2009 Tap in Southern Kentucky

[turfman]

I will be tapping my trees tommorrow in Southern Kentucky. It looks like we are going to have Saturday and Sunday in the low to mid 40's. I have several large 30" plus trees, was planning on hanging one bucket per tree and placing two additional taps with tubing leading to the bucket. Is this recommended? This is my rookie season so please advise at will.

Thanks,

Turfman

[Haynes Forest Products]

3 taps 1 bucket how close are you going to be watching it. Why not 3 taps on tube into a coverd 5 gallon bucket?

[Thompson's Tree Farm]

How often can you gather those taps? I have seen big trees fill a 16 quart bucket in four hours from a single tap. If you can gather them several times each day you will be fine, otherwise you need more or bigger containers.
Go get that sap!

[TapME]

I do like Haynes said 5 gallon bucket with a spider tubing(looks like a spider web) to a bucket. It works great and over flows on a regular basis.

[turfman]

Thanks everyone for the tips. I will monitor the buckets closely and empty them often. I can't wait!

[parsissn]

I hang 5 gal buckets on each tap in my woods and since I only collect once a day, sometimes every other day, it's not unusual to have even a 5 gal bucket running over from a single tap. Just something to watch and consider for future tapping :)

Mark

[Haynes Forest Products]

Sap is a terrible thing to waste

[turfman]

Well, all of my taps are in. The sap is flowing fairly well today, but I did notice the smaller trees seemed to be flowing much better. Does anyone have any thoughts as to why? I wandered if the larger trees may have needed more time to thaw.

Thanks,

Lee Blythe/Turfman

[andrew martin]

Yes, the smaller treesthaw quickly, especially after a prolonged freeze. Big trees might run very well tomorrow and possibly all night tomorrow.

Andrew

[Clan Delaney]

3 taps 1 bucket how close are you going to be watching it. Why not 3 taps on tube into a coverd 5 gallon bucket?

That's pretty much how I tapped my own few trees before stringing tubing last year... one 5 gal bucket under each tree, then tubing from however many taps dropped down to the bucket. One of the 3 tappers would get almost 5 gallons on a great day.

[pastordon]

I have a question that perhaps you can answer for me. I am orginally from VA about 10 miles from Jenkins KY. Do people tap trees in SW VA for making syurp?

[nace]

hello pastordon: go for it ... i never cared what anyone else was or wasn't diong. but be very carefull because there is something quite addicitive about boiling sap, in a roasting pan, in the cold, with an oil lamp to see with,and after an hour of boiling something that you weren't even sure was maple sap because it smells like blue cotton candy you keep doing it anyway and after working all day then starting at 9pm you boil 5 gal of sap for 6 hrs and wind up with 12 oz of the MOST AMAZING THING YOU EVER CREATED...well, that is mostly because i had been up for 22 hours... but anyhow you do want to make more and more AND MORE ...easy now ...the side effects include addicitive behavior.:lol: good luck...nace