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Thread: Dry hole.

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Feb 2011
    Location
    Hesperia Michigan
    Posts
    3

    Default Dry hole.

    New here. Started syruping last season and didn`t get much but from what I heard it was a very short season. Anyway I have a newbie question. If I have a tap hole that dries up can I retap the same tree in a different spot?

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Feb 2011
    Location
    Hesperia Michigan
    Posts
    3

    Red face Oops.

    Don`t know how I managed to do a double post.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Apr 2009
    Location
    Bowdoin, Maine
    Posts
    136

    Default

    There are lots of old posts about dry holes, and as I remember them, the discussion is usually about the extra stress that too many holes will put on the tree. I would not retap too often, my goal is to keep a healthy sugarbush that my children and grandchildren may be able to enjoy.

    P.S. When we walk through our woods we've marked most sugar maples over 2" diameter, so that we avoid hitting them when we're cutting nearby. So as you can see, we're looking long term with this operation. I expect most of us here are.
    2' x 4' W. F. Mason Hobby Evaporator
    14' x 20' Sugar House
    170 buckets for 2014
    Tractors, ATV's & Kid Power
    8+ Dairy Goats, dozen hens, beef


    BLOG: http://juniperhillfarmer.blogspot.com/

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Feb 2010
    Location
    Brillion, Wisconsin
    Posts
    314

    Default

    If you put one tap in a tree that was big enough for two, you could add a new one. But if it is a small tree that should only have one tap to start with, then you should not tap it again in the same year. The reason for the limit on the number of taps is so you don't run out of good wood to tap into each year.
    First year 2009
    18 taps on 12 trees
    boiled in 3 gal. pot on electric stove in garage
    2010
    111 taps on 93 trees
    boiling in 200 gal. stainless tank, wood fire
    3 sided sugar shack

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    Tamworth NH
    Posts
    299

    Default

    For what ever size taps I run I drill a under diameter hole. If the rest of my taps are doing well, I see no problem with using the right size drill to fresh the same hole.

    Can't say it works so hot, a drying out tap hole is probably the whole tree.

    Some trees and places are better than others.... You get good trees and bad so far as I can tell. In time you learn which trees 'give it up' and which won't.

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