Jefferson County - My First Boil Ever

I added a photo album in the gallery section and uploaded two images of the block arch I made last year. This is my first album. Let me know if everyone can find and see the images.

Nice little setup you got there. Good luck and have fun!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by RiverSap

On larger Sugar Maple trees the bark a little ways up the trunk starts to get these large flat scales or wings. Here is a link of a picture that shows it pretty well. http://www.wqed.org/birdblog/wp-cont...d_rsz_0168.jpg. In a woods like yours you should have lots of them. Sugar maple trees kind of take over in Missouri woods. They are kind of an invasive species in Missouri. The Missouri Conservation Department does not recommend planting them and even recommends removing many of them to promote the growth of Oak, Hickory and Walnut trees.

---

That's probably one of the best pics I've seen of the sugar maple bark...most don't show it that well. Most of the large diameter trees in my woods are oaks. I have a lot of big hickories and a couple walnuts, but mostly oaks. I do have a ton of smaller sugar maples...probably in the 4-8 inch diameter range, but my understanding is those are too small to tap.

Because the maple is considered a nuisance tree, I've been using them mostly for firewood over the last several years. When I need firewood, I go out and find a sugar maple that's crowding the nut-bearing trees. But now that I've discovered "sugaring," I'll leave more of the maples alone (especially the ones that are on the cusp of being tap-able).

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Goggleeye

Yep, you're done for. That's how I started out. Now, six years later, 460 taps, and an insatiable need to tap more trees! Eventually, you'll find yourself driving slowly by other people's woodlots and spying out dense maple stands, wonder struck with maple lust.

---

To get to 460 taps, I'm gonna have to buy some more land. Or start tapping utility poles.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by flhr10

Nice little setup you got there. Good luck and have fun!

---

Hey, thanks, I am having fun! I see you're in Ohio...our first exposure to making maple syrup actually was when we lived in Dayton. We went to a commercial syrup farm during a weekend when they were letting people come in and see their boil shacks. Ever since, the urge to do this has been lingering in the back of my mind.

I love the video, great job and thanks for sharing it with all of us.

Terry

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Ray_Nagle

I do have a ton of smaller sugar maples...probably in the 4-8 inch diameter range, but my understanding is those are too small to tap.

---

I've been tapping some 7-8 inch trees if they have a good crown. Maybe even a couple six inchers, did it with the thought of not caring if I lost them. Doesn't seem to hurt them a bit. Several years have gone by since I tapped some smaller trees, and they have grown just as rapidly as those I didn't tap. I think with our longer growing season here in MO they have time to catch up on their sugar production.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Goggleeye

I've been tapping some 7-8 inch trees if they have a good crown. Maybe even a couple six inchers, did it with the thought of not caring if I lost them. Doesn't seem to hurt them a bit. Several years have gone by since I tapped some smaller trees, and they have grown just as rapidly as those I didn't tap. I think with our longer growing season here in MO they have time to catch up on their sugar production.

---

Great to know this, thanks.

Did my 2nd boil last night. Turned 11.3 gallons of sap into 42 ounces of syrup, for about a 34-to-1 ratio. The process took about 14 hours from start to finish.

Sap is flowing again this afternoon here in eastern Missouri after subzero temps shut the trees down for a couple days.

Also, for anyone in this area, Rockwoods Reservation in Wildwood is having their annual Sugar Maple Festival tomorrow.