As spring draws near, the end of maple syrup season is close. If this is your first season tapping trees, you may be unsure of what to look for before you call it quits for the year.
The temperatures are slowly trending to warm, signaling to the trees that they should start opening their leaves to soak up the sunshine.
Once the buds have started to open, the composition of the sap will change and will take on an off-putting taste. It will also become cloudy and thicker.
When you’ve seen these changes, or even if you’re just tired of boiling sap, you can simply remove the taps from the trees. Do not plug the tap hole with anything, the tree will naturally heal itself within a few days. If you pull taps while sap is still flowing, it will take a bit longer for the wound to heal but it won’t harm the tree.
Before you pack your taps and tubing away for the season, rinse them thoroughly with hot water. You can also make a mild bleach water solution to sanitize the taps, but do not use dish soap as it can leave residue that will affect the sap the following season. Be sure to rinse thoroughly with plain water after using the bleach solution.
I’m hoping to squeeze a few more days out of my trees here at Lost Arrow, but we’ll see what the weather brings. The black walnut trees have a much longer season, though significantly less productive, so I’ll continue on with those once the maples are done!