Lowest sap sugar % ever

[doocat]

For 2.8 sugar I would travel a ways as well. We tap almost exclusively hard maple. I have about 100 out of 3500 that are reds. Old woods, tall trees with smaller crowns, and not much freezing weather would be the issue I assume. We Don't worry about it cause I can't fix it, they run good with 27-28 inches of mercury though!

[heus]

3%, lowest I've found is 2.8, highest is 7% in one of our large crown trees. If we're below 3% I go testing looking for the offending trees and they're converted to firewood.

Wow must be nice. Average about 1.2-1.6 sap here

[Atgreene]

Wow must be nice. Average about 1.2-1.6 sap here

It is. Generations of work to get us here. Now with high vacuum, cv's and an ro, we're poised to make some serious syrup, if mother nature cooperates.

[maple flats]

To answer the question about which maples I have, at this point they are all sugar maples. Earlier I had 41 taps mostly reds with 6 in silvers, but they were removed when the flowers opened. I now know I was early, that the flowers do not affect the syrup, it's the first sign of a green leaf bud that dictates when to quit the soft maples.

[Russell Lampron]

To answer the question about which maples I have, at this point they are all sugar maples. Earlier I had 41 taps mostly reds with 6 in silvers, but they were removed when the flowers opened. I now know I was early, that the flowers do not affect the syrup, it's the first sign of a green leaf bud that dictates when to quit the soft maples.

Most of my trees are reds. I have made a lot of syrup with flowers on the trees with no buddy taste. They usually quit running before the buds actually pop.

[maple flats]

Unfortunately since I first added the Reds and silvers about 6 years ago, I have removed them as soon as the flowers bloom. I'll not do that from now on. Those are all within sight of my sugarhouse. The rest are all sugar maple there and my other woods is all sugar maples.
Russ, I first learned to drive on a Ford Doodlebug. I'm not sure of the year but it was from in the 20's. It was a cut down truck and had 2 transmissions. With both in high (on the road only) it did just over 40. With both in 1, it crawled super slow, like 10-15'/minute. It had 30" rubber on the rear, more like car tires on the front. When used regularly it started first or second crank as long as the spark advance was set right. It had a lever on the column to set both spark and throttle. The biggest issue was a radiator leak that was never fixed. We drained it in winter, but in summer we used just water. Mounted on the side outside the drivers position there was a wooden keg hung to keep the water level up. Every day or 2 we had to add a gallon or 3. We then graduated to a Farmall F12. It only had a few hours on it when we bought it, because the first owner used it once, didn't like it and parked it for about 35 years until my dad bought it. I don't know that year either, but it had a patent date of 1923 on the hood. It's big issue was the speed, only 3 speed tranny and top speed was slower than walking speed.

[Russell Lampron]

I have reds scattered all over my property. A lot of them have big crowns and when I do check are giving up 2% sap on average. Some of them are swamp maples too which are hurting my average but they are easy to get to so I tap them.

Dave my doodlebug is a 1930 AA Ford. It has a single 4 speed transmission in it and a rear end out of something a little newer that still had mechanical brakes. It runs good and has amazing power for what it is. I don't drive it on the road but know that it will go faster than it is safe to drive.

[Russell Lampron]

I have reds scattered all over my property. A lot of them have big crowns and when I do check are giving up 2% sap on average. Some of them are swamp maples too which are hurting my average but they are easy to get to so I tap them.

Dave my doodlebug is a 1930 AA Ford. It has a single 4 speed transmission in it and a rear end out of something a little newer that still had mechanical brakes. It runs good and has amazing power for what it is. I don't drive it on the road but know that it will go faster than it is safe to drive.

[Michael Greer]

Tree crown seems to make a huge difference. I've tapped street-side and yard trees for years now, and always had super sugar percentages. This past week, I added another 70 trees that stand in a crowded woodlot. These trees are a little bit crowded, and while they have big fat trunks, and are all 80 ft. tall, many of them have fairly small crowns. Leaves equal sugar, and these new trees have cut my percentages down a good bit. I'll be checking those levels on this next run, and may need to do a little thinning. This particular sugar bush hasn't had any maintenance at all in forty years.

[lastwoodsman]

I have reds scattered all over my property. A lot of them have big crowns and when I do check are giving up 2% sap on average. Some of them are swamp maples too which are hurting my average but they are easy to get to so I tap them.

Dave my doodlebug is a 1930 AA Ford. It has a single 4 speed transmission in it and a rear end out of something a little newer that still had mechanical brakes. It runs good and has amazing power for what it is. I don't drive it on the road but know that it will go faster than it is safe to drive.

Curious as to what you call red maple vs swamp maple?? Acer rubrum? Red or swamp maple