Another new year .....early run potential?

[Tomten]

Hunting is over, a new shack is built and plans for the oven ready to go, but will the tree's ???

A strange winter this year with temps hovering in the freezing range for the last 3 wks. Potential seems to be there based on trends anyway for an earlier thna normal run.

ANybody have any thouthts

[markcasper]

I am planning for an earlier start to the season. Am going to try and focus on actually being ready, rather than having sap on hand and the pans not down as in some years.

There is virtually no frost whatsoever in my woods this year, unlike last where there was 2+ feet of it. So that tells me that when the temps do get above freezing, things are gonna go and the frost won't be a limiting factor in sap flow.

The earliest I ever tapped was Feb 17th and I was boiling 3-4 days later. That was in 02. Most years though, it seems like I never get much sap before March 15th. Unless things change in Febuary, which they very well may, I think it will be an early season. BUT, I have seen March with several days of below zero, so one just has to wait and see a little.
Yes its unusually warm now, but remeber back to the first half of December?, it was much colder than normal and things often balance out in the end.

I checked the 15 day outlook for the days ahead: Warmer next week, close to 40 a few days, but the week after sounds to be real cold, subzero again. Its too early to tap yet here.

[markcasper]

After hearing all of the chatter of people tapping, even in Vermont, I figured I would put a couple sample taps in for myself.

It was only around 30 here today, but sunny for the most part. The snow is all but gone on the south side hills. I tapped 1 sugar maple and 1 red maple with 5/16" spiles. I tapped both on the south, southwest side. I was getting a drop every 4 seconds from the sugar maple and 1 every 23 seconds from the red maple.

The next few days are to be around 45, but then cool off gradually to below freezing day temps by the end of the week.

A little excited, but no one has ever planted a garden outside in March, so why should i be tapping in January. The sun really doesn't have the power to do much yet and often times when it does get this warm in January, it is very windy and trees don't like lots of wind. Mark

[Brad W Wi]

I'm getting the bug to tap as well. The earliest I've tapped was Feb 14. The forcast that I catch is for warmer weather at least for the next 5 days in the upper 30's to 40 for SE Wisc. with sun shine. It's an odd year to say the least. I'm planning on a early year, but I don't want to get my taps out there to early nor do I want to miss the early sap. You can only go day by day. I'll wait till Feb. and then check out the long range forcast. I'll start out with just a few taps to test the water so to speak.

I've got a question guys. If I were to tap some of my trees now, and then we got a wicked freeze up in Feb., would my tapholes close for the season? Sorry for the run on sentence.LOL! This is my situation. My land has more trees than I can tap. I have several reds and sugars that face south and get full sun all day. If they did close up by March, that would be okay. But, can they be re-tapped in March without harm to the tree? I have time now and we have a few warm days ahead.

-Dan

[Packerfan]

That was not a "guest". It was me, Packerfan.

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

If it freezes good, it won't hurt the holes very much. What hurts the holes is the warm weather. :D

[Packerfan]

Thanks Brandon!

[markcasper]

Sample tap update: 1 sugar maple tapped yesterday was running a drop every 2 seconds @3 pm 1-26-06. Red maple, a drop every 8 seconds, same time.

About 1 pint of sap from the sugar and 1 cup from the red. Sugar%, 3.2%from the hard maple, 1.5% from the red maple. About 14 for a low last night and 45 today with strong south winds......raining steady now.

I was boiling my 1 pint and a cup of sap on the stove and ended up with Commercial......and some smoke. It burned up on the stove while i was downstairs on the Trader. The smoke woke the baby up, as well as the wife. See what this Maple Trader has done for me....at least I can say i made syrup in January.. 8)

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

If you call that syrup 8O 8O 8O :lol: :lol: :lol: :wink:

[Packerfan]

Mark, how did it taste?LOL!
Did you do a "drip check" today? Warm and windy down here. I'm going to tap some Sat. and Sun.

[White Barn Farm]

I did the same thing a couple of weeks ago. It wasn't pretty. They say you aren't a syrupman until you've scorched a pan, thank God it was my small pan that I finish off in. It cleaned up real well with my random orbit sander with 150 grit paper. It was a good wake-up for me. Welcome to the club :D

[markcasper]

The syrup on the side of the pan tasted all right, but on the bottom it was &^!@#$%^)(%^&*(#$@%!

I did stop by with my gallon jug and lo and behole the sugar maple had a 1/2 gallon. It did not freeze last night and was about 47 for a high today. It certainly ran during the night as it was only dripping once every 7seconds at 4 pm. The red maple was all but dry, with about a few tablespoons in the bottom. I boiled this on the stove while i was doing other things and i did get about 1/4 cup of nice light amber. The sap from this batch was now down to 2.8%. Mark

[Chemist]

Hi,

I just heard about this site from a man who has a son in the same Pack of Cub Scouts as my son.

I am a small volume tapper near West Bend and I tap about 15 trees every spring. I have had 4 trees tapped all winter this year and have almost a half gallon of very light amber syrup.

Does anyone else do a winter tapping?

[Parker]

Not yet but next year I will

[White Barn Farm]

I tried it this fall. I tapped four trees around the 15th of November and made syrup through out the winter. I may try tapping a different woods next fall for fall tapping only, 100 buckets or so. This year was probably an exeption weather wise but I may try it anyway.
I'll post my results as they happen.

[Russ]

Welcome to the club, Chemist. The Cub Scout camp out this weekend was great; but it would have been better if we could have had 20 scouts collecting sap for us. Your idea of having the scouts visit your sugar bush is a good idea; I still remember visiting one when I was a scout. Got to take home a baby food jar of real syrup. I do recall it was a bit gritty as it was unfiltered, right out of the finishing pan.

Russ.....Cub Scouts collecting sap! 8O You better check state "child labor" laws.LOL!

Mark.......Thanks for the report. I decided NOT to tap this weekend as it was raining down here. 8O 8O 8O Rain in Jan. What next?

[Packerfan]

That was me (Packerfan) again. 8O

[markcasper]

Looks like the cold is on its way back for later in the week. I have not been back to the woods in a few days, but is only 32 here today. I wonder if it ran through all of this rain we got the last few days.

[Packerfan]

It is going to be warm today. 37 with some sun. I wonder how long the cold snap will last. Looks like the real cold weather starts next week.

[Tomten]

A fellow tapper I know gave into temptation and tapped a couple sugars two days ago here near GreenBay and pulled a pint or two over the last two days...

Earliest I've ever gone in has been 2/11 and had a long dry spell in the arly March time frame. I'm gonna grit my teeth and clean my gear until mid-Febuary....come on cold!!!!!!!

PS> great story on 77'

[Chemist]

Thanks Russ. I have 7 buckets out now and have enough buckets and taps now to do 22 this spring. I have little more than half a gallon put up so far.

Will tap the rest after the next warm up

[Pete S]

Yesterday the "boss" and I went to Maywood Park in Sheboygan for "Tappin' Sappin' Saturday". It's held annually there as they have about 90 maples that they tap. During the boil down process, they host about 1400 4th graders who come and visit and learn about this maple sugarin' thing/addiction. They typically hold a pancake breakfast for about 1000 people, but they are under construction of a large addition, and won't be this year.

The group tapped all the trees, with mostly bags and just a few traditional buckets w/ lids. Some of the trees started dripping right away. Several others were frozen on the north sides. They will gather and boil as the situation dictates.
http://www.gomaywood.org/

We are located west of Plymouth about 5 miles, and will plan to tap mid week, and see as the weather gurus are predicting about 35*, then will have time to boil what we get on Sat. From there our boil time availability will be tight, and limited so it's gonna be hopefully a success...........as this is our first attempt!

If anyone reading this post is located nearby, please respond, and let me know what you're up to, as far as tappin'. We're only gonna tap like 8 trees and have a "will see" run at this.

Note: Today gonna "burn off" my homemade evaporator, and boil some water. Woke up to 2.5* now about 13 going up to 30*
So far, not counting time.........spent about $20.00 total.
Thanks!

[Chemist]

I have made precious little syrup this year, but there are little buds on all of my trees already from the warm spell back in January.

Will my run be over already? Last year I made a batch of buddy syrup in April and I don't want to do that again.

I hope these buds don't ruin the run.