too much sap! how do i stop it ?!?!

[WoodButcher]

hey guys. well, 10 sugar maples tapped, 15 buckets total , and in 20hrs i have 34 gallons of sap! i filled my entire garbage can with this yummy goodness! only problem is , i plan on processing only about 150 gallons of sap.... and this was my FIRST day and first time tapping! i got the whole season still... so i know im gonna have too much if i have roughly 33% of my total amount in one day.

my question to you is this:
i want to take off some buckets, about 5 or so of them and plug the holes with something so the tree can still use its sap and it wont leak out. i have a ton of wine corks, i can whittle them down to fit in the 7/16" hole to plug it for the season then take em out.... or is there something i can buy to stop the bleeding? or is the damage already done to the tree ? i can always buy more garbage cans and keep it cool and pile snow around them until i get to them, but that might not be a couple weeks... im afraid of spoilage!

someone said i should try and sell the sap, but thats probably not gonna happen right? quite a few big outfits around me too.
my evaporator is only 3 gal a hour, so its gonna take me 12-15hrs to do one gallon, or 1 and 1/4 garbage cans. . .
thanks in advance!

[parsissn]

I wouldn't try to plug the holes, putting something in the hole is like putting a foreign object in a wound - will just cause damage in the long run. If you really can't use the sap, just dump it on the ground. If you have room, you could always put it in milk jugs and freeze it to process later - but that can get a bit cumbersome. d

You could always ask your local producers if they can use the sap. maybe they would give you some syrup in trade for the sap. Whatever you do, have fun!

[KenWP]

Send to sap my way. I am itching to boil sap. What I want to know is why do they sell corks if they are not to plug tree holes.

[WoodButcher]

What I want to know is why do they sell corks if they are not to plug tree holes.

my sentiments exactly! heck its made from a cork tree! i just feel like im bleeding the big boy out! i know , i know... its ok , the poor tree will be ok. aww heck , ill just buy more garbage cans and get a basement freezer and bag it up and freeze it! :)

[Bucket Head]

Woodbutcher,

Don't plug the holes with anything. Now or after the season. The tree will heal itself.

The tap hole will dry up and start to heal when the weather warms up.

Inserting anything prevents the tree from closing the hole. That leads to disease and decay.

Steve

[slammer3364]

I read wher you can put the correct dia. dowel rod in to stop the bleeding. I was getting about 5 gal an hour last year on a open arch and 18 x 24 pan ,I rigged up a pre-heat over the stack which improved evap time even more, Good Luck and happy sugaring

[Gary R]

Don't plug the holes. I would give the sap to a local producer. They in turn would give you some good advice to sugaring. If unfrozen, I don't know about holding for 2 weeks. Bacteria could eat all your sugar and it might take 3 garbage cans to make that 1 gallon.

[WoodButcher]

well, at this rate, ill have 120 gallons by next weekend(4 cans full) . thats a lot of burning with a 3gal/hr 24" diameter pot ! i wish i had the time to do it all. well now i know for next year. time to pull out the tig and get to makin an evap . or maybe someone will have one cheap on here for sale at the end of the season :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

[3% Solution]

WoodButcher,
Gather that stuff up and sell it or as others have said here make a deal with one of the producers in the area.
In years past I have been buried in sap and took it to a local producer and all I had to do was help him for the evening and he gave me my syrup.
Another guy took half the syrup.
Either way worked well for all involved.
Most producers are more than willing to help out a guy that is buried in sap, gives them something to chuckle about.
There is a guy in the North end of town that may be bringing his excess sap to me this year.
So by all means do something positive with it, don't dump it!!!
Have fun.

Dave

[fred]

its going to stop in a couple of hours anyway. you will have a few days to catch up

[Pete S]

If you leave it simply run,.............the tree will just bleed out and heal, as mentioned.

But you "might" attract more birds to these areas as some of the early bugs may congregate at the sap!

That's what those lines of holes are on the Maple tree trunks,............from birds peckin' holes,..........the tree bleeds a bit of sap,...........bugs like the sap,..........birds come to eat the bugs!

Pete

[mapleman3]

it's always better to have too much sap than not enough... someone in your area will want it, put an ad in craigslist or here(this will do) and I'm sure a local producer will take it