early reds

[Daren]

Hey all....I posted on the tapping vermont section a question about my possible pending disaster....reds that have budded! I dont want to double post, but being that many of you with lots of experience do not live in VT. and as such might not look there, I wanted to get some input.

I took a walk yesterday and saw a few of trees I usually tap have some open buds on them. My trees are mostly reds, but they are in mixed hardwood and hemlock forest, so they tend to run quite a while before budding out. Unfortunately, the two weeks of warm weather in January must have put a couple of them over the top. It has since gotten much colder with several nights below freezing. Am I out of luck on tapping the early budders, or will the return of cold weather set the clock back on the sap. Further, will the opened buds freeze and die resulting in a possible problem with leaving out and "sweetening up" for next season as well?

Any input from the brain trusts on the trader is greatly appreciated. Sorry about being long winded. (wife says I always run my mouth anyway...... :oops: )

[Daren]

sorry...previous post should have stated "below zero", not several nights below freezing. Highs have been in 20's. :oops:

[markcasper]

Daren, Reds are kind of hard to figure out! I have some that have big buds on every year, whether its warm prior to the season or not. I have a big silver maple in the yard and the buds really look explosive. A few years ago it began to look like this in early April and figured I'd quit collecting them. I had a lull, so I took the sap from it and boiled it on the stove. I was very surprised that the syrup was very good, not one bit buddy. Looking at the buds however, I thought sure it'd be crap.

Back in 2000 I started fairly early, having the first boil around Feb. 28th. It got really warm the following week, I thought it was May. It was in the upper 70's for 3-4 days. Lo and behold it returned to freezing at night and the syrup after this had a off flavor, not bad buddy, but definately a touch of bud. A few days later it turned very cold, down to nearly zero for a few nights. After the weather returned that favors sap flow, I had some of the best tasting syrup ever. The cold spell clearly knocked the bud taste out. Unfortuanately we only had a few good runs after that and it was over. So in my opinion, yes the cold weather should stunt things and I wouldn't think it would hurt the trees, they are pretty hardy things. Mark

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

Tap them, you'll be fine. Just to be safe, sample some of the sap out of 1 or 2 of them from time to time! :D

[brookledge]

Even if thebuds did open and where damaged by the cold.the treee will send new leaves out although it may take time. Same thing goes when pest defoliate trees they try to refoliate. Some times if a tree is in distress it won't make it though
Keith

[Daren]

Hey Brandon, when you say sample....do you mean take a sip? Does the sap itself taste bad if it is buddy? I have never tasted that "buddy" flavor and am not sure that I would be able to identify it. :?

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

It should have a different or bitter or sorta "off" flavor. :?

[maplehound]

if you make syrup from it there will be no doubt in your mind if it is bitter. Made some my first year. Half way throgh the batch I could smell it and tast it, so I told the neighbor lady (who was helping by finishing it off in her kitchen) that it was bitter tasting and she decided to finish it anyway. She won't do that again. took her a month to get the bad smell out of her kitchen and every thing she made tasted bad.
Ron

[maplehound]

No it won't allways be that bad but it wil have a definit tast to it.
Ron

[Daren]

Thanks for the info.....Looks like a week of nasty cold.....just what I was looking for. The 10 day does not make it to 30's for the highs with most nights in the teens! Yahoo....next time were over the freezing mark....taps go in!!! MAN THIS WAITING STUFF SUCKS! :twisted: