Well said Ray, I couldn't agree more, that is how it is done. It does get trickier deep in the bush where you have big hollow spots on the trees or when you are on a steep hillside in your snowshoes trying to tap some trees but it is always good to be out there!
Thanks for the video! I’m in Michigan’s upper peninsula and have tons of sugar maple on the property. Will likely be trying to boil sap down in a turkey fryer or over a wood fire if I find the right cauldron. Excited for spring already
This was very helpful! Thank you so much! My husband and I have 60 acres with some big sugar maple trees that have never been tapped (that we know of) .We will be tapping this week and are excited! :)
Thank you very much for the video, I really enjoyed it. I’m in a similar situation to Dwight below and am i interested in the answer to his question as I wonder the same thing. I also sometimes struggle with the massive size of the bark seeing it’s such an old tree in getting a good seal on my health spile. The odd time I don’t even get into the good wood by an 1” because the bark itself can be 1”-2” deep alone. I’m not sure what the peaks and valleys are called in old bark, but could I carefully reduce some of the older bark to get closer to the good wood? Or should I just drill deeper? What would you do pls? The sugar content is so amazing in these huge trees and turns to syrup much faster than the sap from the smaller 30” trees. Thanks again.
Hi Jay. Depends, but I would recommend carefully removing some of the largest chunks of bark where you want to tap. Some of the professional tapping hammers actually have a little hatchet type blade instead of a claw on the back of the hammer to help with this. Careful though, you don't want to injure the inner bark as that can create a large wound.
What do you do to help the tree if you drilled the hole too big? I had a metal spiel and it fell out and now there's a larger hole that I think needs fixing.
So i have some maple trees that are huge some if them are about 7 ft across so i can tap all the way around those trees. All 4 sides of the trees not jyst the south side.
Done in late April and early May? I don't know anybody who taps that long as a hobbyist. I'm in a pretty cold part of Canada and the runs are no longer any good for flow in the beginning of April. Night time lows are now in the positives with 17 degree day average daytime highs.
Jason, Ray often runs that late in the Pembroke area. It just depends where you are and the weather during the season. Most producers will be finishing up now (April 8th) due to the warm weather this year.
This is a great video, very informative! Going to try tapping maple this winter :) thanks for the video!!
Best tree tapping video I've seen. Thanks for your knowledge.
Thank you!
Well said Ray, I couldn't agree more, that is how it is done. It does get trickier deep in the bush where you have big hollow spots on the trees or when you are on a steep hillside in your snowshoes trying to tap some trees but it is always good to be out there!
Great information thank you!
Thanks for the "local" information.
Excellent video! Good job explaining the process accurately
We want to help everyone promote the health of their trees and makes lots of great syrup.
Thank you so much for sharing and really appreciate the valuable information
So informative - thank you!
Thanks for the video! I’m in Michigan’s upper peninsula and have tons of sugar maple on the property. Will likely be trying to boil sap down in a turkey fryer or over a wood fire if I find the right cauldron. Excited for spring already
Glad it was useful. Have fun this spring!
This was very helpful! Thank you so much! My husband and I have 60 acres with some big sugar maple trees that have never been tapped (that we know of) .We will be tapping this week and are excited! :)
Have fun!
Very helpful, thank you!
First time tapper
long time maple syrup fan here
Yes, that answered a lot of questions that I had.
Great video. THANK YOU.
You are welcome!
Thank you very much for the video, I really enjoyed it. I’m in a similar situation to Dwight below and am i interested in the answer to his question as I wonder the same thing.
I also sometimes struggle with the massive size of the bark seeing it’s such an old tree in getting a good seal on my health spile. The odd time I don’t even get into the good wood by an 1” because the bark itself can be 1”-2” deep alone. I’m not sure what the peaks and valleys are called in old bark, but could I carefully reduce some of the older bark to get closer to the good wood? Or should I just drill deeper? What would you do pls? The sugar content is so amazing in these huge trees and turns to syrup much faster than the sap from the smaller 30” trees. Thanks again.
Hi Jay. Depends, but I would recommend carefully removing some of the largest chunks of bark where you want to tap. Some of the professional tapping hammers actually have a little hatchet type blade instead of a claw on the back of the hammer to help with this. Careful though, you don't want to injure the inner bark as that can create a large wound.
What do you do to help the tree if you drilled the hole too big? I had a metal spiel and it fell out and now there's a larger hole that I think needs fixing.
It is maple season across the Lake in Ohio!
So i have some maple trees that are huge some if them are about 7 ft across so i can tap all the way around those trees. All 4 sides of the trees not jyst the south side.
It's always best to tap around the tree, not just on one side. The will run on the north side too, just a bit later than the south.
Done in late April and early May? I don't know anybody who taps that long as a hobbyist. I'm in a pretty cold part of Canada and the runs are no longer any good for flow in the beginning of April. Night time lows are now in the positives with 17 degree day average daytime highs.
Jason, Ray often runs that late in the Pembroke area. It just depends where you are and the weather during the season. Most producers will be finishing up now (April 8th) due to the warm weather this year.