Something to stir the sap - a long-handled spoon will work.

If you are collecting in buckets, you might want to strain the sap. I used tubing to milk jugs (actually, gallon water jugs so I didn't have to wash them out) set on the ground and the sap stayed clean.

 

[LaurenRitz]

I have stuff for a strainer setup. The bins are actually for holding the sap if I have too much for the pan. That doesn't look likely, since I'm getting less than a quart a day from 3 taps.

Any idea why volume might be so low?

 

[saysfaa]

Among the possible reasons, in no particular order:
Red maples don't give as much sap as sugar maples. (Oh, I looked that up since I wasn't sure why I thought it was that as well as the sugar content of the sap.... at least one published, peer reviewed study found the sap flow and sugar content were the same but sugar maples had a longer season. I've heard differently so many places that I would look for more sources if I really want to know.)

Whether the tree is in the open (gives more sap) or shaded by other trees (gives less sap). (Separate from how sunny tge day is - this has to do with the general health of the tree because it isn't competing for water and nutrients all year, I think but am not sure.)

Temperature differential between day and night. When I lived on the plains, I noticed a much more even temperature than when I've lived in regions better known for maple syrup production.

How sunny the day is. The same temperature differential and actual temperatures will give different sap flow when a cloud goes by... I literally saw the difference in how fast the sap came out as I held the tube from the tap.

How much ground water there is and has been in the root zone.

There may be other possibilities, too.