Tapping Too Close

[Saltlick]

I've heard the general rule of thumb for tapping is -stay 6" horzonially away from old tap holes and -2 feet vertically away from old tap holes. After tapping for 25 years , sure is a tough "rule of thumb" to follow. Is the rule for last years tap holes ONLY! or any old tap hole, which care pretty easy to identify? WHAT DO YOU DO?

[ecolbeck]

Pretty sure its 2 inches horizontally and 6 inches vertically. Stained wood in maple that has been cut and milled shows why.

[maple flats]

Correct, go 2-3" over and up or down 6". After you go all of the way around the tree and get back to the oldest hole, you will have over 2" of new wood so you continue around again. This is for gravity.
If using vacuum you tap in yr 1 lets say at 12 o'clock, then yr 2 at 6 o'clock, 3 is at 3, 4 is at 9, then yr 5 goes to 4:30, 6 at 10:30, 7 at 2:30, 8 at 7:30 then for year 9 maybe go 18" higher or lower and repeat that pattern. After yr 16 you should have enough new wood to start over, or if your trees grow slower, just go halfway between the oldest adjacent holes and keep working one side then the opposite until you have gone around the tree again. This is for 1 tap trees, just figure a similar pattern for 2 tap trees, but realize that more mature trees add new wood more slowly.

[Maple Hill]

I disagree with 6in up or down,if you have ever seen sawed tap wood you want to go at least12 or more inches.

[maple flats]

I take the 6" up or down from a Poster made by Cornell about tapping guidelines. Yes, I have seen the stain marks in tap hole lumber, I have my own sawmill, plus it is used as the siding for the NYS Maple Producer's booth at the NYS Fair. Look at the stains, they can extend up to 2-3' above or below the adjacent tap hole, but when you look at the stains, they are only about 2" wide and as the stain extends above and below the old tap hole it gets narrower. The over 3" and up or down 6" misses the stained compartmentalized wood..

[Z/MAN]

From what I have seen the big wide and long stains were from 7/16 taps. Now that most use 5/16 taps the stains seem the be much smaller. I know the stains were small on some Maples that I have had to cut on my property.

[WestfordSugarworks]

My understanding is that for 5/16" holes, the stain column can be 2" wide and extend up to 16" above and below the hole. We always attempt to avoid tapping in this potential stain column as it will reduce yields significantly and can lead to air leaks which is even more problematic for us on our vacuum system.

I noticed a piece about a unique tapping pattern in the 2020 Lapierre Catalogue. Here is the link, go to page 28. http://infolapierre.com/usa_catalog/index.php

The author states that tapping within 2" or closer horizontally, or 16" vertically, of an old hole can cause the wounds to grow together and become up to 4x bigger than what they would have been independently. The author of this article offers a model which I would consider using on a new install. If you understand French then there is a link to a video in that Lapierre article.

We started doing 6" over and 12" up or down from the previous years tap hole, moving clockwise around the tree. This is because of the Vermont Organic Farmer standards that we follow. I assumed that the 6 over, 12 up or down rule was the way to go as it is what i'd always heard and is whats required by VOF. But as I researched more, I realized that there is no need to be that far away from an old tap hole. Make sure you are always 16" above or below an old tap hole and at least 2" to the side- that's my advice.

[Big_Eddy]

The stain column is tall and narrow. For a 5/16" spile the column can be as narrow as an inch total, but often 24" tall. Bigger hole, wider stain column.
Excellent photos at this link. https://onmaplesyrup.wordpress.com/2019/03/08/ontario-maple-syrup-production-report-march-8-2019/
There was a more detailed article on the same site a few years earlier.
FOUND IT https://onmaplesyrup.wordpress.com/2016/02/04/maple-sap-is-flowing-briefly/

The idea is that by the time you get around the tree, the previous tap hole is deep enough within the tree that you don't hit a stain column with the new hole.
For a 12" dia tree, diameter is 36". If you move 2" each year, then it will take 18 years to get all the way around the tree.
A young healthy tree growing vigorously can have growth rings of up to 1/8". After 18 years, there is 2 1/4" of new wood over the original hole.

For a 24" tree, if you move over 3" each year, it will take 24 years to go around the tree. Even if the tree is only adding 1/8" diameter annually (1/16" growth rings) you will still have 1 1/2" new wood over the old hole.


We typically go 3" on larger trees, 2" on smaller, always to the right and anywhere vertically.