new to the trade

[kickinmule sorghum]

I live in southeast ky, i am a sorghum syrup maker but want to try making tree syrup. We have suger maples here but since all the leaves got gone before i could mark some trees i am stuck using sycamores in which we are overun with. Has anyone ever used sycamore before, i also will be cooking in a 7 gallon cast iron kettle, any advice on this would be welcomed.any advice on collecting and cooking would be greatly appreciated.

[Clan Delaney]

I've know guys add red and silver maples to their sugars when they tap, and I've heard talk of tapping birch, but so far, not sycamore. Then again, all tree sap has sugars in it. Maples just seem to have the highest natural concentration. If you can tap a sycamore and get sap from it, you can boil it. I imagine you'll need a LOT of sap for very little syrup. If you can get your hands on a refractometer, you could test the sugar content first, and figure from there what your sap/sugar ratio would be. I understand it's around 100 gal sap to 1 gal syrup for birch.

If you have maples of any kind - just tap 'em all. There's lots of good pics on the web to help you identify them by their bark. Even I'm getting pretty good at it. But if you do make sycamore syrup, I'd love to try some!

[Homestead Maple]

Welcome to the Trader. It must be getting near time to tap in your area I would think. I've tried sorghum but am not aware of syrup from sycamore.

[few trees]

I have seen sites on the web that have talked about using not only Sycamores but also Elm and Black Walnut.

[jmbinventions]

If I tapped a tree on the north side and the sap runs very badly, do I suck it up and leave it there or is there a way to plug the hole and re-tap it? If so, is it bad for the tree's health because this is one of my best trees and don't want to waste a season. This tree gave me 8% sugar best have ever seen.

[Haynes Forest Products]

How long did you sit there and watch it dont plug it tap it and if it fails to produce sap so what. Putting a plug of some type in the tap hole is a bad thing to do. The tree will naturaly heal its self and putting calk wood cement in the hole only makes it harder for the natural healing prosses to take place. If you watch a tree heal over time it will fill in from the inside out and then slowly as that fills in the bark covers the wound. If you put a foreign object in there it can cause the tree to rot and decay under the new bark.

Think of getting a cut and plugging the cut with a foreign matter and then the skin grows over the wound YIKS.

Remember old school cut a tree and you put tar over it Not good.... will keep the new bark growth from covering the wound in a natural way

[Beweller]

I recall talking to someone who had tasted Black Walnut syrup. When I asked, he said it tasted like bad maple syrup.

[Russell Lampron]

Give that tap some time, it is still early and the north side taps will usually start running good when the south side taps are slowing down.

Like Chuck said don't plug the hole. It will do more harm than good.

[Dave Y]

As Russ said give the north side time to thaw. When the taps on the north side of the tree start to pour out sap the season is almost over.

[Sugarmaker]

8% sugar content?

Did you guys see that. WOW that seems like it would be very rare. Although I have never tested all ours that we tap.
I wouldn't worry about a North side tap yet maybe the temps aren't warm enough yet.
What I would be doing is seeing if there are a hundred of those in the vicinity. You would be in Great shape. :)

Chris

[dano2840]

8% sugar content?

Did you guys see that. WOW that seems like it would be very rare. Although I have never tested all ours that we tap.
I wouldn't worry about a North side tap yet maybe the temps aren't warm enough yet.
What I would be doing is seeing if there are a hundred of those in the vicinity. You would be in Great shape. :)

Chris

i tested one of my BIG trees last year that i had buckets on and it tested 5.5 one day, i have a sweet bush

[Jim Brown]

If a guy could get 8% from the trees who needs and RO!!!

Imagine what the sugar would be with one pass through an RO WOW!!

[jmbinventions]

It's early in the season I tapped it the day before so I think that high sugar content will pass but it be cool if it stayed. The tree is in the center of my yard no other trees casting shadows on it. It gets great sun every year. Thats why it's my best tree.