How many taps per tree?

[rob1640]

I have been using the conservative guideline on the number of taps per tree (10"-18" = 1 tap, 18"+ = 2 taps). They don't recommend 3 taps in a tree. Could I be tapping more holes or are these guidlines the best practise?

Rob

[cncaboose]

What you are doing is best practices for the long-term health of your trees. If you have trees that are dying anyway or are going to be culled, tap the heck out of them. If you want a copy of an article by Brian Chabot of Cornell that explains it all, send me an email or a private message with your email.

[ennismaple]

I've got some trees over 24" diameter with 3 taps in them.

[KenWP]

I only double tapped trees that are 4 feet or more at the base. They are in the yard so want to be carefull with them. This is the first year they have ever been tapped as the people I bought this place from never even planted fruit trees here as it looked like work. The whole neighbour hood figures I am crazy so far.

[RileySugarbush]

Ken,

Your neighbors are correct. Just like mine.

[mapleack]

If it's over 10" it gets one tap. If I reach my arms around it and my fingers dont touch, it gets two taps. This is an easy and quick way to make the call in the woods without taking alot of time. I'm 6' tall and have long arms to match, so there aren't too many two tap trees in my woods. That being said, I will cheat once in awhile if its a really nice tree with a large healthy crown.

[3rdgen.maple]

I am tapping some trees that have been tapped for three generations that are over a 100 years old that are very healthy with great crowns on them. I cannot reach around them and touch my hands together. They have been getting 4 taps in each one of them before I was ever born. I know a guy who has been tapping on a farm that his dad passed down to him and they put a tap in every 12 inches. He's got trees with 5 taps on them and I gotta tell ya they look pretty darn healthy to me. The wind, ice, snow and the invasion of bugs will kill them faster than another tap will. But if the trees see any stress from the weather or bugs I will not tap that tree in the spring.

[KenWP]

You have to see a couple of sugar bushes here. They have every tree tapped at least once and some are as big around as fench posts. I liked the old guys idea who tapp the hill sides near here. Instead of two buckets they hang a bucket and then use a plastic tap and some tubeing and run it into the bucket also. I used that idea for some of my trees and I have several that have two trunks coming from the same bottom. I might have to empty them a bit sooner hopefully. I am not scared of a little work or believe me I wouldn't make syrup. They make it look easy in the movies.

[Russell Lampron]

You can't kill a tree by drilling too many holes in it. The reasons to tap conservatively are to give yourself more good wood on a tree to tap in future years and to increase your syrup per tap ratio.

[ennismaple]

You can't kill a tree by drilling too many holes in it. The reasons to tap conservatively are to give yourself more good wood on a tree to tap in future years and to increase your syrup per tap ratio.

Bingo. I've got some trees that even with 30" droplines you have a hard time finding fresh wood because my father and grandfather overtapped them.

[PerryW]

Bingo. I've got some trees that even with 30" droplines you have a hard time finding fresh wood because my father and grandfather overtapped them.

I take advantage of high-snow year to reach really high up on the tree and drill into virgin bark!

Or in a low snow year, I will pull the lateral lines down close to the ground and tap really low in the tree.

This gives you more real estate of the tree available to tap.

I would also add, that you may not be able to kill a big roadside big-crowned maple by over-tapping, but drilling two 7/16" holes year after year in a 10-12" woods tree with a small crown may just do her in.

[mapleack]

I can't find any publications at the moment, but another thing to consider is the research that's been done on multiple taps / number of taps. What I'm talking about is the volume of sap per tap and relation of that to internal tree pressure and the size of the area cross sectionally drained by one tap. I can't quote exact numbers but I know its been found that ususally two taps on a tree won't run twice as much as one tap on that tree, so depending on the size of the tree, the sap gained may not be worth the extra damage.