The Secret to Tapping Your Trees at the Right Time

Last Updated on June 20, 2024 by Michelle

It’s mid January and everyone is asking me “When is the right time to tap trees?”

For the purposes of today’s post, I’m gonna stick to the Maple Belt. While the extreme climates of New England, the upper Midwest, and eastern Canada boast the best syrup climate, trust me there is plenty of syrup being made outside of the Maple Belt.

In researching information for Sweet Maple, I have met with many guys who have great sugaring success below the Mason-Dixon Line, and I’ve talked with many folks doing a great job tapping trees out on the west coast as well.  (Go here if you’d like to know more about Sweet Maple, Backyard Sugarmaking From Tap to Table.) So rest assured, there are many trees that can be tapped (not just sugar maples) and many areas where you can tap (not just in the Maple Belt).

I share the full list of 31 trees that can be used for sugarmaking right here.

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Take a second to join in on my Making Maple Syrup facebook group for detailed information on tapping practices across the country.

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But here in the Maple Belt folks are getting antsy this time of year. Actually, as soon as Christmas closes down, backyard sugarmakers start chompin’ at the bit, pulling out their buckets, taps, and tubing, and wanting to hammer a tap into almost anything with bark on it to see if they can get some precious drops of sweetness flowing.

Before we dive into these important tips, I wanted to ask if you’d please consider helping me support sugarmaking education worldwide with every purchase of the SoulyRested Swag. You’ll find the latest designs right here (like the one I’m wearing here) .

Try to be patient . . .

Trust me, folks, I learned the hard way… here in New England mid January is too early to tap.

Q: When is the ideal time to tap trees?

A: In different parts of the country, you need to take other factors into consideration, but in the typical sugarmaking areas of the U.S. you want to watch the weather forecast closely. You’re looking for a nice stretch of days where the temps are below freezing at night but above 40 in the day, for many long hours of the day. Just 2 days that meet this criteria in the weeks ahead is not enough.

Q: Why not tap early? 

A: You want to wait for a long stretch of ideal weather conditions before you place your taps. The main reason? Trees are amazingly great self-healers. In just 4-6 weeks, trees can start healing wounds that are causing their sap to leak. And, of course, a healed hole is a closed hole. A closed hole right at the beginning of March is completely counterproductive for a backyard sugarmaker in New England. Because the beginning of March is the ideal time for the sap to be flowing and filling a 5-gallon bucket every day. Holes that you tap in mid-January will leave an inch or two of sap in a bucket every day, if that.

Q: But what about the fact that I’m getting lots of sap now, in mid-January?

A: Yes, we did too a few years ago when Bill was antsy and saw 3 days of perfect temperatures on the calendar. The perfect days even fell over the weekend, so he drilled a few taps and got as excited as a puppy in a snow bank when he had full buckets. One day. That was it. Then the daytime weather turned frigid again, and we were pounded with a few more intense snow storms before the real sugaring season hit. The trees that he tapped in January? They never gave us a full bucket full of sap again that year.

Q: Can I redrill my holes later in the season?

A: While some people redrill existing holes when they start to heal over and give less sap, it’s a poor practice and gives only a few more days of sap. Others tend to retap new holes, because new holes produce more sap than damaged ones. If you decide to do that, make sure that when you drill a new hole you go three inches over and a few inches above the last hole, and aim to spiral up and around the tree over time.

But I don’t recommend either of those options. The best practice is to carefully watch the weather forecast and not tap your trees until a good productive weather pattern is in the forecast. That way you can tap only one hole, enjoy a very productive 6 weeks of sap, and avoid any temptation to redrill a hole that was tapped too early to begin with.

Why does all this really matter? Because with every tap hole you create many inches of permanently dead wood. You will never be able to place a productive tap there again. I think it’s pretty important to take care of these amazing trees, so they can give us delicious sugar for generations to come.

Q: But don’t the pros tap earlier?

Yes, when there are thousands of taps to get in, a sugarmaker has to start early. The University of Vermont Extension did some pretty extensive research into this and concluded that tapping earlier can still allow for decent yields into April, but they also found that “Toward the end of the season, when temperatures had exceeded 50F on several days, January and February tapholes yielded less sap than newer ones.” (You can find  that study here.)

 

Make a system that will save you money . . .

So, no, I never advise anyone in the north start tapping in mid January. At least not if your goal is serious production and making as much delicious maple syrup as you can this year. Instead, why not consider passing the time by building your own DIY reverse osmosis system so you can save hundreds of dollars on fuel when the sap really is flowing. It’ll only take you a few hours, all the instructions are here, as well as detailed lists of supplies, and you will most likely make back your cost in your first year.

Then sit back and enjoy a few more long, slow, quiet winter nights. Because soon, when sugaring season DOES hit, you will be oh-so-busy my friend. Enjoy a few more weeks of winter rest. Or just enjoy the snow.

Take a snow mobile for a spin, go on a hike (snow shoes are a necessity these days), or watch the snow from the kitchen window while you bake something delicious (maple syrup is required).

I’m doing the later today, while Bill and the girls are playing around with the first.

Sit back and listen. . .

While you wait for sugar season, you can take some time to enjoy these maple-infused podcasts I’ve recorded recently.

You’ll find lots more episodes–as well as links to how to follow my Simple Doesn’t Mean Easy podcast– right here.

I also enjoyed chatting with Jill Winger, on the Old-fashioned On Purpose Podcast, where I walk you through the process of how to make maple syrup and I dig deep into why simple living matters and why I initially had a difficult time with the transition from suburbia. Listen in here.

While in this podcast, which I recorded on Pioneering Today, I dig deep into the science behind maple syrup that I learned during the 3 years I was researching for and writing Sweet Maple. (aff link)

Do some baking with maple . . .

This amazing giant maple cookie turned out so wonderful, watch for my next post… it’s too yummy not to share this recipe. Meanwhile, you can try your hand at my all-time favorite cookies I bake with maple.

 

Join me live as we chat about how you can know the perfect time to tap your trees–I discuss different details in both of the videos below:

 

Here are some other articles you’ll want to read:

How to Save Money Making Maple Syrup

When to Stop Tapping Your Trees

How to Make Syrup, Step by Step

How to Identify Maple Trees, in Every Season

What 31 Varieties of Trees Can be Used to Make Syrup?

 

Follow my Maple Syrup pinterest board right here. Everything I ever write about maple gets added to that one board.

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Patience brings peace. Proverbs 15:18b

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