end of the season

[03weim]

we are pulling the rest of the buckets this weekend, well bucket man is pulling the buckets. the buds are getting big and the last batch of syrup has a distinct bitter taste to it, all in all our best season ever 7.5 gallons of nice tasting syrup and 1/2 a gallon of bitter syrup, now what to do with the bitter syrup??? not bad for only getting 13 taps in this year.

[40to1]

Wow! Eight gallons from 13 taps is great.
Earlier you had posted that your sugar content was low. Obviously what the trees lacked in sugar, they made up for in volume.

You must have busted your tail this season.
Well done!

[Wardner in Tewksbury]

You must be tapping full crown sugar maples with 3-4%. I am in the next town over. I am getting excellent flow and clear sap. No bud swelling. That could last for another week or more with the current weather forecasts.

Maybe the difference has to do with elevation. I'm at around 160' on a hilltop. Don't think Billerica has any land that high.

[halfpint]

Boiled on Thursday and got 1/2 gal of funny tasting syrup. I wouldn't call it bitter but it is a bit off. Got 14 gal of clear sap yesterday off 12 taps. Overall I made 7.25 gal of syrup, with a new evaporator, so I have nothing to compare it to. I will boil again today and see if it is worth collecting, or just pull my taps. I am ready for it to be over, so I can contemplate and build for the next 10-11 months.

HP

[03weim]

we just got a hydrometer for the sap and the buddy sap was just at 2%, we did a lot of boiling this year went through a little over a cord of wood. The trees we tap are in Newton, I don't have any sugar maples close by my house only a red maple and that is also budded out. How has every ones season going?

[sams64]

I was thinking we were done here, but, this cold snap seems to have gotten things going again. Sap is running nice and clear and so I'm going to stay in for one more week and try and get one last big boil next weekend. Buds are still small at most so I'm hopeful we won't have any of the other bitter stuff.

Sam

[Maplesedge]

Still flowing clear here in central MA too. This is the longest season I've seen in the 5 years I've been boiling. Buds still small.

I think one more week too. After that looks like too warm at night.

But who knows? This is the season of surprises.

Still, it has to end sometime. Just not yet.

[SeanD]

Things are still cranking here. We'll be passing the 500 gal. mark on sap with today's collection. We're heading into the last week of March and the forecast looks like more of the same - unbelievable. The reds produced zip this year, but the sugars went crazy. I'm probably going to run out of wood before I run out of sap.

Hey 03weim, where in Newton do you tap? I work there.

Sean