silver maples on tubing ?

[maplefarmer]

I have a lot of very large silver maple trees along a river bottom, I did tap 2 trees a couple years ago for a test, 1 year they didn't hardly run at all, the next year they would fill a bag almost the same as a couple sugars close by. Question is does anybody set up silvers on tubing lines, I could install them in the fall and stay above the flood signs and have a collection tank at the end that could flood, but I could pull the tank out quickly if needed to. Are silvers worth the tubing setup or better to not waste investment on setting them up?

[maple island farms]

Silvers around us are not worth the time. We tried once on buckets and it was a flop. One of our neighbors taps mostly silvers. They must like it because they are getting bigger.

[Cabin]

I have a lot of very large silver maple trees along a river bottom, I did tap 2 trees a couple years ago for a test, 1 year they didn't hardly run at all, the next year they would fill a bag almost the same as a couple sugars close by. Question is does anybody set up silvers on tubing lines, I could install them in the fall and stay above the flood signs and have a collection tank at the end that could flood, but I could pull the tank out quickly if needed to. Are silvers worth the tubing setup or better to not waste investment on setting them up?

I do not see why not. But I have read that you should not mix species on the same main line. That way, I think, when one species starts to bud you do not have to shutdown all your collection system. But I use drop lines and buckets so my theory is 'if it is maple it is tapped'.

[rayi]

I put a bunch of silvers on 3/4 inch mail line this year not that it's done much. It's been too cold Time will tell. I call my sugars boys and the silvers ladies. The boys are predictable but the girls just do what they want.

[Michael Greer]

I tap every kind of maple in my operation, and since I'm on buckets, I get to actually see which are doing what. The silvers are on a different clock than the sugars, that much is sure, and they'll run on a day when the other won't. This week I was suprised by several Norway maples that filled the buckets while the silvers produced nary a drop, and the sugars were fair to middlin'.

[Etown Maple Syrup]

I just got back from teaching a class of 4th graders how I make syrup. We tap silvers and reds at the school. The silvers are giving 2.2%sap and the reds are at 1.5%. If boiling a little extra is not a problem, then I would tap and use the silvers to make syrup. Have fun!

[markct]

I tap a mixture of all maples, on vac they all seem to produce well but on gravity some years reds and silvers just don't seem worth the time! I got an area 3 years ago of 30 taps on red maples along the edge of a field, all planted in a row nicely spaced, all about 16 to 20 inch diameter, gets great sun, seems ideal, first year I tapped them I was lucky to get enough to bother pumping the barrel out, usualy tipped it and poured it into a 5 gal pail. Next year and this current season it has overflowed the barrel a couple times when I let it flow a day and half days since its in an outa the way place I don't often go on weekends. So my point is just cause they didn't flow one year don't write them off forever, I seriously thought about taking down my tubing after the first season, glad I didn't!

[maplefarmer]

Thank you all for the responses, I know it seems silvers are not predictable, but if I understand it correctly if they are on vac. you would be able to get sap every year, does anyone have sap totals out of silvers on vac.?

[markct]

Hard to give numbers as my woods are so mixed but i am confident you would not be disapointed with them on vac

[Sandersyrup]

Do it. If you have a bunch it's worth it. I have a massive silver that has been running 3% and never stops running unless it freezes. I think I'm at over a gallon syrup per tap on that girl. If I had a bush full of them I'd have struck serious gold. But 100 yards away is another massive silver of similar age and genetics and I could not even draw a drop for my refractometer finally just pulled the taps out. I'd say with a bunch of silvers, your find enough that run to make it worthwhile.

Try to tap below a limb, on a good day one of my taps is running so fast it is impossible to count the drips.