How do you chose the best trees?

[l3rian]

I'm in Iowa and have about 9 acres of mixed trees, but over 50% are silver maples. My work schedule works out exactly the worst way to line up with syrup season. Last year I had 10 trees tapped and had 40 gallons in 3 or 4 days of collecting, then got the call to be on a plane that afternoon for 5 weeks. Luckily my neighbor is also doing syrup. He borrowed my evaporator and boiled my sap. Of course the big run came the few days after I left.

Anyways... I have hundreds of maples of various diameters. I've been doing the ones right along the north edge of my yard thinking they are getting the most sun and the soil probably warms up the quickest. Also, it's easier to get to them when I have to ask others to help with the collection.

Besides tapping easy to get to trees, are there certain characteristics you look for when choosing trees? Diameter, location (I have a creek and some wetter spots, or some sandy dryer spots), look at the tree canopy? I only have so many buckets and so much time, so if there is anything I can do to up my efficiency, I'm all for it. I've been making a mental log of which ones produce the most sap and continue tapping those. And the one cottonwood my brother in law tapped that didn't make anything lol. Is it safe to assume a higher producing tree will continue to produce or is it too variable season to season?

I SHOULD be home for several weeks this year during the season, so wanting to do as much as I can.

[ennismaple]

Trees with larger canopies and larger diameter should generally produce more and sweeter sap. If two trees are close to each other and one is significantly larger than the other you could consider culling the smaller one. They are likely the same age but the larger one is dominant - culling the subordinate will free up nutrients and access to sunlight for the stronger tree.

If you can borrow a hand-held sap refractometer a few drops will tell you which are the sweetest. While the sap sweetness will change day to day it is generally understood that a tree with poor sugar content will always be inferior.

[l3rian]

Trees with larger canopies and larger diameter should generally produce more and sweeter sap. If two trees are close to each other and one is significantly larger than the other you could consider culling the smaller one. They are likely the same age but the larger one is dominant - culling the subordinate will free up nutrients and access to sunlight for the stronger tree.

If you can borrow a hand-held sap refractometer a few drops will tell you which are the sweetest. While the sap sweetness will change day to day it is generally understood that a tree with poor sugar content will always be inferior.

Thanks! I ordered a refractometer, but it isn't here yet. From talking to the neighbor and some old farm photos, my timber was horse pasture 50 years ago. So the vast majority of the trees are younger than that.

[berkshires]

I am in a similar boat - I have many acres, and limited time. So I want to tap the best trees only.

Everything Ennismaple said is right on the money. I'd just add a few things:

1 - If you want to tap the best trees, keep good records! I have a little map I've made, where the trees are numbered, and each season I keep track of how they produce. I've found that while there's a lot of variability from year to year, trees tend to go up and down together. So while a poor tree might produce 1.2% sap one year and then 1.8% sap the next year, a better tree will produce 2% sap that first year, and 2.5% sap the next year. That said, there's still a lot of variability, so the trees might change order a fair bit, with a tree that appears to be in the bottom third one year winding up in the top third the next year. This is why you need good records. Average over a few years to determine the general performance. That said, there are some real winners and losers. More on that in the next point.

2 - There is tremendous variability between trees. I had no idea until I started measuring. For example, last season I had one tree (a new test tree that obviously I won't be tapping again) produce 7 ounces of syrup per tap, while another tree (my consistent best one) produced 86 ounces of syrup per tap. And it has three taps, so that one tree produced 2 gallons of syrup: 1/3 of my total production for the year from one tree! So not tapping bad trees and finding the best ones to tap (even if they're inconvenient to get to), for me at least, has a huge payoff.

3- You can make an educated guess by crown size, trunk diameter, and how much deep in the forest or out in the open, but there are other elements that go into it that may be genetic, may have to do with the tree's history, or who knows what, that make one tree much worse than you'd think and another much better. The one tree that produces best for me looks like a winner. It's huge, healthy, and dominates all the trees around it. No surprise that it is my best producer. But last year I found my new second-best tree. Every week the buckets were overflowing, and the sugar content was decent. It looks just like all the other trees around it, and is smaller than a number of them, but boy can it produce. Then there was another tree that looked great, but (maybe because it has a grape vine growing up through it) produces like crap. So you have to make your best guesses, but be prepared to experiment a bit.

Cheers,

Gabe

[l3rian]

Thanks for the replies. I've been using 7 buckets with 10 taps. I have more buckets and taps, but the buckets ended up becoming storage. I solved the storage problem this year, so I'll be able to tap more. I'll stick to best producers and pick some new ones this year to experiment. I just haven't been able to nail down a common feature of the best producers. 2 are maybe 14" diameter straight trees. They do well. Then I have a a multiple trunk tree that does decent. There are 3 main trunks that each get a tap. Another one splits maybe 18 inches from the ground and I put a tap in each trunk. I'll test the sap once it's starts running.

Most of mine are 100 feet up from the creek bottom. I think I'll try some closer to the creek too. My thought is they would have more sap, but maybe more diluted? Won't know until I try I guess.

[maple marc]

Same situation here--more trees than time so I'm selective. It's like managing a team. The advantage of buckets over tubing is that you can see who is performing. Move taps around each year if necessary.
My best trees:
Sugar and black maples--no silver
Yard and fence rows--big canopies
Middle age trees--75 years old, 20" diameter, 2 taps
Banks of the pond--as much sugar as other trees and they grow fast

By being selection I can get well over a quart of syrup per tap, very good for buckets. Good luck and have fun.

[berkshires]

The advantage of buckets over tubing is that you can see who is performing. Move taps around each year if necessary.

Exactly!

By being selection I can get well over a quart of syrup per tap, very good for buckets. Good luck and have fun.

I got a quart of syrup per tap last year, which as you say is pretty good for buckets. If I had skipped the worst producing trees I had, I would have averaged over 0.4 gallons per tap! Obviously I'm moving taps around a bit this year.

Gabe

[goose52]

I tap the biggest trees closest to the trail!

[MajorWoodchuck]

Last year we numbered all our trees that we tapped and tracked their output. My father in law loved stats. We were surprised that some of the best producing trees were not the biggest and had surprisingly small crowns. One year is not a very good sampling but maybe after 3 years of tracking will be able to tell the best from the worst. Also going to throw another variable in this year by using new taps and lines on half my trees and cleaned used taps and lines on the other half.

[Pdiamond]

Dan are you using buckets, bags, or tubing when tapping. Just curious. Although the initial outlay of money is more you can always consider getting stainless spiles and reuse them year after year. All you have to do before and after use is boil them and let them air dry on a dish towel, and put them in a zip lock bag for next year.