2007 Official Maple Syrup Thread.

[bill not in oh]

Heard ya! I had one tree that pumped out a gallon in 8 hours!...

[MELOC]

what maples are you guys tapping in ohio. my reds were slow today.

[seedspreader]

I've got sugar, red, and a silver tapped, all were running well.

[seedspreader]

Are y'all tapping on the south side of the tree when you tap?

[MELOC]

i am tapping mostly on the south side where it is most convenient. sometimes it is not practical, but for the most part, the south sides are tapped. i didn't tap my very few sugars this year. they are hard to get to. i concentrated on the stand of reds that are in one area. i also left the silvers alone this year. they produced like crazy last year, but i wanted to see if i had less sediment by leaving them out. also, i don't think i have that much time left for them. as i said earlier, one tree actually has open buds.

i may include three sugars in the next day or so. i needed more containers this year and tried to consolidate my tapping to where i could make the best use of small tap lines and only a few containers. hopefully by next year i will have more containers and tubing.

[bill not in oh]

I'm pretty sure that I'm tapping maples LOL - not sure which variety... I think reds. The one that spewed a gallon today... I guess could be a sugar - or maybe I got a gallon of 2% sap from a red...?

[kinderfeld]

Originally Posted by ZealYouthGuy

Are y'all tapping on the south side of the tree when you tap?

I am.

[michiganfarmer]

I started tapping the south side 8 years ago, but I have holes all the way around most trees now. I plowed 10 feet last night to get to my tractor to take the starter off. I got stuck twice. we have snow up the wazoo. I got the starter off, and took it apart. The starter turns, but the bedix wont engage. I took it apart. The bendiz must have some kind of centrifigal mechenism, because I couldnt see what makes it engage, and I couldnt make it engage while it was clamped in my vice with jumper cables attached to it from my truck. Im taking it to a starter shop today. If they can get to it today, Im going to see if I get get the tractor to the woods tomorrow. Its a pretty tall tractor. Mabey I'll make it.

[bill not in oh]

Question 24:

What does everyone use to filter their finished syrup?

And yes, I tapped most of my trees on the south side. One on the north (not currently producing - although it was a few days ago) and one on the west (most sun exposure) which is producing a fair amount. The four that get all day sun exposure are tapped on the south and out-produce the other 6 about 2 to one currently. Apparently it makes a difference at least early in the season - we'll see what's happening next week...

Good luck with your tractor, Max...

[michiganfarmer]

Originally Posted by bill in oh

Question 24:

What does everyone use to filter their finished syrup?

And yes, I tapped most of my trees on the south side. One on the north (not currently producing - although it was a few days ago) and one on the west (most sun exposure) which is producing a fair amount. The four that get all day sun exposure are tapped on the south and out-produce the other 6 about 2 to one currently. Apparently it makes a difference at least early in the season - we'll see what's happening next week...

Good luck with your tractor, Max...

Thanks Bill
the first year I made syrup, I used clean cotton t-shirts. Actually I used contton t-shirts the first few years. I had to filter it 10 times. Then I bought a felt syrup filter. It filters easier when its hot.

Now I pay the neighbors to run it through their filter press

[seedspreader]

Hey Max, are ALL your trees sugar? Or do you tap others? If so, what's the ratio you would say?

[michiganfarmer]

Originally Posted by ZealYouthGuy

Hey Max, are ALL your trees sugar? Or do you tap others? If so, what's the ratio you would say?

Im not really sure what the ratio is. 90% are silver, and sugar. I'm guessing about 50/50. Im not much of a botanist. I never asked either. I look at the limbs, and think about what the firewood looked like that dad cut when i was a kid.

[MELOC]

the leaves on the silvers have deep cut "fingers" and really curl up on the ground.

[michiganfarmer]

what about the sugar maple? is there a way to tell by looking at the bark?

If they look like a maple I tap 'em,lol. Ive never paid close attention

[hanlonfive]

Originally Posted by ZealYouthGuy

One of my favorite things is identifying the maples in the fall. I paint a red dot on the truck with a can of spray paint.

Eventually, I want to buy some maple leaf cutouts, paint and number them and keep a record of what each tree produces.

Check out the links at the beginning of this thread for sugaring.

check out this link also: http://www.themodernhomestead.com/news.php?item.14.15

Great ideas Bob! I'll pass them along to hubby. Thanks for the link too!

Kelli

[MELOC]

identifying maples by the bark seems a bit tricky at times. my few sugars don't seem to shag quite as much as the silvers do. the silvers i have really seem to have bark that looks like it wants to shed. my red maple are a mixed bag. most are smooth, like a birch, when they are young. i have a few that have good size and still have smooth bark. most of the really big red maple have shaggy bark.

i do have a leaf and twig ID link...

http://www.massmaple.org/treeID.html

[seedspreader]

I don't trust myself to id them by bark. I will probably tap something poisonous... LOL.

[MELOC]

i am having a good run today/tomorrow...whatever. lol

i have mostly 1 gallon containers and i need to empty them again tonight so they don't overflow. i have several taps running into a 1 gallon container and it is filling fast. there are 2 of the 1/2 gallon iced tea jugs and they won't make it overnight. i am surprised to see such flow tonight.

now...back up the hill with my 3 1/2 gallon collection pot. man. i wish i had a clean 5 gallon bucket.

[bill not in oh]

Midnight:
I just collected gallon 2 from one tree that started running at 9:30 this am. so far I've collected 9 gallons from 10 trees today and there's probably 2 gals still out there! Runnin' out of storage space...Aargh...

And what type of retail store can one find hydrometers? I'd like to put my hands on one today so ordering online isn't an option...

[seedspreader]

Collected about 7 gallons this morning. The way it's flowing I will have to check again tonight.