Hi folks,

I'm new to this forum. Started tapping sugar maples in and around my property in the mid-Hudson Valley of New York in 2020, the year after I moved here. Strictly a low-tech, one-man, retirement hobby operation ... 5/16 taps & drop lines to recycled, plastic, fruit-juice bottles, transporting the sap home in Water Brick containers pulled in a kids' wagon, boiling the sap down on my back deck, finishing in the kitchen. Have been enjoying tramping the woods and being out in the fresh air in January-March, depending on the year. Tapped about 50 trees earlier this year, the most yet.

Here's my big question: There are 2 healthy, humongous old sugar maples (3-4' diameter each) from which I have yet to get a single drop of sap! I figure I must be making a rookie mistake of some kind. I always drill into the bark crevices. Have tried different tap placements along the southern quadrant of the trees, from south-east to south-west, over big roots, not over big roots, higher, lower, always staying away from old tap holes, etc. Zilch, nada, zero ... for 5 years now. No such issues with any other trees, though there are always a few that don't give much while others are gushers. I typically tap all my trees about 2" deep. Any advice for next year? Tap deeper? Shallower? Larger drill bit, tap, & tubing? Any advice on this matter from more experienced hands will be gratefully received.

Thank you! - Tim Maloney