Re: O.T. SAPS A RUNNING,NEED HELP!

Posted by jdemaris on March 04, 2007 at 10:53:25 from (66.218.23.47):

In Reply to: O.T. SAPS A RUNNING,NEED HELP! posted by phil lowe on March 04, 2007 at 10:18:48:

Yeah, you can plug it - or just let it plug on its own. When you tap this early, most of them will heal up with bacteria and plug before the season is over anyway - if we get the usual, ofs and on, warm spells. I had to tap twice last year. In the old days, you stuck a formaldehyde pill in the hole - but that's not legal anymore.
I never like it anyway - but I worked in a Canadian sugarbush where it was standard procedure.
The longer you boil, the darker the syrup will be. I kind of like it dark, but many don't. But, subsequently a deep pot or pan that takes a lot of boiing will make a darker syrup.
In regard to sugar-content. Even though the Red Maple usually has a much lower sugar content than Hard Maple or Black Maple, I've had years - and also certain trees in certain parts of the woods - where the Reds ran almost as high as the Sugar Maples. Last year I sold only sap - i.e. I did not boil here. So, anything I sold was judged and paid for by exact sugar percentage. I has a lot to do with sunlight, tree-top size, snow-melt, etc.
Last year I trucked eleven loads of sap - each around 1200 gallons. First load - Feb 24 - was 2.6% sugar. At that time, I tested some Red Maple sap and some was 2.2% which is pretty high.
After my last - 11 th load -at end of season March 21 - sugar was down to 1.9%.
If you've got a small "hobby" setup, you'll probably make out much better if you can tap some trees that are out in the open with big tops. They usually have higher-sugar than deep-woods trees and it's a maintained sapbush. Last year - I found some roadside that tested at 3.1% - when many of the deep-woods trees were only 2%.
The more sugar, the less water you have to boil off.

Replies:

• Re: O.T. SAPS A RUNNING,NEED HELP! phil lowe 11:02:27 03/04/07 (3)
  • Re: O.T. SAPS A RUNNING,NEED HELP! jdemaris 11:10:13 03/04/07 (2)
    • Re: O.T. SAPS A RUNNING,NEED HELP! phil lowe 12:44:50 03/04/07 (1)
      • Re: O.T. SAPS A RUNNING,NEED HELP! jdemaris 13:46:44 03/04/07 (0)

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