tapping the tree in my backyard?

[whitetail farms]

today i tapped a sugar maple in are back yard,but the lawn gets fertilized every 2 months in the summer will it effect the sap at all id hate to have to take the bucket down it yield the most sap out of my other 5 buckets,thanks nick

[happy thoughts]

My guess would be plain old fertilizer should be OK. Heck, my dog fertilizes every tree he can get to. Fertilizer is just some basic elemental nutrients that will help the tree grow. But if your lawn treatment is more than fertilizing and includes herbicides and pesticides to keep weeds and insect damage under control, then I guess you'd have to know what's being used and at what rate it's being applied. You could always check with your state or local Ag agent for advice.

[whitetail farms]

well its like a program from agway and i think there weed and insect control in it

[happy thoughts]

I think it's time to call the experts. Chances are anything applied near the tree will end up in the sap. Whether or not it has a long residual effect that might be harmful, I can't tell you. The sap may very well still be OK but I'd want to make sure of it.

Call your lawn guy and find out the chemicals they're using. If it were me, I wouldn't take their word on safety. I'd want an unbiased second opinion like your state AG guy or an AG dept. at a big university. Ask what they think.

The thing you need to remember about sugaring is that anything in the sap will end up around 40 times worse or more once it's concentrated down to syrup. It's always better to be safe than sorry.

[happy thoughts]

And just a thought as I now see you're from NY. Contact someone at the Cornell maple program. I bet they'd be glad to help you.

Here's their web address. There's a link on the left to contact them

http://maple.dnr.cornell.edu/

Good luck and have a great season!

[whitetail farms]

i talked to a guy from the Cornell maple program and he said it wont effect the sap and would actually make it sweeter,thank for pointing me in the right direction

[happy thoughts]

That's good news. I'm glad you followed through and were able to get some peace of mind. Now get to work boiling that syrup:)