Never say never!

[Run Forest Run!]

I have never had sap stay at 2.2 % or higher for the entire season, it usually drops off to 1.6 - 1.8%.

This was very interesting to read. It never occured to me that a sugar level staying just over 2% would be considered really good. I learn something new every day when I read these posts. For some reason I was thinking that something closer to 3 for the season was normal for sugar maple. Boy, was I waaaaay off.

[Flatlander]

Run Forest Run

I really don't know how other tappers fare with their sugar content. I tap all sugar maples, but my trees are all mixed in with other hardwoods, oak, hickory, walnut etc. My wife is my forester and she would shoot me and bury me under those trees if I were to manage my woodlands for that "maple tree". To most foresters in this part of the world they consider them to be weeds. After much begging and pleading, I got to keep some of them and "control" the rest of the woods!!

Any way, my maples compete quite heavily with the rest of the hardwoods, which may be why I may have a lower sugar content than other producers that actually manage their woods for sugar production. Guess I would be interested to know if in fact this is true.

i keep offering to weed out all the maples in the woods and manage for oak/walnut if the boss will let me buy some other ground to manage for maple! I never get an answer...

Hope your season goes well.