Sap spoilage thought...

[Kamina]

This is day three of my first time ever tapping maples. I tapped 10 red maples here in Central MA. Even though we’ve had freezing days, a couple of them are already starting to run... The bags I am using have a few ounces of sap in them. I expect this to pick up this upcoming week because it will be warmer. But here’s my question…

I know that you are not supposed to keep sap for very long because of spoilage. But when you empty a bag/bucket/whatever you use to collect sap, there is still some residual sap left over ...into which new SAP collects. Doesn’t that “old” left over SAP increase the spoilage rate of subsequent collections? am I overthinking this?

Also, a bonus second question if I may… How long do you give a tree to start producing before you pull the tap and go onto another?

Thank you!!

[ecolbeck]

I have wondered the same thing because the residual sap in a bucket seems like it would inoculate the incoming sap with bacteria. That is why keeping sap as cold as possible and boiling as quickly as possible are paramount for producing a quality product.

With regard to the bonus question, I would have tapped all trees to begin with....

[NhShaun]

Good question! If the daytime temps are too cold and the sap isn't running for a few days, then it's safe to say the residual sap in the container isn't spoiling. But the sun can make things complicated, especially in clear collection containers. Likely that little bit of sap will turn to ice if it's cold enough and may be easier to remove than trying to drip dry those bags when its's thawed. I suggest getting as much of the sap out at the time of collection and not to worry too much about it. You could possibly carry around some water and rinse the bags after you empty the sap.

As for your second question. Do you mean move onto a new tree or moving on to putting another tap in the same tree?

[DrTimPerkins]

The small amount of residual sap is fine. If there is a long warm spell between runs and just a little in the bags/buckets, dump it out just before it looks like it's going to freeze again.

Trees on gravity spouts are good for 4-6 weeks depending upon the weather. Do you mean go on to another tree, or another taphole in the same trees. The former is fine if you have enough trees. The latter is not a recommended practice unless the trees are large enough to support a second spout.

[Kamina]

Thank you all for the replies!

For the second question, I simply meant to ask how long I should wait for a tree to start producing before I give up on that tree and move to another? One of the trees I tapped looks like it’s on its way out. So I figured, “why not?“ i’ll give it a few more days I suppose…

[therealtreehugger]

Bonus Question answer - Trees are people too! Maybe they are just having a bad day!

I would not pull a tap just to tap a different tree. Make sure you tapped correctly, didn't pound the taps in too hard, got nice clean wood when you drilled, picked healthy looking trees. The only reason you might want to move the tap (take it off one tree and put it on another) is if you didn't do a good job tapping, or only have X number of taps and you don't want to buy anymore at the moment.

[Pdiamond]

Just some more knowledge I have learned is that some taps don't always run the same as other trees Just give that spot a little time. It may come around if not, it may be a bad spot for the tap and you may have to move it over and up or down..

[bigschuss]

Thank you all for the replies!

For the second question, I simply meant to ask how long I should wait for a tree to start producing before I give up on that tree and move to another? …

Still not sure if that's clear? Haven't you tapped all your trees at once? Not sure what you mean by "move on to another?"

Good luck this year.