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My 1st year for collecting sap n making syrup so far so good... my question is that I tapped my trees on February 13th do I need to redrill the holes for the good weather that’s coming after this snow? Tuesday n Wednesday I collected like 10 gals from 20 taps I have it in the fridge.... I checked this morning very little n a bit yellow so I just dumped it out. I’m in East Freedom and I’m thinking it’s going to get a good run? Thanks
you should be good for a couple more weeks.
Thanks You
I tapped mine Feb 13 also, still getting good sap when weather is right, might tap a couple more if weather looks right which is looking good for next week, unfortunately got a foot of snow today not sure if that helps the sap but it's a pain for me
read a thread a few years ago from a old pro,he said sap is water so the more rain and snow you have the better. I found this to be factual in years past. God Luck
When you tap a tree you start the clock ticking. The second you remove the drill bit mold spores move in and take up residency they don't pay rent but they sure trashed the place. You started the process and their ain't much you can do about it. You let them in early without a security deposit Yea you can take your bit and smear the crap around but there their still in there but now you forced them into the little capillaries.
This end of season run is the best in decades and is forecasted to continue until March 15 or later. It follows a very disappointing February when we got less than half of the syrup we expected. So, if you think you are not getting the March sap you should be getting based upon the weather, it could be that most of your tree holes healed up during the warm spell that we had in February.
Here's my suggestion. On an afternoon when the sap should be running well, check your taps one at a time. Pull out the tap if you have to do so to check the hole. If the hole is dry or dripping very slowly, make a new hole a few inches away and put the old tap into the new hole, it will immediately start trickling out. It the sap was already running in that hole, stick the tap back into it.
If you used new or properly sterilized taps you can expect 4 to 6 weeks before they dry up. If you are using old used taps and only washed them you can expect about 3 weeks before the holes dry up.
Retapping or reaming the tap holes doesn't work. You may get a day of good flow but that is about all you'll get. Drilling a new hole in the same tree is creating another wound in the tree and if you've already put the maximum number of taps for the tree size you're over tapping.
This is not typically recommended, and anyone who does it should be aware that putting in a second hole will create a second wound in the tree that the tree has to recover from. Putting a second tap in the tree (unless the tree is large enough to support a second tap) is definitely not standard, is not recommended, and, if repeated over time, is not sustainable practice. http://www.uvm.edu/~pmrc/?Page=tappingguidelines.htmQuote:
If the hole is dry or dripping very slowly, make a new hole a few inches away and put the old tap into the new hole, it will immediately start trickling out. It the sap was already running in that hole, stick the tap back into it.
I agree with Dr. Perkins that this is not something to do regularly. In my 35 years of making maple syrup, this is only the second season that I have done this.Quote:
Originally Posted by DrTimPerkins