Small Crowned Trees

[Paul01036]

As a hobbyist I am excited for the season. I tapped about 25 trees and have another 25 or so to go. The issue I have is while my trees are large they are very dense thus have small crowns. I don't expect to get a lot of sap but one only knows. Any ideas out there to combat this or is it what it is and just tap more trees and get the volume that way?

Also, I have been thinking of investing in an RO, the RO Bucket RB10 seems like something I'm leaning towards, anyone out there have experience with this system? Should I build my own?

[CanterburyMaple]

I can share my limited (2 year) experience with small crowned trees "tight" in the woods. I've tapped some fairly large trees in "tight woods" with small crowns and got <1 gallon of sap, and then some that gave several gallons. I'm sure all the usual factors are at play in terms of how much the sap yield is (soil, how much sun the crown gets, moisture levels, overall tree health, tap hole placement, etc.). From where I read here from Dr. Tim Perkins, a tree needs to be tapped several years in a row before judgment can be passed on how good of a producer it is. For me, I'm in the "tap as much as you can handle" camp, or maybe tap as many as you have taps and buckets for! But this year Im' not tapping those deep woods as I have plenty of other trees and need to scale down a bit from where I was last year.

[CanterburyMaple]

Also, I have been thinking of investing in an RO, the RO Bucket RB10 seems like something I'm leaning towards, anyone out there have experience with this system? Should I build my own?

On the RO topic, If you're collecting more than 100 gallons, I think it's a must :) I built my own last year but only saved $100 in parts compared to the RO Bucket, and now I'm replacing broken parts. I've only heard great things about the RO Bucket so may be worth skipping the hassle and pay for a good product and the support he gives you as a customer.

[DrTimPerkins]

Any ideas out there to combat this or is it what it is and just tap more trees and get the volume that way?

Thin the woods. Better growth = more sap + higher sugar content + better tapping sustainability. Dense crowns mean the trees are on a starvation diet. Give them more exposure to sunlight and they'll give you more sugar in return.

[ennismaple]

A lot of our woods is dense with mature 16"+ trees - in the 60-80 taps per acre range. A lot of the crowns are crowded and we still get >15 GPT of 2+ Brix sap. Go ahead and tap them!

[Paul01036]

Thank you all for the feedback. As always there is a lot of knowledge on this site.

[TheNamelessPoet]

As a hobbyist I am excited for the season. I tapped about 25 trees and have another 25 or so to go. The issue I have is while my trees are large they are very dense thus have small crowns. I don't expect to get a lot of sap but one only knows. Any ideas out there to combat this or is it what it is and just tap more trees and get the volume that way?

Also, I have been thinking of investing in an RO, the RO Bucket RB10 seems like something I'm leaning towards, anyone out there have experience with this system? Should I build my own?
I got one this year (RB10), and it is the best thing I have ever done besides having a kid! OK so maybe it's the best thing I have done in terms of making syrup but it was so easy to "set up" and use, I had to reread the directions and go online to see if I misplaced some.

[berkshires]

I have found some difference in terms of how much sap a tree will produce, but much more difference in the sugar level. I have sugar maple trees that are quite crowded, and others that are just 50 yards away, on the same slope, the same age, but at the edge of the forest where they're not so crowded. The most crowded ones produce 1.2% sap, the ones right on the edge of the forest that are not crowded, produce 1.8%. That means for every drop of sap I get 50% more syrup from the less crowded ones! That's a no-brainer for me, but I have more trees than I need.

GO

[therealtreehugger]

Thin the woods. Better growth = more sap + higher sugar content + better tapping sustainability. Dense crowns mean the trees are on a starvation diet. Give them more exposure to sunlight and they'll give you more sugar in return.
How “dense” is “too dense”?

[raptorfan85]

I go by the "if it touches the crown, it goes down" rule. Basically if any tree touches the crown or crowds the crown of a maple it comes down for fire wood. You don't want to thin to quickly either. You can get sun scald or blow downs. Thin one quarter side of the tree. Then wait a year or 2 and do another and so on.

[MassMapleNut]

I second the RO bucket. Built my own a couple of years ago which was a good learning experience, but didn’t really save me much. Some parts I found cheaper, others more expensive. If I had to do it over again, the extra $$$ I saved wasn’t really worth my time & frustration. If you want to learn, build your own. If you just want it to work, and want want support if it doesn’t work, get the RO bucket. I started with a 1 membrane unit, added a 2nd last year and a 3rd this year. May add 2 more to it even. Mostly Red maples so I start at 1% to 1.2% and the RO is key! My first 2 years were in a bucket but I completely rebuilt it this year and mounted everything to a board to have more space.