soft maple

[jrthe3]

i have a place where i can tap about 150 to 200 taps almost all being soft maple is it worth taping theses

[mapleman3]

Depends on how you will tap them, I do believe it's worth it , I mix in about 100 reds and think it adds a great flavor , just remember the season for reds is shorter. and the sugar content is usually lower sometimes by a whole point.

ei.3% on a sugar 2% on a red(if your lucky)

[Russell Lampron]

I would tap them. I am expanding on my own property and all of the taps are going to be reds. Like Jim, I think my syrup tastes better with the sap from the reds. I have an RO machine so the sugar content isn't that big of an issue for me. For some producers if they didn't tap reds they wouldn't be making syrup period.

[Jim Brown]

Hey Russ :We are one of those producers who tap 95% reds! and make abunch of GREAT syrup!

[treefinder]

i tap alot of soft maple and make great syrup!some of my tubing is all soft maple with no sugars in it ,when the sap starts to turn i usaully pull the soft maple out of the tank. but the one that do get in i don't see where they have made a differance. through out last season my sap mixed in the big tank at the surgar house tested on the average 2.5% to 3.0%. i couldn't beleave it!to make a long story short if they are maples i tap them.if it was a whole bush i would tap them. thats me thought.

[Maplewalnut]

I also tap a bunch of reds and get sugar in the 2.2% to 1.8% until the very end. Pretty amazing since all are woods trees. I couldn't agree more with the different taste that mapleman and Russ allude to. They definitely run strong at different times compared to sugars but it helps equal everything out.

[royalmaple]

Wait till I show you some pictures of my next bush, or at least one of them. I call it the Ocean of reds.

Tap what you have access to, and tap them all. If you have an RO, what does it matter. Keep in mind it's 4.00/lb in bulk now that is about even with or more per gallon than most people ever charged for a gallon of syrup.

Don't pull any taps till there's nothing coming out of them.

[PATheron]

Jrthe3- Im not a seasoned sugarmaker like the rest of these guys. Im just trying to learn but Ill give you a little advise and you can take it for what its worth. FOUR BUCKS A POUND IN THE BARRELL??? TAP EVERY FREAKIN TREE YOU CAN GET YOUR HANDS ON NOW ITS AN EMERGENCY!!!!!TAP THEM YESTERDAY!!!!HOOK UP YOUR SHOPVAC TO THEM WHATEVER JUST DO IT!!!!! Theron

[treefinder]

Thats The Best Way To Say It!!!!!!!!

[mfchef54]

if it weren't for my reds there wouldn't be enough for me to tap. I would say it's going to be 100 to 50 taps red to sugar. sold out what I made so it must be good.

[Big maple]

The majority of ours are reds too. Does anybody else tap boxelder trees in their sugar bushes?

[OGDENS SUGAR BUSH]

someone from around MT PLEASANT MI tapped some couple yrs ago. think he said it was really strong tasting
RICH

not sure but i think you tap them after the maples are done

[TapME]

R M how many taps in that sea of red or should I say the Red Sea. Sounds like you got another big bush, congrats.

[lpakiz]

I too tap only soft maple and I will put my syrup up against anyones for taste.

[royalmaple]

Lou-
thousands!

[Revi]

We have 98% sugars, but with a red or two in there. Right across the road we had some buckets and it was 90% reds.

Reds are maples too.

I've tapped Norways in town. They seem to make good syrup too.

Box Elders are supposed to work as well. We only have them in town around here.

I think you could make a lot of syrup with all the Norways and Box Elders in town.

[super sappy]

Revi - Is the line that you use for your signature from a robert frost Poem?

[Cardigan99]

We tapped about 40% reds last year and never dropped below 2.2% in the shack tank. Some of the reds on buckets were testing out over 3% early on.

[Revi]

Revi - Is the line that you use for your signature from a robert frost Poem?

Yes, it is. Robert Frost has some poems about maple sugaring. Night in the Sugar Orchard is one.

We never noticed much difference in sugar content between reds and sugars, but the sugars go a little longer in the season.

[Elynch77]

If I can tap reds the my little 500 tap stand just went to 1000 and my 800 went to 2000 or better. Hell I could tap the whole hill if I could find the tubing. I was only counting sugars when I cruised it. I am guessing you just pull the taps when they bud and leave the sugars in? I will just run my old road trees separate for fancy stuff. Either way my life just got a lot easier or just more productive. Good thing there are still a lot of beech and crooked ash up there for fire wood.

Ethan

[adk1]

sounds like your in the same boat as me, learning all the time!

[Elynch77]

On the bright side I now have no shortage of trees to tap but need to go back and mark a whole different batch of trees to drop this spring. Glad I learned this little tid-bit before I dropped about 20 taps worth of reds. If this is the case I need to drop a lot more hickory and beech since I like to give it two years before I burn it. I can get by on ash this year but most is going ot make nice timber so I need to go easy on it. Plus I hate splitting beech and hickory.

Ethan