tapping early

[osprey]

Just a question for you veterans of the sugar bush.Do holes tapped early close off ahead of holes tapped later in the season???I know if I tap frozen wood I need to be gentle setting the taps but just wondering.Dont want to wait too long and miss a run.

Thanks,Osprey

[sapman]

With tubing , in a closed system, there shouldn't be a problem. With buckets it's more of an issue since your spouts are open to the air. But as long as it stays cold I'd say you're pretty safe either way.

[DrTimPerkins]

With tubing , in a closed system, there shouldn't be a problem.

One small addition....this assumes that you are using very good sanitation practices.

In essence, the rate of taphole "drying" is a function of time, temperature, and sanitation. The process of walling off the wound happens much slower at cold temperatures than at warm temperatures. The more microbes in the taphole the faster walling off occurs, so using a new plastic spout or a very well cleaned metal spout is recommended. The end result is that a shorter time interval between tapping and sap flow is better, but any impact can be moderated by cold temperatures and by very good sanitation to the point where tapping early (with tubing) has only a fairly minor effect on sap yield.