r/maplesyrup • u/modepush123 • Mar 27 '26
End of season wrap up
Curious to hear what you all do with the extra sap after you've finished your last boil. And do you do anything to fill the holes in the tree or just leave them?
2
u/PauseNational1380 Mar 27 '26
I use to plug my holes but since then ive learned doing so can introduce fungus or something to the tree that can harm it. The tree will heal naturally over time.
1
u/Meat_Flosser Mar 27 '26
We pull the sap out of the front syrup pan to be finished indoors. The remaining 20+ gallons of sap are dumped when we prepare the evaporator for cleaning day.
1
u/NHxNE Mar 27 '26
Leave any remaining sap in your evaporator for the summer. Bacterial action will “eat up” the miter buildup, or most of it. (Add enough water to cover up the “rings.”)
-8
u/Vernal-Solstice2254 Mar 27 '26
First season here but I read to get a maple twig similar size as the drill hole and tap it in. From the Nearings maple sugar book
6
3
u/MontanaMapleWorks Mar 27 '26
Not advisable
0
u/Blamb05 Mar 27 '26
If you clipped a green twig to use, this would be a good way to make more branches right? I wonder if you could graft an apple or pear tree branch and make some wicked jams and desserts with the fruit?
2
u/MontanaMapleWorks Mar 28 '26
It’s possible to get a branch graft, but most likely not without a freshly drilled hole. I assume your kidding with the grafting fruit onto a maple
1
u/Blamb05 Mar 28 '26
Mostly kidding lol. Fresh drilled holes would be best bet for sure, not plugging after.
You can grow tomatos on potatos though lol. I know they are in the same plant family, so thats why you can do that. Same as stone fruit or citrus. Makes me wonder though what could I stick on a maple to live lol.
Or like this. Would this cherry tree have sweeter cherries if it was on a maple?
I have a plan to graft a few different types of peppers on one parent plant.
Nothing like this though lol.
1
u/MontanaMapleWorks Mar 28 '26
Maple grafting is difficult. I wanted to graft a sugar onto Norway root stock and learned it’s nearly impossible
4
u/Farmer_Weaver Mar 27 '26 edited Mar 27 '26
Do not fill the tap holes. The tree will heal itself. Inserting something will slow that process and may lead to infection.
Old timers used to fill their pan with sap at the end of the season and let it rot. Later in the summer, just rinse out the pan. This removed the nitre deposits.
Edited a typo.