Bascom's Seminar Notes

[DrTimPerkins]

Yeah, you'd think there would be a ton of discussion on tapping 8" trees because no one does that right?

OK....I have to tread very lightly here, so bear with me.

There are published guidelines for what you "should" tap. These are often somewhat conservative, because if we say to only tap 10" trees and up, people will tap 6" trees (that's close enough right?). Besides....we're using smaller spouts now, so we can tap smaller trees -- right? NO...that isn't the case.

Tapping guidelines are based upon averages for tree ring width growth, the idea being that you should not "make unavailable" (by staining) more wood than the tree can grow back in the following growing season. The stained wood is no longer functional in terms of water (or sap) transport or for storage of sugars. The tapping guidelines tend to be pretty good for most trees. It is at the ends (really big and really small tree) where they tend to have problems.

For very large trees there is sometimes very little actual ring width added each year, so you need to be careful not to overtap. I know it is tempting to hang 4-5 buckets on that big old tree, but you very well might be affecting its growth if you do.

Most small trees will have relatively decent ring widths, UNLESS THEY ARE SUPRESSED (understory trees). If you haven't thinned in 10+ yrs, tree growth may be too low to sustain tapping. They might also not be able to deal with the sugar extraction rates under high vacuum, but that's a different story that remains to be fully written (we're working on it). How can you get an idea of growth rates -- look at taphole closure. If the tapholes in small tree are taking more than a couple of years to close (with a 5/16" spout), don't tap them, or thin them out a bit. Don't ever tap these small trees with a 7/16" spout.

Some argue that they are going to thin someday, but in the meantime, why not thin them with a tapping bit. I have no problem with that concept, but leave the trees that you aren't going to thin (your future crop trees) alone (don't tap them) until they are large enough and the crowns have been released so that they are putting on good growth. Too many people say they're going to thin, but never get around to it. Proper thinning in maple stands is very advantageous to growth and to increased sap yield. So before you run out there and start tapping every tree 6" and up, go out and thin them first. You'll get far better results in the long run.

[red maples]

thank you for the clarification. I will stick to my personal guide lines then. which is 10" min for most trees with the occational 8-9 inch tree tapped pending health. I don't think I would ever tap anything under 8 inches it just doesn't seem worth it, cull tree or not. Your not going to get a high amount of sugar in that sap anyway.

My thinning is slow beacuse I only take out what I need, Soft wood for sugaring and hard wood for the house heat!!! It's a little slower than going right in but I belive the trees will be better off because they will be exposed to the light slower and have a reduced risk of sun scald. So little release cuts here and there, it may take me several years to get through. I am currently working on the denser parts first and dead or severly stressed standing timber.

but I have agree I see some big maples around with 4-5 even 6 buckets hanging on them and I cringe!!! I pulled over to check to see what size taps and of course they were 7/16. the tree looked like it had been tapped that way for years it was pretty much swiss cheese!!!

[DrTimPerkins]

I should have also noted that the cut-off in our two primary production areas is 12", with the occasional 10-12" tree tapped as well. One tap per tree regardless of size (for several reasons). However, I'm sure there are some who've seen photos or visited and seen smaller trees tapped. This is true. We do occasionally tap smaller (6-10") trees. This typically occurs in two instances: 1) we're doing research on the impacts of tapping small trees or 2) we intend to cut down the trees as part of the research (and thus prefer to sacrifice small trees rather than large trees).

[Tweegs]

Late to the game on this and trying to get caught up.
We just received the Maple syrup digest the other day. In there was a short blurb by Dr. Perkins about the CV’s, too short for my feeble mind to comprehend.

There are some very intriguing claims in the advertisements about increases in sap yield, but not much wording covering the concept of the check valves and how they actually increase yield.

It is also noted that they can increase yields on gravity systems, which has really piqued my curiosity.

I assume that the CV’s were a topic at the Bascom outing as they have been mentioned in passing a couple of times in this thread, and I thought it might be helpful to keep all of the information from that seminar in one thread, as opposed to starting a new one.

Since a search here on the forums didn’t produce the results I was looking for, can someone please explain in detail how these things work?

[Homestead Maple]

I was thinking that Brad said that he had tapped a tree as small as 6", hoping to kill it because it needed to be thinned sometime but the tree hasn't died. He said that the smaller trees grow faster and create more tap able wood faster and heal faster.

Brad's guide lines were more conservative when it comes to larger trees. He didn't put two taps in anything smaller than 22" in diameter, and a tree that is 30" in diameter and has at least 50% of it's height in good, live crown, he would allow 3 taps.

[Amber Gold]

TWEEGS, CV's have been discussed in-depth in other threads. In the tubing section do a search for check valves and you'll get all the information you need.

The justification for tapping 8" trees is the trees are younger and can better cope with tap holes...kind of how a young kid's broken bones heal more quickly than a 50 year olds bones. I guess the debate is if this is acceptable at 8" or 10" dbh.

[Gary R]

Tweeg's, check this thread out. A lot of talk happened last year on the CV's.

http://mapletrader.com/community/showthread.php?t=8869

I think the tap hole question was the first question on this thread. If someone else brought another one up I'm sure we'd all jump all over that one

[Tweegs]

Tweeg's, check this thread out. A lot of talk happened last year on the CV's.

http://mapletrader.com/community/showthread.php?t=8869

I think the tap hole question was the first question on this thread. If someone else brought another one up I'm sure we'd all jump all over that one

Sorry guys, my bad, didn't dig deep enough.

Thanks Gary, that's what I was looking for!