I have quite a few broad leaf maples which will need to be thinned soon. Maples make good syrup so I'm thinking that it might make sense to tap them. I've heard dire warnings about over tapping
trees although I'm not sure what effect this would have on broadleaf maple which are notoriously hard to kill.
Most maple syrup is made from sugar Maple and black Maple in Eastern Canada with Québec accounting for about 90% of world production. Just about all information I've been able to find deals with those trees and much of it is in French.
Has anyone in British Columbia, Washington or Oregon had any issues with tree death from over tapping the broadleaf maple?
I'm also interested to learn of the labor efficiency of tapping broadleaf maples. Specifically, how much per hour do you figure you made after considering all aspects from sap to retail. If these numbers are quite low I'll probably just tap
enough for friends and family. I won't have any
energy costs associated since I'll construct some sort of big vat which will be heated with a
rocket stove, probably the one inside the house. I'll have to pipe the steam outside or through a condenser coil.
I was thinking that on those trees which I plan to thin, I might as well tap them to death. Or I could tap everything heavily and make it a survival of the fittest contest.
Once when I was in my 20s I located a huge tract of forest near North Bay Ontario which was mostly beautiful sugar Maple. It was for sale cheap and I had grandiose visions of becoming a Maple flooring Baron. I estimated that this forest contained millions of dollars worth of finished product. My fantasy was dashed when my dad showed me a map of Ontario and then he drew a pencil line across it. Most maple north of that line have black heart(dead centers which become hollow over time making the trees useless for any form of lumber, something to do with extreme winters) and are only good for producing maple syrup and a bit of
firewood. The forest of my dreams was considerably north of this line. I called a few mills and they confirmed that Maple in their area is just firewood. " The best laid schemes..... And leave us naught but grief and pain for promised joy." Robert Burns.