First time...full of questions!!!

[JSEDLAK]

Well lets begin with the fact that my cousin and i do everything together and this winter we decide we would try making maple syrup. Well we ordered the plastic taps, tubing and grabbed some 5 gallon buckets and hit the wood last sunday. Some trees were flowing some not, is that common? Then on tuesday it got very warm, around 55 or so...well all the trees were flowing then, but we only got 5 gallons of sap from 12 taps, seemed a little low from what i have been reading. Anyway we boiled it down over an open wood fire and we got syrup (still hoping we only tapped maple trees). The syrup has a smokey flavor to it, is this common with boiling over open flames? So today we met up went into the woods around my house and started tapping more, got another 10 taps out there, again some trees were flowing and others weren't. Just not sure what to expect? 22 taps, got about 5 more to put out and we are talking about ordering more since it seems a little early anyway but we don't want to get overwelmed with sap and spend all day, every day boiling. How long does the sap last before it spoils? Can we boil once a week or not?

[Jillian]

I wish you all the best. I am hopeful that I will see many reply's to your post as I am a first timer this year to and am looking for all the information that I can get. For now I am going with the trial and error theory. I think it is normal for some trees to flow and other get nothing. I have found that trees that get more sun have a higher flow volume then those that are more shaded. I have heard that you can store sap for up to 4 days before it spoils. But please feel free to correct me if i am wrong but. good luck



2012- 50 on line and 250 on buckets

[miller maple]

i love seen people get started.im no expert by any means but there is a couple things i have learned from others. sounds like you got a good start, as far as the trees runnin some run good and some dont run as well dont have the answer to why that is, i do know like jillian said it helps to put your taps on the side of the trees that get the sun. also if you have trees that you can see the roots a little bit above the ground, i try to tap above the roots i heard that helps with flow, cause when the sap comes up the tree, your in the main flow area.as far as holding sap it all depends on the temp and were you are storing it, as long as the temps are cool enough you should be good for 3 or 4 days may be wrong but i have held sap that long and have no problem as long as it cool enough. hope that answers some of your questions. some people may have other thought this is from my experiences. good luck. just know that know you started you will be hooked haha

[Thompson's Tree Farm]

Flow from various trees varies particularly early in the season on marginal sap flow days. The warmer side of the tree will run more now but later in the season the cooler side will run more. You want to spread your sap production out for the season and to avoid having all of your tap scars in a single area so tap all the way around the tree. Tapping directly over a root or below a big branch does absolutely no good. There are not veins and arteries in a tree that carry the sap, rather it diffuses through the entire system. Sap runs down the tree when it is running, not up. The freezing nights bring the sap up to the trunk and branches and the warm days create an internal pressure greater than the barometric pressure which allows the sap to flow out your tap hole. When temps are cold (freezing nights and cool days) you will be able to keep sap for a week, As it gets warmer, it may spoil on you. What are you boiling on (size)? You may need to boil more often to keep up anyway.

[Ausable]

Hello to All of You - Normally You would all be welcomed and given more advice then You can handle. LOL - But - This has been one of the Strangest Winters most of us have ever seen and as when to tap - Ha! Who Knows this year. Usually - there will be an approximate starting date for the area you are in and it will vary a few days one way or the other and it most always works. I will probably tap some trees today - but - I should wait till 01 March for my area. Gee - I don't want to be totally wrong and miss all the Sap - LOL. Hey! - Miller good advice. Stuff about tapping I was told years back - Tap Your Trees exposed to the Sun first - Tap on the South side - Tap in a line above where you see a root or below where you see a major side limb. As years go by - Tap above or below and to the side of last years hole. Sounds like everyone has tapped before - so when you haul your sap back to a collection point - filter the debris out (a clean cotton cloth with a dimple in it - attached by cloths pins over a bucket or barrel will work). To store sap - Keep covered in an unheated building - out of the Sun or if outside - in the shade. If the sap freezes on top (lol - most years it does) thats ok - when ready to boil either melt and use the ice or pitch it as the sugar content of the ice will be very low. Sap - as you know - should look like crystal clear water - so keep it cold as possible. As it sits it will start to darken (if above freezing) - still ok to boil. Then it will - if it sits to long - get very stringy and nasty looking and like me - You probably won't boil it. These are just chemical changes the sap goes through do to the sugar in it - warmer temperatures etc. - That said - Large Producers - that sell their syrup - will boil about anything as there is a market for just about anything Maple. We are not involved in that -----Yet. Yep - The smokey taste thing will happen - boiling where the smoke can contact the syrup and some folks love the taste. When You make Maple Syrup on a small scale like we do - You have to work with Mother Nature and be flexible as You will find that old gal has a different schedule from ours and most things about gathering sap are a bit un-predictable. Large Producers have a lot of tricks to make the trees perform on schedule - like tubing and vacuum. --- Hey - I'm an old guy and starting to ramble. Welcome all of You to Maple Trader - Never hesitate to ask a question or share what You know. Make lots of wonderful Maple Syrup -----Mike---

[JSEDLAK]

thanks for the pointers, i don't mind the smokey flavor at all, but i am guessing some people might. like i said it's our first year, just figuring it out, learing by trial and error...hoping for more trial and less error. Interesting about tapping the trees all the way around, especially since i have read so much about looking for big roots/branches, south side of the tree, we are going to try and boil on tuesdays, wednesday and thursdays so we should be good as far as not losing any sap by the sounds of it. we are boiling in a 15 gallon galvanized tub, which i now have read is not the best so we are on the lookout for a good size stainless pot or 6" deep hotel pans. shouldn't be long before we find some. Who knows, only time will tell, maybe next year we will have 50 taps, or 100, or 1000, or 1,000,000....no just kidding. thanks again everyone, keep the pointers coming.

[happy thoughts]

Good luck Jsedlak! Last year I picked up some nice used stainless hotel pans at a good price at a restaurant supply store.