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View Full Version : Omg it works!!!!!


Galena
02-24-2013, 12:33 PM
Hey all

Awhile back I put up a thread bout my burly monster trees, 3 and 4, who didn't want to part with their sap, never mind that they're big and healthy. Seeing that I have only 8 trees that are tappable, I want my trees to produce. And I like to rotate trees so no one of them gets overstressed.

The main problem with 3 and 4 are they are both heavily burled, right at tapping height. So I planned out an unconventional tapping method. It involves tubing spiles, 30 ft of tubing cut into 6 5-ft lengths, 6 small screweyes and 6 pails and lids. And a 6-ft stepladder, a drill with a 3/8 bit and most importantly...a good sense of balance.

Yep, I went up a ladder and drilled my holes above the burls, so the taps are between 7 and 8 ft off the ground - good thing I'm 5'10. The screweyes are farther down the trunk in the burls and are holding the pails and lids in place at normal tapping height.

And eh wala, it seems to be working - at noon today I checked the trees and was surprised and delighted to see that 4 has already begun to chug out sap, and 3 is starting to produce albeit only on one tap so far.

Will post pics soon! So glad my crazy idea has paid off!!

ETA: linkies to pix of 3 and 4 with this setup in:

http://www.dpchallenge.com/image.php?IMAGE_ID=1054768
http://www.dpchallenge.com/image.php?IMAGE_ID=1054770
CBOYER
02-24-2013, 01:07 PM
And eh wala, it seems to be working -

Please.... et voilą... it is not bad for a Canadian to use some french words...:)

You got a nice idea, those trees have a lot of burls...
MapleLady
02-24-2013, 04:22 PM
Galena, glad to see this is working! Hoping for a lot of sap for you! :)
not_for_sale
02-24-2013, 06:19 PM
It looks like one of your trees has a problem ( mushroom). Have you looked into that?
Galena
02-24-2013, 06:19 PM
Please.... et voilą... it is not bad for a Canadian to use some french words...:)

You got a nice idea, those trees have a lot of burls...

OK, et voila! :-) Sorry, I lost most of my French when I lived in BC for 6 1/2 years and you are much more likely to have to be able to speak Mandarin than French :-/ And just never really got it back, I live 60 km southeast of Ottawa so the American border is closer. Oh well, c'est la vie...
Galena
02-24-2013, 06:21 PM
It looks like one of your trees has a problem ( mushroom). Have you looked into that?

Yes, that's 4, and has always had mushrooms. I always thought they were fairly benign, but if I should be concerned please let me know why and what should be done.
wildlifewarrior
02-24-2013, 06:52 PM
Mushrooms feed and grow from dead wood, that could be an indicatin why thet tree wasn't producing farther down becuase there is a section of which is dead. by the looks of things it appears to me that it starts at the broken limb above it.

Mike
gmcooper
02-24-2013, 06:56 PM
The tree in pic 4 has a fungus that causes the growths that you see. I did a quick search and didn't find the name which I can't remember. The forester we had as a speaker a few years ago covered a number of fungal infections in maples and other hardwoods. If I remember correctly he said by the time you see the growth the tree has been infected and is terminal. From my own experiance some will kill a tree fairly quickly and others take many years. Maybe others will have more info for you.
not_for_sale
02-24-2013, 08:11 PM
It's likely a version of an oyster mushroom. Not all mushrooms feed of dead material. Some are actually good for the tree. However, an oyster mushroom is not a good sign.

You can't get it out either. Once it has fruit ( mushrooms) it has the wood completely under control.
Run Forest Run!
02-24-2013, 08:26 PM
It's likely a version of an oyster mushroom. Not all mushrooms feed of dead material. Some are actually good for the tree. However, an oyster mushroom is not a good sign.

You can't get it out either. Once it has fruit ( mushrooms) it has the wood completely under control.

Geez Galena, this is really depressing. :( Kind of like a syrup obituary. I really hope your beautiful tree survives.
Galena
02-25-2013, 05:55 PM
Geez Galena, this is really depressing. :( Kind of like a syrup obituary. I really hope your beautiful tree survives.

Well, that one huge mushroom has been there forever but there are newer ones further down on one side...but I'm not hauling out the chainsaw just yet! The side of the tree I am tapping is healthy and producing good clear sap, so I'll let #4 live its life unless it becomes obvious that something like uhm my house might get damaged by it falling. Meantime it's part of the treeline I share with neighbours (buildings you can see in background are theirs, not mine) so in no rush to leave a huge gaping hole there.
acerrubrum
03-08-2013, 08:52 AM
Large Mushrooms on Maples are indicative of some decay on the inside of the tree. The mushroom on the outside is only the fruiting body of the fungus (brown or white rot fungus) that is at work inside the trunk. Not unusual for large hardwood trees to live for decades with decay fungus (aka; rot) inside them.
If it were me I'd tap someplace right or left of it.