Im curious will sugar maple have more moisture in it rt now because of sap season. Should i wait to cut them? I should have cut them in December/January probably
On a cold morning below freezing girdle tree.. cut 2 circles around base couple feet apart.. hit section between cuts with axe.. drop when convenient.
I've heard of some people purposefully cutting whole trees this time of year and leaving the tree intact to leaf out with the idea that it will draw the moisture out of the wood...I have no idea if it works, kinda doubt it.
Iv heard of people doing that the opposite way in summer, then the tree tries to survive and suck all the moisture up into the leaves
Keep on doubting it Dave. It is another old wives tale. However, I remember trying it myself. We cut some and left half until the leaves all dried up then processed it. Could not tell any difference between it and the stuff we cut up right away.
I've never girdled a tree myself but then, we've always cut wood so that it has time to dry before it gets burned. But to answer the question Woodwhore posed, I say just go ahead and process it. Maple is not one of the harder woods to dry and it will do just fine.
Yeah, a tree is a living thing, it really can't hold any more water in Winter or Summer. The composition of the "water" in the tree changes from fermented carbs (sugars and fermented is probably the wrong word) that act like anti-freeze back to the nutritional carbs of Summer . A tree can't "dry out" - that's death. Although the heartwood isn't exactly alive either. The guys that tap trees for syrup can tell ya all about it.
