getting new trees to tap

[handtapper]

I live in a small town that is 90% old farms (hollis nh). I'm looking for more trees to tap and I drive by these farms and roads ladened with large maples. anyone have any experience knocking on doors with some syrup and trying to negotiate some finished product for right to tap like 20 to 100 taps on someones farm or lot?

[SeanD]

Yes, I have done that. I have 30 taps on a property further up in town. I started by first scouting the property without being a stalker. That was easy enough to do at this time of year. I parked across the street and made a rough count of taps. I want to have as many taps as possible. It's easier to make one stop for 30 taps than it is for 3 stops for 10 each. Then I look at the property on Google maps to see the property lines. It turns out most of the trees rode the border of two properties, so I had to ask both owners. Then it turns out one of the owners doesn't live there. The house is a rental.

Once I figured all that out, I made contact with the owners. One guy is originally from Vermont, so I barely finished my opening sentence before he agreed. The other guy is from NYC and thought I had five heads, but because he was friends with the first guy I talked to, he agreed. In both cases, I was out of syrup when I talked to them, so I just promised them syrup when I got it. I had a business card and I think I wore my MA Maple hat, too. Anything to help them know this is something for real.

The Vermonter was ecstatic to get the syrup from his trees. The New Yorker looked at the bottle curiously. I also gave a little to the tenants of the rental house for the inconvenience of having me in their yard every day. I base all my "pay" on a quart per 25 taps.

My main factors are number of taps and access. I want to be able to get in and out quickly. The real time taker for me is not boiling, but collection - especially when my kids are waiting for dinner. I also don't want to invade the residents' privacy. If they are trying to enjoy their evening, the last thing anyone wants is to have some guy right outside their window.

So in the end, it was complicated, but not difficult. I'm in an area where most people have never seen sugaring before. The funny thing is as more and more people learn what I'm doing over here, they start offering their trees. When I ask a little more, they have only one or two. I thank them for the offer and try to explain how much time it takes me to gather. I would imagine if you are approaching farmers up there, it will be a lot easier.

Good luck,
Sean

[maple flats]

Others offering their trees is how I got my current 2 sugar bushes. I was tapping 4 small lots that I had asked permission to tap on, all were small, the largest was about 100 taps and my total was only 325 taps. Then another landowner asked me if I'd like to tap their trees as they drove by while I was collecting the sap. I looked at their woods. Nice slope and about 8 acres on a side hill, sloped down toward the road. We made the deal and In 2 years I had my biggest bush, 425 taps, on vacuum. Then while collecting at that bush a guy who I'd known for years stopped and asked lots of questions. We likely talked for 20-30 minutes, mostly maple. I didn't know where he lived at the time but I sensed he was beating around the bush, so I asked him if he had a woods he'd like to see get tapped. He said yes. I didn't have time until after the season was over to check out his land, which was about 2 miles past the woods he was at when we talked. While the lay of his land was real nice, it presented challenges. The biggest was that the land sloped at a 3-7% slope, away from the road and the low corner was about 2000' from the road, a climb of about 80' and then a very gradual drop of about 40' to the road. As I posed the question of how I'd get the sap out he said he had talked with the neighbor next to the low corner of his property. The neighbor had agreed to let me pump a transfer line across their land. I walked that route and spoke with the widow who owned it. She said I could pump across her land but I could not tap her trees. This route runs about 900' but it a downhill drop of about 15'. This is now my biggest bush with just over 800 taps. The widow gets 2 qts. of syrup a year. The land now has over 800 taps and will eventually have about 1200-1500 taps.
My point is, just get out there and knock on some doors. Offer some syrup and talk. Some will say yes, many will say no. Don't get discouraged, keep trying. Then once you get a few places, others will stop to talk and your operation will grow. By the way, my 2 bushes I just mentioned are now my only leases, I dropped (on good terms) the smaller ones that took far more time to drive and collect for less sap coming in.

[maineboiler]

I am doing much the same where I live. My best sugar maples are "loaned" to me and they are road side so the collection is easier. I do a lot of my collecting on my way home from work, often with a head lamp.
My question is, what is the going rate to pay back these nice neighbors ?

[Biz]

I received permission to tap roadside trees in my town this year. They are located a half mile away and border property that is owned by the town, the state, and privately. They are located along a stone wall, on the road side, and the road is partially dirt and a dead end. Turns out that the town actually owns the trees in question since they are within the road right of way. I met with the tree warden and after discussing with others he issued me a permit to tap them. It is the first time they have done this in my town. Cool! They set some restrictions like 5/16 spouts only, and no more than two taps per tree. I will be able to set about 40 taps. I am also going to ask permission from the private land owners as a courtesy. I would not tap them if they said no even though legally they might not own the trees. So this is something worth looking into.

Dave

[BAP]

Some of the best Maples to tap are roadside and field side trees. They generally have much bigger crowns then wood trees and can run a lot of sap and can be easier to get to. Field side trees are also usually well fertilized too. Stopping to ask people can lead to some good trees to tap. The key is too make sure you know what you want to say to them before you get there. Explain well what you want to do if they are not familiar with the process and explain what you are willing to pay. The other thing is to make sure your timing is right. During daylight hours is better particularly if it is older people so you don't scare them knocking on their door. Also look respectable to make a good first impression of yourself. Good Luck

[maineboiler]

Thanks Dave. Sounds like you are doing it right-------Paul

[maineboiler]

I will be on my best behavior---

[handtapper]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I just wasn't sure how some people would respond to a random guy knocking on their door. I'm going to try farmers first. This town is FULL of field/road edge maples that are 3'+ diameter. How many woods trees would it take to match a single 3-4' diam. fully crowned field edge maple?

[handtapper]

Thanks again guys I drove around and picked up 40 taps today roadside within reason. Very easy to get to and very close by like 1/2 mile.

[Hop Kiln Road]

Most folks are thrilled to have there roadside trees tapped in return for syrup! But please use good buckets. The worse thing for the rest of us is a collection of old paint cans and sheetrock buckets hanging off maple trees in full view of the consuming public.

[Greenwich Maple Man]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I just wasn't sure how some people would respond to a random guy knocking on their door. I'm going to try farmers first. This town is FULL of field/road edge maples that are 3'+ diameter. How many woods trees would it take to match a single 3-4' diam. fully crowned field edge maple?

A friend of mine tapped 70 taps give ort take a couple. Didn't tap anything under 3ft . All roadside trees and fully mature "sap cows ". All buckets and last year made 44 gals. No vacuum just buckets. Saw it myself ! If I did this as a hobby and not a business I would follow his same tapping concept for sure ! He is in a area with next to nothing for sugaring and tons of these monster trees all over the countryside !

[Sugarmaker]

This is how we have been making syrup for about 50 years. Stopping and asking folks if they would like syrup for letting us tap their trees. Very few turn us down. If they do we drive down the road and find a new group. We pay as mentioned a quart of syrup for 20 to 25 taps. I don't want just one tree, I would like at least 3 and 5 or six is better. Up until 6 years ago these were all buckets. Now we have moved to short run tubing systems to bring the sap to one spot for collection. we have 31 stops I think. 16 owners of trees. from 12 taps to 112 taps. Total tap count is around 600. gathering time is about 2 hours on a avg run day.
So I lost some taps (20) due to a property being sold. I had been looking at some trees (6 young large crown hard maples) on our route for a long time. I stopped and asked and the guys said OK. He also said that he has 20 acres of maple and mixed hard wood on a slope behind his house. Humm Might make a nice sugarbush someday?
You never know till you ask!
The other nice thing is that you can be selective. Pick the big hard maples with large crowns. They will produce a lot of 2% sap for you.
Regards,
Chris

[handtapper]

I have noticed these "sap" cows aren't running any sap yet and the smaller maples are producing. The bark on these sap cows is like shingles. Once they do run the runs should be heavier from what I've gathered reading on here? I got 60 taps out and only 30ish are flowing but it hasn't really been that warm (waiting anxiously till Tuesday)