How do you chose the best trees?

[l3rian]

I'm in Iowa and have about 9 acres of mixed trees, but over 50% are silver maples. My work schedule works out exactly the worst way to line up with syrup season. Last year I had 10 trees tapped and had 40 gallons in 3 or 4 days of collecting, then got the call to be on a plane that afternoon for 5 weeks. Luckily my neighbor is also doing syrup. He borrowed my evaporator and boiled my sap. Of course the big run came the few days after I left.

Anyways... I have hundreds of maples of various diameters. I've been doing the ones right along the north edge of my yard thinking they are getting the most sun and the soil probably warms up the quickest. Also, it's easier to get to them when I have to ask others to help with the collection.

Besides tapping easy to get to trees, are there certain characteristics you look for when choosing trees? Diameter, location (I have a creek and some wetter spots, or some sandy dryer spots), look at the tree canopy? I only have so many buckets and so much time, so if there is anything I can do to up my efficiency, I'm all for it. I've been making a mental log of which ones produce the most sap and continue tapping those. And the one cottonwood my brother in law tapped that didn't make anything lol. Is it safe to assume a higher producing tree will continue to produce or is it too variable season to season?

I SHOULD be home for several weeks this year during the season, so wanting to do as much as I can.

[ennismaple]

Trees with larger canopies and larger diameter should generally produce more and sweeter sap. If two trees are close to each other and one is significantly larger than the other you could consider culling the smaller one. They are likely the same age but the larger one is dominant - culling the subordinate will free up nutrients and access to sunlight for the stronger tree.

If you can borrow a hand-held sap refractometer a few drops will tell you which are the sweetest. While the sap sweetness will change day to day it is generally understood that a tree with poor sugar content will always be inferior.

[l3rian]

Trees with larger canopies and larger diameter should generally produce more and sweeter sap. If two trees are close to each other and one is significantly larger than the other you could consider culling the smaller one. They are likely the same age but the larger one is dominant - culling the subordinate will free up nutrients and access to sunlight for the stronger tree.

If you can borrow a hand-held sap refractometer a few drops will tell you which are the sweetest. While the sap sweetness will change day to day it is generally understood that a tree with poor sugar content will always be inferior.
Thanks! I ordered a refractometer, but it isn't here yet. From talking to the neighbor and some old farm photos, my timber was horse pasture 50 years ago. So the vast majority of the trees are younger than that.

[berkshires]

I am in a similar boat - I have many acres, and limited time. So I want to tap the best trees only.

Everything Ennismaple said is right on the money. I'd just add a few things:

1 - If you want to tap the best trees, keep good records! I have a little map I've made, where the trees are numbered, and each season I keep track of how they produce. I've found that while there's a lot of variability from year to year, trees tend to go up and down together. So while a poor tree might produce 1.2% sap one year and then 1.8% sap the next year, a better tree will produce 2% sap that first year, and 2.5% sap the next year. That said, there's still a lot of variability, so the trees might change order a fair bit, with a tree that appears to be in the bottom third one year winding up in the top third the next year. This is why you need good records. Average over a few years to determine the general performance. That said, there are some real winners and losers. More on that in the next point.

2 - There is tremendous variability between trees. I had no idea until I started measuring. For example, last season I had one tree (a new test tree that obviously I won't be tapping again) produce 7 ounces of syrup per tap, while another tree (my consistent best one) produced 86 ounces of syrup per tap. And it has three taps, so that one tree produced 2 gallons of syrup: 1/3 of my total production for the year from one tree! So not tapping bad trees and finding the best ones to tap (even if they're inconvenient to get to), for me at least, has a huge payoff.

3- You can make an educated guess by crown size, trunk diameter, and how much deep in the forest or out in the open, but there are other elements that go into it that may be genetic, may have to do with the tree's history, or who knows what, that make one tree much worse than you'd think and another much better. The one tree that produces best for me looks like a winner. It's huge, healthy, and dominates all the trees around it. No surprise that it is my best producer. But last year I found my new second-best tree. Every week the buckets were overflowing, and the sugar content was decent. It looks just like all the other trees around it, and is smaller than a number of them, but boy can it produce. Then there was another tree that looked great, but (maybe because it has a grape vine growing up through it) produces like crap. So you have to make your best guesses, but be prepared to experiment a bit.

Cheers,

Gabe

[l3rian]

Thanks for the replies. I've been using 7 buckets with 10 taps. I have more buckets and taps, but the buckets ended up becoming storage. I solved the storage problem this year, so I'll be able to tap more. I'll stick to best producers and pick some new ones this year to experiment. I just haven't been able to nail down a common feature of the best producers. 2 are maybe 14" diameter straight trees. They do well. Then I have a a multiple trunk tree that does decent. There are 3 main trunks that each get a tap. Another one splits maybe 18 inches from the ground and I put a tap in each trunk. I'll test the sap once it's starts running.

Most of mine are 100 feet up from the creek bottom. I think I'll try some closer to the creek too. My thought is they would have more sap, but maybe more diluted? Won't know until I try I guess.

[maple marc]

Same situation here--more trees than time so I'm selective. It's like managing a team. The advantage of buckets over tubing is that you can see who is performing. Move taps around each year if necessary.
My best trees:
Sugar and black maples--no silver
Yard and fence rows--big canopies
Middle age trees--75 years old, 20" diameter, 2 taps
Banks of the pond--as much sugar as other trees and they grow fast

By being selection I can get well over a quart of syrup per tap, very good for buckets. Good luck and have fun.

[berkshires]

The advantage of buckets over tubing is that you can see who is performing. Move taps around each year if necessary.
Exactly!


By being selection I can get well over a quart of syrup per tap, very good for buckets. Good luck and have fun.

I got a quart of syrup per tap last year, which as you say is pretty good for buckets. If I had skipped the worst producing trees I had, I would have averaged over 0.4 gallons per tap! Obviously I'm moving taps around a bit this year. :)

Gabe

[goose52]

I tap the biggest trees closest to the trail!

[MajorWoodchuck]

Last year we numbered all our trees that we tapped and tracked their output. My father in law loved stats. We were surprised that some of the best producing trees were not the biggest and had surprisingly small crowns. One year is not a very good sampling but maybe after 3 years of tracking will be able to tell the best from the worst. Also going to throw another variable in this year by using new taps and lines on half my trees and cleaned used taps and lines on the other half.

[Pdiamond]

Dan are you using buckets, bags, or tubing when tapping. Just curious. Although the initial outlay of money is more you can always consider getting stainless spiles and reuse them year after year. All you have to do before and after use is boil them and let them air dry on a dish towel, and put them in a zip lock bag for next year.

[spacetrance]

My selection process:

1. Find trees that produce little helicopter seeds.
2. Drill
3. Retire

:lol:

What everyone is saying is right on point.

[MajorWoodchuck]

My woods is 3 hours from where I live and work. Only get there on weekends during the season. (4 more seasons and I retire and can sugar all I want). I am using all drop lines. I started out using fry oil containers (about 4.5 gal). These worked well in that you can see how full they are and they empty easily and keep the critters out. Drilled a hole in the cap to fit the line. The first year I had no foaming issues probably due to the residual oils in the jugs. They clean out pretty easily but take a lot of room to store. My whole garage ceiling if filled with hanging strings of fry oil jugs. Someone told me they break down after a few years but I haven't seen that yet. I also made platforms with a bungy cord to keep them in place when empty so the wind doesn't blow them over. I started transitioning to frosting pails after I started finding a consistent supply of a few a week in the recycle dumpster of my local grocery store. These 4 & 6 gallon pails clean easilly and stack together so storage will be easier. Downside is the lid has a rim and is recessed so rainwater will collect and mix in with the sap. Also the lids are hard to open when it's cold out. This year I made spouts for 60 of the pails out of PVC pipe that should minimize those two issues. When I started out I only saw maple supplies from Amazon and eBay so I was paying $1 a spout for plastic spouts. Now I know where maple supplier is and picked up 100 spouts for $20. When visiting Vermont this year I saw where a big 250K producer had a huge pile of old taps and lines they replaced and left them there for the "little guys" like is to take. After reading more articles here on old vs new taps it makes sense to replace every year. I just need to test that on my own to get over my frugality.

[MajorWoodchuck]

1. Find trees that produce little helicopter seeds.

Easier to do in the summer. I've tapped a couple of oaks by mistake my first year. Now I mark my maples in the summer and know why I never hear about oak syrup.

[Pdiamond]

You aren't the only one to do that.

[82cabby]

Downside is the lid has a rim and is recessed so rainwater will collect and mix in with the sap.

Could you drill a hole in the side of the bucket below the rim and run the drop in there? That way there’s no hole in the lid.

[MajorWoodchuck]

Drilling a hole in the side of the bucket would solve the problem of rainwater getting in but it's still doesn't solve the issue of getting the cap off when it's cold and the plastic stiff. I have a metal lathe in my garage so I was able to turn PVC pipe into spouts that snap into a hole drilled in the top of the bucket. It's a very tight fit so I don't think it will leak. Then I bought 2" snap-in caps that will be quick to remove and dump the pails when I go collecting.22835
[22836 22837
So glad pictures are working again on this site.

[82cabby]

Drilling a hole in the side of the bucket would solve the problem of rainwater getting in but it's still doesn't solve the issue of getting the cap off when it's cold and the plastic stiff. I have a metal lathe in my garage so I was able to turn PVC pipe into spouts that snap into a hole drilled in the top of the bucket. It's a very tight fit so I don't think it will leak. Then I bought 2" snap-in caps that will be quick to remove and dump the pails when I go collecting.22835
[22836 22837
So glad pictures are working again on this site.


That’s really slick! Nice solution.

[berkshires]

Drilling a hole in the side of the bucket would solve the problem of rainwater getting in but it's still doesn't solve the issue of getting the cap off when it's cold and the plastic stiff. I have a metal lathe in my garage so I was able to turn PVC pipe into spouts that snap into a hole drilled in the top of the bucket. It's a very tight fit so I don't think it will leak. Then I bought 2" snap-in caps that will be quick to remove and dump the pails when I go collecting.22835
[22836 22837
So glad pictures are working again on this site.

Wow, fancy! I just make a hole slightly smaller than the tube, warm the end of the tube in hot water, and then squeeze it in. It's very tight that way. Then when I set the bucket on the ground, the ground is always uneven, so one side of the bucket is higher. I set it so the tube is on the high side, and when water/ice/snow builds up it runs off the side before it gets to the tube.

Dan - you're the first person I've seen here with a further commute to your sugarbush. My drive is two hours. Gets pretty old by the end of the season!

One other thing - I don't snap my lids shut. For two reasons: one, as you say, when it's cold it's a b!tch to get the lids off, and two, if you get a really good seal, you'll create back pressure and the sap won't run as well into the buckets. I just seat the lid around the flange in the bucket and put a rock or a chunk of branch on top of it.

Gabe

[fireant911]

MajorWoodchuck,
First, let me say "hello neighbor!", I am just north of you in Crystal Falls, MI. I like your solution to the bucket caps!!! I, too, am happy that pictures can be posted again... as I am very new to the syruping thing (I moved here from Alabama back in 2020), reading about what someone is doing is not the same as seeing those pictures.

[Greenfin]

My sugar bush is in the front and back yards of the houses on my neighborhood. I tap a variety of Silver Maple, Autumn Blaze(Silver Hybrid), Red and some sugar. I tap trees of all sizes, 10' to 5 feet in diameter. Some are in creek beds some are on the top of a hill.

Generally speaking the only advantage (predictor) to sap production I have seen is the trees access to abundant water. That said all of my best trees are on hills.

I will by moving this summer and buying my own sugar bush. My plan is to have exploratory taping with 75 bags each year and slowly build my tubbing system out each year and Taping an additional 75 trees with bags. I have found there are lots of poor producing trees out their(fire wood) and the only real way to identify them is to put a bucket or bag on it and see what it produces.