I enjoyed the sap last year, but did nothing other than drink a couple of litres I'd tapped. I'm trying things on a larger scale this year and it got me thinking. There's lots I don't know about the subject and I bet opinions vary. So...
- What is your preferred recipe for your sap (be it beer, wine, syrup!)
- Do you tap the same tree each year or do you give them a rest year (or two years, or three?)
- Can you tap a tree with more than one hole at once without causing harm?
- What size hole do you use? I use 10mm as it snuggly fits the type of piping I have.
- Do you bevel cut the end of the tube? IF yes, how do you orientate the bevel?
- How deep do you drill? 2" seems to be a max for most people and I guess the sapwood is no deeper than that.
- How deep do you insert your tube? (I try to ensure the bevel is just within the bark so long as there is a seal and it is secure.)
- Do you leave it one night, or longer? How long is too long?
- If you're a plugger (like me
) do you use living wood from same tree, or another tree, or dead wood (seems a bit risky)?
- How do you store the sap, how long does it keep? I noticed some fridge-stored sap was cloudy after a week or so, last year. This year, I've used brewer's sterilising stuff for my containers and pipes (but let's face it, it's not a sterile process!)
- What rate of sap production qualifies for "sap rising"? Last year, I was getting more than three litres overnight. So far this weekend I've got 200ml per tree, yet a test nick dripped beautifully. Reckon I'm a bit early.
- Has anyone tried tapping on a large scale? If so, any tips on cheap, reuseable containers.
Please feel free to share your two pence on any or all of the above.
BTW, I bought a load of pipe from a homebrew supplier at 50p a metre for 20m. Not that cheap but he had it on the shelf for £2.99/metre! Don't get ripped off!
Cheers,
Xav
- What is your preferred recipe for your sap (be it beer, wine, syrup!)
- Do you tap the same tree each year or do you give them a rest year (or two years, or three?)
- Can you tap a tree with more than one hole at once without causing harm?
- What size hole do you use? I use 10mm as it snuggly fits the type of piping I have.
- Do you bevel cut the end of the tube? IF yes, how do you orientate the bevel?
- How deep do you drill? 2" seems to be a max for most people and I guess the sapwood is no deeper than that.
- How deep do you insert your tube? (I try to ensure the bevel is just within the bark so long as there is a seal and it is secure.)
- Do you leave it one night, or longer? How long is too long?
- If you're a plugger (like me
) do you use living wood from same tree, or another tree, or dead wood (seems a bit risky)?- How do you store the sap, how long does it keep? I noticed some fridge-stored sap was cloudy after a week or so, last year. This year, I've used brewer's sterilising stuff for my containers and pipes (but let's face it, it's not a sterile process!)
- What rate of sap production qualifies for "sap rising"? Last year, I was getting more than three litres overnight. So far this weekend I've got 200ml per tree, yet a test nick dripped beautifully. Reckon I'm a bit early.
- Has anyone tried tapping on a large scale? If so, any tips on cheap, reuseable containers.
Please feel free to share your two pence on any or all of the above.
BTW, I bought a load of pipe from a homebrew supplier at 50p a metre for 20m. Not that cheap but he had it on the shelf for £2.99/metre! Don't get ripped off!
Cheers,
Xav
