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Post by Tooln on Mar 15, 2018 17:04:29 GMT -6
Tooln, you getting any yield yet? Collected 171 gallons of sap today. Tested out at 3.2 sugar content.
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Post by sd51555 on Mar 15, 2018 18:58:11 GMT -6
Nice dump! 3.2 is pretty high isn't it?
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Post by Tooln on Mar 15, 2018 19:12:09 GMT -6
Nice dump! 3.2 is pretty high isn't it? Yes it is. This is my 3rd year tapping the place myself. My best before today was a 2.8. Higher sugar content = more $$$ per gallon.
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Post by nhmountains on Mar 15, 2018 19:22:10 GMT -6
That's awesome sap Tooln. It takes less sap so more gallons of syrup and less work to boil it down.
2% takes about 43,gallons of sap to make a gallon of syrup. 3% takes about 32 gallons. 4% would take 21.5 gallons.
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Post by Tooln on Mar 15, 2018 19:44:37 GMT -6
That's awesome sap Tooln. It takes less sap so more gallons of syrup and less work to boil it down. 2% takes about 43,gallons of sap to make a gallon of syrup. 3% takes about 32 gallons. 4% would take 21.5 gallons. I wasn't sure the ratios but I know the higher you went the less it took to make a gallon of syrup. That's why I get paid more per gallon the higher my test.
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Post by sd51555 on Mar 15, 2018 22:12:12 GMT -6
That's awesome sap Tooln. It takes less sap so more gallons of syrup and less work to boil it down. 2% takes about 43,gallons of sap to make a gallon of syrup. 3% takes about 32 gallons. 4% would take 21.5 gallons. I wasn't sure the ratios but I know the higher you went the less it took to make a gallon of syrup. That's why I get paid more per gallon the higher my test. My curiosity always seems to have me wondering "why?" Why did your trees produce such high-quality sap?
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Post by nhmountains on Mar 15, 2018 23:27:32 GMT -6
I wasn't sure the ratios but I know the higher you went the less it took to make a gallon of syrup. That's why I get paid more per gallon the higher my test. My curiosity always seems to have me wondering "why?" Why did your trees produce such high-quality sap? SD, Here's a good read from a study many years ago. I think sunlight, branches on the tree, crown size, and the part of the season it's in are factors. The sugar percentage usually drops as the season progresses. Here in the northeast the trees seem to have a higher sugar content than elsewhere in the country. www.uvm.edu/~uvmaple/sapsugarcontentvariation.pdf
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Post by Tooln on Mar 16, 2018 0:38:41 GMT -6
In 2016 I started at 2.4, went up to 2.8 then dropped to 2.0. In 2017 it started at 2.4 then dropped to 2.0. Tapping is new to me so I'm learning as I go. I did learn fast it's a lot of work.
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Post by sd51555 on Mar 16, 2018 4:40:10 GMT -6
My curiosity always seems to have me wondering "why?" Why did your trees produce such high-quality sap? SD, Here's a good read from a study many years ago. I think sunlight, branches on the tree, crown size, and the part of the season it's in are factors. The sugar percentage usually drops as the season progresses. Here in the northeast the trees seem to have a higher sugar content than elsewhere in the country. www.uvm.edu/~uvmaple/sapsugarcontentvariation.pdfI've got sketchy roads here this morning, so I digested that entire document. Interesting read on all of it, but they didn't offer any theories on why certain bushes produced better than others consistently. I did find a document from 1954 that looked like it had the answers, but it's behind a paywall. Penn State offered up a general guiding light by saying "Healthy trees free from excess competition will produce better yields and higher quality sap." But again, the "why?" is still missing.
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Post by sd51555 on Mar 16, 2018 5:12:33 GMT -6
So, I think I've learned a few things.
1. Weather determines how much sap you'll get. 2. Soil determines how good the sap can get. 3. Time of the season will drive variation in sugar content.
I can only assume this somehow comes back to my favorite fertilizer.
It'd be interesting to see a full soil test from a high quality yielding tree vs a low quality yielding tree in the same stand. Lots of vitamins and minerals in maple syrup, and I assume you can't have it all unless you have it all, in the soil. The genius design of a large old tree may be the extensive root system that can reach way down and get what it needs.
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Post by nhmountains on Mar 16, 2018 6:12:02 GMT -6
So, I think I've learned a few things. 1. Weather determines how much sap you'll get. 2. Soil determines how good the sap can get. 3. Time of the season will drive variation in sugar content. I can only assume this somehow comes back to my favorite fertilizer. It'd be interesting to see a full soil test from a high quality yielding tree vs a low quality yielding tree in the same stand. Lots of vitamins and minerals in maple syrup, and I assume you can't have it all unless you have it all, in the soil. The genius design of a large old tree may be the extensive root system that can reach way down and get what it needs. That's some of the factors for sure but, there's lots of others. For the guys that run lines and vaccum pumps the size of the tubing makes a big difference in the volume of sap drawn per tree. The smaller diameter tube usually out draws the larger. Keep in mind the amount of sap drawn is different than the sugar content. Then the "grade" of the syrup produced is another tangible. Early sap runs are usually a lighter syrup than the darker late runs. We used to call the lighter colored syrup Fancy and they'd get more money per gallon than the darker syrups. I like the darker syrups better than the light. Vermont made a change to the color grading system a few years ago.
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Post by sd51555 on Mar 16, 2018 6:29:05 GMT -6
So, I think I've learned a few things. 1. Weather determines how much sap you'll get. 2. Soil determines how good the sap can get. 3. Time of the season will drive variation in sugar content. I can only assume this somehow comes back to my favorite fertilizer. It'd be interesting to see a full soil test from a high quality yielding tree vs a low quality yielding tree in the same stand. Lots of vitamins and minerals in maple syrup, and I assume you can't have it all unless you have it all, in the soil. The genius design of a large old tree may be the extensive root system that can reach way down and get what it needs. That's some of the factors for sure but, there's lots of others. For the guys that run lines and vaccum pumps the size of the tubing makes a big difference in the volume of sap drawn per tree. The smaller diameter tube usually out draws the larger. Keep in mind the amount of sap drawn is different than the sugar content. Then the "grade" of the syrup produced is another tangible. Early sap runs are usually a lighter syrup than the darker late runs. We used to call the lighter colored syrup Fancy and they'd get more money per gallon than the darker syrups. I like the darker syrups better than the light. Vermont made a change to the color grading system a few years ago. I like the darker stuff too. Seemed a deeper flavor.
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Post by benmnwi on Mar 16, 2018 12:26:01 GMT -6
I think the sugar content varies between individual trees as well. I know SLN used to sell a silver maple variety known for having a high sugar content.
I just tap the silver maples I have in my yard and somehow they seem to have a really high sugar % based off the amount of finished syrup I get per gallon of sap. I don't know how to test the sugar content from the sap, but I generally get a gallon of finished syrup (I call it finished syrup when it hits 221-222 degrees) per 25 - 35 gallons of sap.
I also like to boil my syrup to a slightly higher temperature to make it a bit thicker. I think 219 is the standard temp for syrup, but I prefer closer to 222. I first tried that by accident when I wasn't paying attention and boiled the syrup higher than that. I know I was close to a total disaster with that batch, but the syrup was awesome.
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Post by Tooln on Mar 16, 2018 12:26:21 GMT -6
The genius design of a large old tree may be the extensive root system that can reach way down and get what it needs. I really don't think size or age of the tree has much to do with it. Last year I noticed that I have 2 trees within 20' of each other. One was about 16" DBH the other 36" DBH. The smaller one consistently give more sap. I never stopped to test the sugar content between the 2. Maybe I should take the time and do this some day. But usually when I'm collecting I'm pressed for time. Like I have said earlier, it's not a money maker thing for me. But it keeps me in shape this time of year and the tax advantage of ag. VS rec. is HUGE.
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Post by Tooln on Mar 18, 2018 13:12:07 GMT -6
Hi ho hi ho off to collect sap I go.
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