From what I've learned from some of the guys in my area that have small syrup businesses, you really only want to tap sugar maples (also known as rock or hard maples). These are the only ones with high enough sugar content to produce the kind of syrup most people want. You can tap other maples, but I was told that the soft maples are easy to kill if tapped incorrectly, and the sugar content is comparatively low so they don't make good syrup.
@@oopurpledove The leaves and the bark. Sugar maples have a distinct bark that has a very rough, very "scaly" appearance, especially if it is an older, larger tree. Softer maples tend to have bark that is not as rough. It can be a little tough to tell because maples are all fairly similar, but you should be able to look up some good videos on identifying sugar maples. The other option is to tap it and test the sugar content to see if it is producing sap with enough sugar. You can do this by purchasing a sugar hydrometer. That's what we use to determine the sugar content of our trees so we know how much sap we need to make our 5 gallon batch of syrup each year. The rule is: 86 divided by the sugar content is how many gallons of sap needed to make one gallon of syrup. Hope that helps! :)
Eric Morrell -oh my, this is great information! You’re so sweet for responding. I’ll see if I can find a sugar hydrometer, tomorrow after work. I’m excited about this!
i know someone who has every single tree taped with lines the trees are 2-3in its kinda crazy he has 2 300gal or more containers you caan see fill up by the road
You're just drilling into green maple. It's not that much harder than if you were drilling into lumber. It really depends on if you happen to hit a knot or some kind of mineral deposit in the wood. As long as you get a nice clean spot in the tree it's just like drilling a maple board except that it's a little more difficult to start because the bark makes for an uneven surface.
I would 100% eat off that bit lol. If there's heavy metal residue or a poison on the bit you have a problem, a little Fe rust ain't hurting ya (that's actually in the syrp you're tryin to git outta that stick). My 20" trees get up to 5 taps, and they are fine, year after year, after year... and I know trees (studied them with a U). It would take A LOT of insect and fungus attacks to have ANY effect on a tree. Woodpeckers drill lots of holes... winds break off jagged, poorly healing branches... Just get out there and learn and live a little before you die.
Lol i watched this for shits and giggles, I've been tapping trees since i was little. My taps are a little rusty, my buckets are old, as long as you're not selling it youre fine.
@@wildboystv3013 Yes, well said. Also, there is no evidence that trees have pain receptors like animals do. Plants have very different cellular structure and overall construction than animals. They are literally designed to be able to handle broken branches, scratches from animal claws, holes from wood peckers and insects, etc. Tapping a tree correctly means only drilling the outermost rings and avoiding the heartwood. This is equivalent to just penetrating the outer layer of dermis on an animal. You could say that you're not drilling into the "meat" of the tree. It's less invasive to the tree (when done right) than an I-V is on an animal. It is wrong to make arguments like that by anthromopomorphising plants. They aren't animals and do not feel pain like animals do. If they did, they'd be in immense pain every time a bad storm rolled through or any time an animal dug a hole in it (which happens sometimes on a daily basis), and no living thing would evolve that way.
About the old drill bit thing, aside from it being rusty I wouldn't worry too much over it. The tree is dirty ma'am.
thanks , I learn the word "aside from" from your sentense
Excellent video. I believe the proper term for the spout is "spile.” Thanks for posting🙏🏽
Yassss!!! Ty for this video
Did this to the maple in our back yard. Filled a 5 gallon bucket in 2 days
Wow really just learned something today
i live it a real wet sprin run hill side with hundreds of smaller sized maples im geting into it next year for sure
This isn’t what I had in mind when I typed in how to tap a maple tree but, I guess I learned something
Ayo?
Thank you sooo much
We have a maple tree in our front yard and it took us 7 years to find out
Why was drill in reverse ?
Jees. You were complaining about a rusty drill bit, but you drilled through that algea, fungus stuff and left it? You are supercilious.
Do you have on video on varieties of maple that can be tapped and how to identify them?
From what I've learned from some of the guys in my area that have small syrup businesses, you really only want to tap sugar maples (also known as rock or hard maples). These are the only ones with high enough sugar content to produce the kind of syrup most people want. You can tap other maples, but I was told that the soft maples are easy to kill if tapped incorrectly, and the sugar content is comparatively low so they don't make good syrup.
Eric Morrell how can I tell if I have a sugar maple? It HUGE!
@@oopurpledove The leaves and the bark. Sugar maples have a distinct bark that has a very rough, very "scaly" appearance, especially if it is an older, larger tree. Softer maples tend to have bark that is not as rough. It can be a little tough to tell because maples are all fairly similar, but you should be able to look up some good videos on identifying sugar maples. The other option is to tap it and test the sugar content to see if it is producing sap with enough sugar. You can do this by purchasing a sugar hydrometer. That's what we use to determine the sugar content of our trees so we know how much sap we need to make our 5 gallon batch of syrup each year.
The rule is:
86 divided by the sugar content is how many gallons of sap needed to make one gallon of syrup.
Hope that helps! :)
Eric Morrell -oh my, this is great information! You’re so sweet for responding. I’ll see if I can find a sugar hydrometer, tomorrow after work. I’m excited about this!
@@oopurpledove
This is good info on identifying sugar maples.
www.wikihow.com/Identify-Sugar-Maple-Trees
I can't believe the girth of that Maple! Old growth?
Hahaha Old growth. Hahaha You don't even know what that is....
How to use sap to make maple syrup
i know someone who has every single tree taped with lines the trees are 2-3in its kinda crazy he has 2 300gal or more containers you caan see fill up by the road
Drilled, but no sap came out. Drilled 1.5 and again 2.0. Help!
need sub 30F at night, rising to at least 50F days, for a few days of that cycle, then you will see wet spot on ground
How difficult is it to use a brace and bit on a tree?
You're just drilling into green maple. It's not that much harder than if you were drilling into lumber. It really depends on if you happen to hit a knot or some kind of mineral deposit in the wood. As long as you get a nice clean spot in the tree it's just like drilling a maple board except that it's a little more difficult to start because the bark makes for an uneven surface.
Trees 40 yrs old or more... or huggable where your fingers barely touch is what I was taught?
I would 100% eat off that bit lol. If there's heavy metal residue or a poison on the bit you have a problem, a little Fe rust ain't hurting ya (that's actually in the syrp you're tryin to git outta that stick). My 20" trees get up to 5 taps, and they are fine, year after year, after year... and I know trees (studied them with a U). It would take A LOT of insect and fungus attacks to have ANY effect on a tree. Woodpeckers drill lots of holes... winds break off jagged, poorly healing branches... Just get out there and learn and live a little before you die.
Lol i watched this for shits and giggles, I've been tapping trees since i was little. My taps are a little rusty, my buckets are old, as long as you're not selling it youre fine.
Rust is not going to matter....Haha jees. It's called iron.
Your drill would work better if you switched it to "forward"......LOL !!!!
HolyDiver I thought the same. If you slow the video down it is going the right way. But must be a dull bit.
Ergomotion bed
Did this to my oak tree crazy how different they are...lmfao jk
like who uses the brace and bit anymore
I do.
bruh dis yeet
squirrel droppings ? ewwwww !!!!
MEME reVIEW
You cannot get milk jugs clean enough use water jugs
I think it's not good for trees. Would you like to suffer such chronic pain, if you were a maple tree?
It's just like donating blood. Not a big deal.
@@wildboystv3013 Yes, well said. Also, there is no evidence that trees have pain receptors like animals do. Plants have very different cellular structure and overall construction than animals. They are literally designed to be able to handle broken branches, scratches from animal claws, holes from wood peckers and insects, etc. Tapping a tree correctly means only drilling the outermost rings and avoiding the heartwood. This is equivalent to just penetrating the outer layer of dermis on an animal. You could say that you're not drilling into the "meat" of the tree. It's less invasive to the tree (when done right) than an I-V is on an animal. It is wrong to make arguments like that by anthromopomorphising plants. They aren't animals and do not feel pain like animals do. If they did, they'd be in immense pain every time a bad storm rolled through or any time an animal dug a hole in it (which happens sometimes on a daily basis), and no living thing would evolve that way.
Bro think about it, does a tree feel pain? Can they think? No, so don't be worried about it
Flew right over their heads
THERE ISN'T ANY GOD
Yes there is.