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Advice on establishing/improving a sugar maple stand?

Started by Thomas-in-Kentucky, March 10, 2007, 04:35:08 PM

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Thomas-in-Kentucky

This is my second year into my maple syrup hobby, and I am encouraged.  I am wondering if there might be an opportunity for profitable maple syrup production on my farm.  I know KY (north eastern KY) is not known for maple syrup production, but in my very limited experience I am getting over 1 quart of syrup per tap, so perhaps it could be feasible.  The novelty (sheer madness?) of it in this area could work to my advantage too - if I turned it into an agri-tourism/direct marketing thing here on the farm, there would be no  local competitors.  Combine the sugar season with a mini-bluegrass festival (I have a few in-roads there), honey sales, direct to-consumer beef sales, etc.  Work the sorghum molasses angle (on the same pan perhaps) in the fall.  Any thoughts?

Whether the above notion is crazy or not, I'm hoping to get some forestry advice on the following....I have about 1,000 acres of mixed hardwoods - only about 70 acres of which has ever been clearcut.  Most of the farm is steep and well drained.  Until 20 years ago, the bulk of the property was occasionally selectively cut, but not hard.  Only a few trees on the farm are over 30" in diameter, but trees ranging from 12" to 20" are very common.  Sugar maples fall in this range as well.  Maybe only 5% of the trees are sugar maples.  At least 50% of the trees are oak.   (Hickory, Ash, Tulip Poplar make up most of the rest.)  There are a few areas on the farm that have a high density of sugar maples - I wish there were more.  What I'm wondering is how to go about creating/steering an area of the forest to being predominantly sugar maples.  Would it work to cull everything but the sugar maples, or would this upset the balance of nature?  Is there a precedence for this kind of "sugar bush" management in New England or Canada or do the sugar bushes just happen naturally there?  Did the old timers have a hand in creating that sweet annuity?

If it would work, should I focus on the more mature woods, or should I start on the 70 acres of clear-cut (which has briars, about a bizillion saplings, and 3" to 4" trees on it right now).  I don't have much at stake with the clear cut (it's virtually un-walkable) but I have noticed that several of the pioneer trees in that area are maple trees.

Thanks in advance for any thoughts/advice,
Thomas

SwampDonkey

Well in some regions of Canada along the St. Lawrence, and in the Acadian forests of Canada we have almost pure stands of it. Or it is typically mixed with yellow birch, ash, and beech with W Pine and Hemlock scattered in it. There is one sugary about 25 miles from here on a crown lease that is pretty much all sugar maple (1000 acres) as other species have been removed and the remaining were thinned out to increase crown expansion. Sugar maple is more shade tolerant than some hardwoods and can establish in shade, then with a thinning of the stand these seedlings get enough light to grow, often group selection is the best method. Too much shade and the seedlings stagnate. 1/4 acre groups (50x20 m or 32 x 32 m or 36 m diameter or irregular shapes). Best time to harvest (group selection) on sites with low numbers of SM regen in the understory is in good seed years with some ground disturbance in the openings. Be careful if you have beech and ironwood, they will over come the forest floor maple regen in too much shade.

Some info from the Ontario Woodlot Association.

http://www.ont-woodlot-assoc.org/sw_maple1.html
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

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2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

Sawyerfortyish

Thomas you came to the right place and asked the right people about how to manage your future sugar bush. There's another place that deals directly with the questions and problems of making maple syrup(not that I want to direct you away from here )But you should also take a short look over at Maple trader .com. But be sure and come on back here.

Thomas-in-Kentucky

Thanks guys - at least I didn't get laughed off the board.  That's a start.  :D

After posting that call for advice yesterday I took a walk around the woods and realized that a lot of the small (<4") understory trees that were trying to eeek out an existence were in fact maple trees.  I didn't try to resolve whether they were red maple or sugar maple (I suspect they are mostly sugar maple) - but I'd say 30% to 40% of the understory trees were maple in an area where only 10% of the mature trees were sugar maple.  I guess that proves what you said Swampdonkey about shade tolerance!

I forgot to mention that my forests were hit hard by an ice storm about 3 years ago.  In some really bad areas, more than 50% of the trees fell, but in most areas, it's broken tree tops and the occasional missing tree.   Holes in the canopy everywhere.  Weird to walk through these woods and see day light here and there in the summer when the leaves are on.  Maybe this is a chance to give my sugar maples some help in those badly affected areas.  I do have beech and iron wood right there next to those maples in the understory, so I'll watch them like you said SD.


Thanks for the links guys - I'm headed there now.  I'll be back - this is the best forum on the internet right now IMHO!

-Thomas

ID4ster

Get yourself a forester or some advice from other knowledgable forest owners in your area. Get a good chainsaw and safety equipment and start thinning. You've got a lot of it to do. Sugar maples will produce more sap with the more crown area that they have so in your sugarbush you'll be thinning to a greater spacing than you would if you were producing grade lumber. Concentrate on your north aspect slopes first and have fun.
Bob Hassoldt
Seven Ridges Forestry
Kendrick, Idaho
Want to improve your woodlot the fastest way? Start thinning, believe me it needs it.

wiam

Quote from: Thomas-in-Kentucky on March 10, 2007, 04:35:08 PM
Would it work to cull everything but the sugar maples, or would this upset the balance of nature? Is there a precedence for this kind of "sugar bush" management in New England or Canada or do the sugar bushes just happen naturally there?


I have been told by a state forester at a maple conference that you had to have hundereds of acres of just one species for it to be a problem.

Will

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