What maples do you tap?

[tonka]

How many people here tap only one verity of maple? And who all tap all verities of maples? I personally only tap sugar maples, I feel that if you mix sap from your sugars, silvers, reds, etc. it is pure but yet not a pure syrup then if you only tap 1 verity of maples vs every verity of maples.

[325abn]

I tap em all.

Pure maple syrup is like being a virgin, either you are or you are not. LMOAAO:)

[Russell Lampron]

About 150 to 200 of my 800 taps are sugars and the rest are reds. That's what I have on my land so that's what I tap. I feel that the mixture of sap makes a better tasting syrup.

[Flat Lander Sugaring]

any maple but the canadian ones, "Box Elder/Manitoba Maple"?

[Michael Greer]

I tap them all. Each one has a different behavior, and sometimes you'll have a perfect seeming day, but the Silvers won't run at all. I've tapped the Box-elder too. They put out a lot of sap, but it's lower in sugar content, so they eat up your time and your fire wood.

[Sandersyrup]

I have several (dare I say) Norway maples that run 3.5% and load my buckets full every run. My reds produce an amazing nutty flavored syrup. Tapping 15 sugars this year too.


John

Sandersyrup
Strasburg, PA

6 taps Red, 8 taps Norway.

Amish canner evaporator.

[BreezyHill]

Ours are 99% sugar, a few silver. No reds on the farm as they are poisonous to horses. They were the first to go in the furnace when my great grand father bought the farm and change the farm from sheep to cattle with all horse drawn equipment in 1907.

the differing flavor of farms syrup is mostly due to their trees. but others will say it is the equipment used to boil????

[Vermont Creation Hardwood]

I tap both sugar and red maple, about 50/50. One year I separated the sap and boiled separately. My red maple syrup was nuttier and had a more lingering mouth feel. My sugar maple was less nutty and clean mouth feel. I like them both. Some of my family had preferences. I definitely think mixing them together makes the best syrup.

[Run Forest Run!]

This is where my refractometer came in really handy last year. Everyone who regularly poo-poos soft maples would have scared me away from what I call my "house blend"- a definite hit with everyone who has tried it. In addition to my "house blend", I do a pure sugar maple syrup and a pure "Boxy Gold" syrup. (A fun name penned by another forum member here.)

Last year my soft maples ran as high as 2.7% and never lower than 1.8 % (which was my last collection of the year). The Manitoba maples (box elders) ran as high as 2.5 % and never lower than 1.75% (which was the first collection of the year). From what I've seen mentioned on this forum, those are certainly respectable numbers.

The sugar maples I tapped last year (which are at a location 10 minutes from my home) ran from 3.6% to 1.8%. While the sugars were the predictable stars for the season as far as highest sugar content goes, I was very pleased with both the volume and sugar content of my softs. Not to mention that they are on my own property and don't require a drive to retrieve. As far as I'm concerned, if they have the word "maple" in their name they are fair game. Unless a tree can outrun me, it's going to be a donor.

[Thompson's Tree Farm]

I tap about 50 % reds and 50% sugars for a total of about 7500. We use our horses extensively in the woods but don't feed them either red or sugar maple leaves.

[KV Sappers]

Whatever I have. Mostly reds with a couple of sugar, sap boiled together.

[MJFlores]

I never heard Red maple is poisonous to horses. Are you sure about that? Around here after you clear an area..the first saplings to start growing back in are red maple. The deer and moose go out of their way to feed on fresh red maple shoots. I would think that if it's OK for them, horses would be ok too no?

For me, about all I have it Red maple so thats what I tap. I have a few larger trees that really dont hardly run, and I think they are Silver maple. I skip those now although there's one right by the house I'm going to try again this year. If it's a maple and I think it'll give me sap I stick a tap in it!

[heus]

I have heard that in the fall when the red maple leaves turn colors they become poisonous to horses. Heard this from a student a few years back. I don't know how accurate that is.

[Thompson's Tree Farm]

I googled it. Appears that dry leaves are toxic to horses and in the Fall may have more toxins present. A horse could die from consuming several pounds of dry leaves. Sugar maples may also be toxic but not as much. Keep your horses well fed and there should be no problems. Also said that green leaves right from the tree would not harm them.

[Michael Greer]

I've heard that wilted, black cherry leaves were toxic to horses, but never anything about maple.

[Michael Greer]

Run Forest Rus right about using your refractometer. Some of the Silvers that I tap are every bit as good as a Sugar Maple, and one of the most beautiful giant Sugars actually tests pretty low in sugar. As far as flavors go, I'd wager that mineral content in your soils might be as big a factor as species.

[morningstarfarm]

As a farrier I am most concerned about the Chinese red maple leaves...just a couple leaves will founder a horse...fortunately they are not native to north America...so you only see them where they are planted by landscapers...

[maple flats]

Almost all sugars. I do have some laterals that are all reds (about 35 taps total) but they will not be taped again until I get vacuum in that location, hopefully by the 2015 season.

[Shirlsaw63]

I tap the Manitoba Maple - box elder because that is what is on my property. I do have one lone sugar maple finally to tapping size this year but I am going to hold off on that one for now.

[antelope76]

Mostly Sugars with a couple soft maples

[SDdave]

All silvers here. Not many sugars/reds/and or box elders.

SDdave

[3GoatHill]

We tap what we have on our property. We are "blessed" with Norways and there are a few box elders that I'm considering tapping. We've been getting a little over 2 1/4 % and everybody loves the syrup. I've been planting sugar maples as part of our management program, which includes culling Norways and their saplings. Maybe in 35-50 years somebody will say, "Hey, thanks man".

[dufftj]

Ok so I'm a little late to the party..I tapped all red and silver maples this year. Last year I did tap three sugars..Personally I prefer the flavor and red color that the reds add...Also the reds are running 2.5% and the silvers are 3.5% using a sap hydrometer...I stopped tapping the sugars because they were lower in sugar and these particular sugar maples added a taste to my syrup that I did not like...Standing back waiting for the flames:)

Tim

[supersapper]

To those that despise boxelder, tap a few and try. I will say that it doesn't have the traditional maple flavor, more on the butterscotch end. That said, it is great on ice cream! My name for this is Boxy Gold. Thank you Run forest run for mentioning me.

[Michael Greer]

I won't go out of my way for boxelder, but if there's one right there, it gets a bucket. On certain days they really run.

[Clarkfield Farms]

I only have sugar maples here at the house and in the woods down back of the orchard, but at the farm it's all sugar maples with only a few large box elders on the other side of the hill where I don't tap. The box elders came in along with all the ash when the place started to get overgrown 20+ years ago. That area used to be beautiful hayfields and pastures; giant hogweed and goldenrod took over first, and since goldenrod is allelopathic to sugar (and maybe also to red and silver) maples, it was the ash that really took over and not the sugar maples. Buckthorn, autumn olive, wild grapes, multiflora roses and tartarian honeysuckle filled in the undergrowth. I am having SUCH a good time clearing that land...! (that l'il bit of sarcasm was free) :)

[BreezyHill]

Clarkfield I feel for you on the clearing. If you have a bucket tractor on a good frost you can sheer the honey suckle and roses off at ground level and pile and burn. Then just bush hog the regrowth a few times in a season and it usually will be gone. Did this on two neighboring farms to get them back to pasture for our beefers. Works best if the bushes are big. They roll better with the tractor small ones can get under the bucket. Dry for a few weeks and they burn really good. Some how I have honey suckle in the maple bush lately. That is this summers project between hay crops.

[Galena]

I have mostly sugars and some reds. Two of my reds are burly - literally - monsters so when I did tap them last year, I had to get out the stepladder to drill in the spile holes above the burls! They did OK, the reds were first to produce last year and the first to dry. The only red I tapped this year was often the only one producing during the freakish March we had. The sugars are more predictable, I know their patterns.

Did try tapping some box elders/Manitoba maples last year, made about 100ml. It was all right, not terrible, a little on the bitter side. Think I'll stick with the reds and sugars! :-)

[SZimm]

I only have Boxelder on my property. I'm going to look around this season and see if I can tap some sugar maple. My neighbor has several hundred birch - so I might give that a try next year!

[supersapper]

I am going to add 50-60 more taps next year just for my boxelders. I don't get the aversion to them but that is your choice. The syrup they produce is as good or better than any maple out there. MyBoxy Gold will run with the best!!!

[Run Forest Run!]

Supersapper, my boxy gold had a mild molasses flavour to it this year. Not the usual butterscotch flavour, but very good none-the-less. Did you find your boxy had a different taste this season?