So Far So Good in Southern CT

[lafite]

I am one tired sugar maker! Now I need to find a more efficient way to boil all the sap I collect. I'm using a 2x4 batch evaporator which does 8-9 gallons per hour.

I'm not complaining but I'm sure you all know what I mean in maximizing efficiency while keeping within a budget!!

[Farmboy]

Next year it's time to move up to a 2X6. I'm running 150 taps on a 2.5'X8'. I wish I had more but I'd rather run 150 on mine than 100 on yours.

[Tanta K]

Still flowing fast and flowing clear. And I'm not talking about the Mill River! Boiling and boiling but definitely darker than first batch. Wonderful tasting for sure.

Probably need to wrap things up for us this weekend :cry:...schools are starting to call for spring filed trips :).

Have a sweet week!
Kirsten the Sugarmaker at Brooksvale

[valleyman]

Tired for sure. Keeping up with 30 taps solo is too much for me this year. Image that, wife, kids, and life stressers getting in the way of Maple Madness

Yep I was thinking of pulling taps after last Sunday's boil in the rain. Took forever and that was after my feed tank tipped over and 35 gallons of sap flowed thru my sugar shack and into the garden area. Good for the soil I guess.::emb: The ground had thawed and I didn't even think of checking the support stand holding the feed tank.

I ended up boiling down to around a gallon of dark particulate filled syrup. I think I added some rain sap earlier in the week and it tainted my storage.

But after visiting Maple Traders site and reading your posts, I got re- inspired. Thanks (a lot!). I cleaned and wiped out my buckets, and storage barrels and started fresh. Nice clear sap flowing this week.

[wkies]

Couldn't agree more - what a great so far. in six days I've collected over 1000 gallons off of 280+ taps. It just keeps running. We are just starting to make Dark Amber. I've got to get bottling because I'm running out of cold storage.

I think the end is in sight but a few more runs and this could be a year to remember.

[lafite]

It's been a fun 3 weeks stockpiling jars of syrup while my wife just shakes her head.

I hope there is one more good run to get some darker syrup for comparison.

Overall I'm very satisfied with this years success. Let's just hope last year was an anomaly..

[Littlesap]

We're still running like crazy here... bottled 3.5 gallons last night. Have sweet in the evaporator and 140 gallons in the feed tank plus what comes in today - be a long night tonight.

When do you guys pull your taps? Feels like some of my trees are starting to bud, I might pull those taps and cap the lines so I can still run the vac.

[markct]

the buds on red maples look like they are budding just cause there so big, but my experience has been that it looks like there budded long before the taste gets to the syrup. it has still been freezing good at night here, its when you get 5 or 6 days of no frost that you have to start to worry