How long before I can retap in the dead zone?

[mikek101]

I'm getting ready to tap and some of my trees have been tapped for years. I learned about the dead zone at the FFA conf. in NY and that I should stay away from this are the following year. Is it ok to go to the dead zone are 2 years, 3 years, ?? years latter?

[maple flats]

Until the tree has grown enough to give good viable sapwood over the previous tap. I think that is going to be in the neighborhood of 10 years or more. Not all trees grow at the same rate, depends on soil, moisture, sun availability, competition, and so forth.

[Sugarmaker]

The tapping dead zone is, what, about twice as wide as the tap dia in the horizontal direction and runs vertical above and below the tap hole several inches. We try to move the new tap hole to the side of the old hole by 3- 4 inches and up or down 3 or 4 inches. Seems to work. Hope this helps.

Chris

[gmcooper]

Can't find the paper tonight but it's hear. Think it came from Proctor several years ago. They called for not tapping with in 6" horizontally and 18" vertically until tap hole is completely grown over and not detectable. Kind of if you can't see where it was it's ok to tap. If you can picture and oval 12" wide and 36" tall with the tap hole in the center. Couple guys near us used to tap 2-3 inches horizontally every year. after about 5 years nearly killed the trees! Huge dead areas and the smaller trees were structually weakend.

[markcasper]

So what were they talking about in the December maple digest? Seems to me they were talking that you could tap up to an inch away.........

[Sugarmaker]

gm,
Wow 12 inches x 36 inch no tap zone sounds to big?? Doesn't leave much room to tap next year, even on our big road side trees.
Chris

[DougM]

From the Maple Syrup Producers Manual:

If the trees have been tapped before, new tapholes should be at least 6 inches to the side of old tapholes. Tapholes drilled in successive years should not be placed in a straight line around the tree. A useful pattern is to drill each new taphole at least 6 inches to the side and slightly above or below old tapholes. This results in a spiral pattern of tapping around the tree which, over the years, utilizes the entire tapping face of the trunk.

We usually space them more like 4", but we've only tapper some trees three years, so we enough history to go on as to how it affects the health of a tree over time.

[Sugarmaker]

Doug,
Sounds about right to me.

[Maple Hill Sugarhouse]

There is a research paper that i have and they tryed tapping within' an inch to the side of the old taphole and got the same amount of sap as they normally would- I do hit an old taphole once in a while as some of the trees were hammered upon before me/By short drop tubes being used.