When to stop collecting?

[riley04]

So...a bit of a newbie question. When should I stop collecting sap. We started out small this year with 1 tap. Yes, 1 tap! The goal is 1 quart of syrup, so we figured collect 10-gallons. It turns out that its taking about 50 gal to 1 this year for the local maple folks. No worries though. It's the 1st year with expansion planned for next year! I know they say to stop collecting when the tree buds. Will the sap stop flowing at that point? Could you just go by the weather always staying above freezing instead? Just curious. We have about 12 gallons of sap right now and this week looks primo for some big production days! It's actually kinda good starting this small. You pay attention to every last detail...since you have the time...so we're learning a great deal. We're freezing the sap currently and will start boiling one of these weekends coming up in April. All the advice has been great.

[John c]

When the sap turns cloudy. I also started out with one tap in the beginning, but the next day I was buying more taps and a bunch of line, "i got hooked when i drilled that first hole". Lol! Good luck to ya!

[Southtowns27]

Where in NY are you? Here in Western NY it's been froze up hard for the last week and a half and the trees haven't even thought about budding yet.
Leave your tap(s) in until a)it stops running b)the sap turns into a cloudy snotty yellow mess c)the tree(s) starts to bud out.
I'm anticipating at least another 2 weeks to go here which is very late compared to other years. The weather decides what we do!

[stoweski]

That's great...

You have one more tap and 650 fewer posts than ADK1! :D

Welcome to the club!

My God, I did it again.:lol:

[Flat Lander Sugaring]

That's great...

You have one more tap and 650 fewer posts than ADK1! :D

Welcome to the club!

My God, I did it again.:lol:

http://mapletrader.com/community/sho...t=12130&page=2

[sugar ED]

Where in NY are you? Here in Western NY it's been froze up hard for the last week and a half and the trees haven't even thought about budding yet.
Leave your tap(s) in until a)it stops running b)the sap turns into a cloudy snotty yellow mess c)the tree(s) starts to bud out.
I'm anticipating at least another 2 weeks to go here which is very late compared to other years. The weather decides what we do!

Riley 04 I'm with Southtowns quote, But to add to (c) sometimes ,(a) and (b) don't happen, and when the buds swell up the sap, taste bitter, not sweet .Time to quite if any or all above ....but the (b) may not be the end ,if your contaners (sap)gets to warm/sunny / old or (rain water in it - yellow), three days with temps in high 40' s can turn sap bad, I just wash out the contaners/holding tanks after every draw off of that tank ,exp. when warm out more than three days.I maybe to picky but I do love making light amber syrup!!!! and any milky sap, I dump, some would say comerchel/grade B....whatever, I sad Sh_t and back to Mother earth it gose!! good luck ,ED

[Nancy]

Has anyone ever heard that you should pull your spiles when the buzzards come back?

[lew]

Nancy,

Haven't heard that one, but I have heard to wait until you frost the peepers 3 times, Wait until a certain large pond/lake in your area thaws completely out, etc. In any case these are just tell tale signs that the end is near. For us I saw frogs in a ditch 2 weeks ago when we awere at 60 for 2 days, but we are still sapping (guess we only froze them up once). And the ice on Long Pond is still solid, so it is still go time.

We will make syrup until it is tastes like crap. My money and efforts have already been expended, all I have to do now is gather and boil, the easy part (yeah right).

What ever you do, don't quit boiling because you reach a certain grade. We have made thousands of gallons of syrup over the past 20 years and I have for the life of me not figured out why I can't make light syrup the last 3 years. Usually we make about a third of a crop as light. I have also seen the first run make commercial, with new pans and a new RO (that was a sickening feeling). Make syrup until it tastes like crap. That's why we make syrup, because it tastes good, not looks good (although that is an added appeal).

[PerryW]

Could you just go by the weather always staying above freezing instead?

Sap can turn cloudy or yellow in the middle of the season.

I generally go by the weather and signs from Mother Nature. First off, the small ponds must generally be ice-free before the trees bud. When the poplars start looking like pussy willows, it means the end is near. If there were 3 or four days of 60 degrees in a row and no freeze in sight, I would start cleaning up. And when the peepers start singing, it's over.

[riley04]

Allright guys....a big Thanks! I'll be anxious to talk about any increases in my 1 spile operation. You guys definitely motivate me though....it's been fun so far. I joke with some folks in these parts.....that I only can claim to be a sap collector right now! So in a few weeks, I'll cut my teeth a bit more when we boil.
Just to add comment to a few comments above, I'm located just south of Rochester so yeah, the weather is similar to what Southtowns27 mentioned. I grew up south of Buffalo too....so the weather is only starting to turn now. Gotta tell ya though...the past few days we've had a bumper crop of sap flow (over a gallon both on Wed and Thurs). Thanks again.