gettin ready?

[boondocker]

Just wondering if anybody has been out flagging trees or maybe putting up lines. i have been out all morning flagging trees and trimming brush. the bush i had planned on tapping this year has more oak than maple, so that isnt helping me at all. so i started cruising around my land and flagging maples and was a bit overwelmed on how many suger, rock, and whites i actually had. so i have more than enough between here my fathers house and my buddy across the street. speeking of across the street, he has a sugar over there that we together cant touch hands its that big. could probly put 5 or 6 taps in that sucker. i will start running my main lines in about a week or so and then run branch lines after that. i dont want to be wading around in hip deep snow freezing my azz off trying to run lines like last year;)

[ehafkey]

I was out yesterday as well. The bush I tapped last year is small. I have a dozen sugars that are 30" across and then a few smaller sugars. The same land owner has another wooded section that I checked out. There is about 250 silver maples and at least half of them are big enough for 2 taps. Way more than I can possibly tap this year. Maybe next year I can run tubing but I'm afraid the deer and hunters will mess it all up. That means I would have to put it up in Dec and that means cold and snow. Not sure what I'll do yet. I have to finish splitting wood and get to work on my evaporator.

[red maples]

First what are rocks and whites?

and sorry, I mean no disrespect its your call but 5 or more taps in any tree reguardless of size is really too much. just my $.02. I have a guy in the next town that taps trees in several front yards and it kills me to 4-5 buckets hanging on 1 tree.

[maple flats]

You should never tap more than 3 on even the biggest trees (unless it is slated for removal real soon) Older trees are adding much less new growth each year, so they take much longer to grow new wood over the tap hole. befor you have enough new growth, you will be drilling into an old stained partition, yielding little or no sap.
I have seen trees with 8 and I think even 10 buckets but that practice is a bad practice.

[MainelyMaple]

Well it has been a very busy summer without much time to get up and work at the sugarhouse. But we have been pegging away at it slowly but surely, still lots to do before spring though. We extended the concrete slab by about 4' so we could accomodate the larger evaporator this year. And then just getting the firewood inside before the snow falls.

Things left to do:
-extend arch and add new flue pan
-setup new finisher
-extend mainline
-add more tubing/taps
-minimize taps per lateral on on some existing lines
- setup vacuum
-and I'm sure there is plenty more

[afretired]

I've been out and marked about 250 trees in three little patches of woods. Most of them were red maples, only about 110 were sugars. Back in the spring when I first got the fever it was difficult for me to figure out what kind of trees I was tapping. For some reason some of them didn't give up much sap. They might have been gums or something. Anyway it sure is easier to figure out what they are with the leaves still on.

I've been looking for a milk tank lately. I had one a few years ago I was keeping minows in and decided it was just in the way so I gave it away. Since the price of scrap has got so high the last few years most of them in this country have been hauled off. I got wind of one today that the farmer said he would give me to come and get it. So I guess in the next few days I'll go load it up.

[Maple Ridge]

I have been getting ready all summer. I have been building a new sugar house. I picked up my new evaperator today. I still have work to do on the sugarhouse before I can install it. My wife mentioned to me that we need to tag more trees for this coming season. I will try to update my photos soon
It turned out to be more work that I thought. Should be coming together within a month.

[Revi]

I've been cutting wood for the home fires, and getting ready for winter.

I'm putting new batteries in the game camera and getting ready for hunting season.

We'll probably put up a few more lines when the leaves drop off the trees.

There are about 50 more untapped maples on our lot that we need to extend a mainline to.

[Haynes Forest Products]

Orderd up a 3rd finish pan so I can quick change during the day. I orderd up a Markland auto drawoff and will be adding a switch to it so it wil shut the burner down if it goes 3 degrees above the set point.

Now I will have to remember to keep a bucket under the draw off. And remember that it will reset and start the burner automaticly YIKES

[western mainer]

Hey there lobstafari I was there to, had a great time and learned alot.
Brian

[stephen wheeler]

Just wondering if anybody has been out flagging trees or maybe putting up lines. i have been out all morning flagging trees and trimming brush. the bush i had planned on tapping this year has more oak than maple, so that isnt helping me at all. so i started cruising around my land and flagging maples and was a bit overwelmed on how many suger, rock, and whites i actually had. so i have more than enough between here my fathers house and my buddy across the street. speeking of across the street, he has a sugar over there that we together cant touch hands its that big. could probly put 5 or 6 taps in that sucker. i will start running my main lines in about a week or so and then run branch lines after that. i dont want to be wading around in hip deep snow freezing my azz off trying to run lines like last year;)
Boondocker, you mentioned sugars, whites and rock maples. My father in law and I have been out flagging trees and trimming brush also. My father in law tells me "not to bother flagging this maple or that" He says some maples are not worth tapping. I believe the ones he doesn't want to flag are smooth barked sugar maples.(not sure) We have mostly rock maples as far as I know. they have the rough bark that looks a little like puzzle pieces. I'm not sure what white maples are. Will you tap all three varieties ?

[lastwoodsman]

I have worked in the nursery industry for 37 years handling inventory for over 6000 acres of nursery stock.
Unless you use latin names common names are inconsistant from region to region. The only way to properly describe a tree is by its latin name to be clear about its identity.
acer saccharinum is silver maple or soft maple or white maple in some areas.

Acer saccharum (Sugar Maple) is a species of maple native to the hardwood forests of northeastern North America, from Nova Scotia west to southern Ontario, and south to Georgia and Texas

Acer nigrum (Black Maple) is a species of maple closely related to A. saccharum (Sugar Maple), and treated as a subspecies of it by some authors, as Acer saccharum subsp. nigrum

Acer rubrum (Red Maple, also known as Swamp or Soft Maple), is one of the most common and widespread deciduous trees of eastern North America. It ranges from the Lake of the Woods on the border between Ontario and Minnesota, east to Newfoundland, south to near Miami, Florida, and southwest to east

Acer negundo is a species of maple native to North America. Box Elder, Boxelder Maple, and Maple Ash are its most common names in the United States. Other variant names—some of which are regional - Ash Maple, Ash-leaf Maple, Black Ash, California Boxelder, Cutleaf Maple, Cut-leaved Maple, Negundo Maple, Red River Maple, Stinking Ash, Sugar Ash, Three-leaved Maple, and Western Boxelder. In Canada it is commonly known as Manitoba Maple and occasionally as Elf Maple.

Of the above are the sugar,rubrum and silver are the most common trees used in maple syrup production in North America.
Common names for these abound from region to region. Cabinet makers and lumbermen commonly call sugar or black maple rock maple another common name that varies from region to region.

http://www.baileynurseries.com/



Woodsman

[Maple Ridge]

I never realized how much there was to this until I got into it. I am just a small outfit but have allot of time involved. I learn things as I take the next step. There is so much information on this site that it can get confusing at times. Weekends are never long enough to get things done. My sugarhouse is almost done, and I started installing some tubing. It would be real helpful if there were photos of how connections are made from the tree to the mainline. I had to go to my supplier and look how he did his before I could figure it out.
There are so many different fitting one can choose from to purchase. But it is coming together. I am sure I will be making changes next year. 3 1/2 month to go and the fun begins.

[red maples]

alot of things are standard, but somethings, ask 10 people get 11 answers. but its all fun!!!!

[Maple Ridge]

Yes it is fun, and addicting.
My wife also enjoys it and looking foward to it.

[Maple Ridge]

Two moths to go and the time is near. All I have left for this 2011 season is to get my front pan and a temperature gauge for my filter / canner and lots of sap. O I am sure I will find something I did wrong of forgot, but that will be added for the next season.
Hope everyone has a great and safe Holiday.