It's that time again.

[72c20customcamper]

I tapped some sugar maples this morning. Have 8 out of ten trees done. Two of them have two taps the rest have one. Got two more large trees to do yet. So another 4 taps but I'm out of buckets.

[Leonard60]

I’ve always wondered about that process. What do you do exactly just drill a hole and plug the the hole with a wooden plug when your done??
How do you know where to drill and how do you know how deep etc etc.

[72c20customcamper]

Originally Posted by Leonard60

I’ve always wondered about that process. What do you do exactly just drill a hole and plug the the hole with a wooden plug when your done??
How do you know where to drill and how do you know how deep etc etc.

My setup is a 5/16 tap . Drill the hole on a slight downward tilt and about an inch and a half deep , 2 to 3 feet from the base. Preferably on the south side of the tree. When I pull the taps after the run I just leave the hole. Tree seals itself up. I use plastic taps like these . Seems the run gets earlier every few years. When I moved here it was the last week of Feb into March.

[Leonard60]

How do you know when the run has started. You earlier every year.

[72c20customcamper]

Originally Posted by Leonard60

How do you know when the run has started. You earlier every year.

It's pretty much hit and miss. The only requirement for the sap to run is temps. Above freezing during the day and below at night. I may have missed a few days of the run but until the buds pop the sap is good . After they pop the sap gets starchy.

[TKCR]

There is a Maple Farm near where I live. They have gone from Buckets to running pipes, to collect the Maple

[weq92f]

.
Wow! Cool.

I just read that a tapped maple will produce 10 to 20 gallons of sap per tap. I'd say you need bigger buckets. Maybe it comes out so slow that it takes days to fill the bucket?

Good stuff that Maple Syrup!

-klb

[Leonard60]

Very interesting. In my opinion the real maple syrup sure taste a lot better than the imitation stuff you see so much of in the stores.

[LockDoc]

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I have these two taps that my dad had. I have never tried to use them but they would only go into the tree about a half inch. They are galvanized steel.

Side and top view. I guess you hung the bucket on the small hook underneath. Doesn't seem like it would hold much weight.

LockDoc

[72c20customcamper]

Originally Posted by weq92f

.
Wow! Cool.

I just read that a tapped maple will produce 10 to 20 gallons of sap per tap. I'd say you need bigger buckets. Maybe it comes out so slow that it takes days to fill the bucket?

Good stuff that Maple Syrup!

-klb

It takes 40 gallons give or take to make 1 gallon of syrup. Yes it takes a few days to fill a bucket

Originally Posted by LockDoc

-
I have these two taps that my dad had. I have never tried to use them but they would only go into the tree about a half inch. They are galvanized steel.

Side and top view. I guess you hung the bucket on the small hook underneath. Doesn't seem like it would hold much weight.

LockDoc

They used to hang small pails from them. So they didnt need to be that sturdy. Now it's all tubes and vacuum pumps to get the sap to the barrel in large production

[Red71gmc]

I imagine after boiling down 40 gallons for 1 gallon, that is a treasured treat. We have a local person sell it and I always thought it was well worth the money for the process needed.

[joeydurango]

We tried tapping a big maple in our back woods when I was a kid. Never had much luck, or maybe boiling the sap down to syrup over a wood fire out in the rain was a downer for 8-year-old me. I don't remember getting beyond the "thick sap/watery syrup" phase. But I do remember the February pancake festival at the maple farm down toward Louisville every year. Now there's not a quality maple within miles of me that's native to the area (i.e., not on someone else's lawn)... wonder if I could make some "aspen syrup"? "Pinon and juniper syrup"?

[special-K]

I don't have sugar maples down here, but upstate in the Alleghenies we do on the family place. No one up there tapping lately. Fortunately, I have friends there who do, as well as NH, VT, and ME. I never use store-bought. Just made applewurst and buckwheat cakes this morning for my grandson. Mmm.........

I hope you get a good yield this season

[72c20customcamper]

Joeydurango there are lots of tree species that can be tapped. Birch and Sycamore for two . But they have very low sugar content . Its like 100 to 1 .

Tim I hope so too. Last year was a bust. Cold all the way till end of February then it got real warm for a couple of weeks and then cold again.

[joeydurango]

Originally Posted by 72c20customcamper

Joeydurango there are lots of tree species that can be tapped. Birch and Sycamore for two . But they have very low sugar content . Its like 100 to 1.

Didn't know that, you learn something every day. I wonder about cottonwood? We have a ton of those around.

[LockDoc]

Originally Posted by joeydurango

Didn't know that, you learn something every day. I wonder about cottonwood? We have a ton of those around.

HaHa. I had a vision of cotton balls coming out of the spigots....

LockDoc

[pritch]

[QUOTE I wonder about cottonwood? We have a ton of those around.[/QUOTE]

All the sand would clog up the taps!

And as far as Juniper, I don't think gin would do much for my pancakes. I use cherry NyQuil on mine when I want a buzz for breakfast

Seriously though, there's nuthin' better than real maple syrup

[joeydurango]

Okay, okay. Y'all win on the cottonwood and juniper. How about... scrub oak?

[72c20customcamper]

Trees have been busy. Got about 30 gallons of sap so far . Still need to empty 5 more buckets.Doing my first boil down today. This is from 3 buckets.

[72c20customcamper]

Pretty good read about trees to tap. 27 species that can be tapped to make syrup