Warm temps in Connecticut forecasted next weekend...tapping?

[delta757and767pilot]

I was wondering if I should tap with forecasts in the mid 40's? I need advice from people!!! Helpppp

[killingworthmaple]

Well I was wondering the same thing it is hard to say. Some people say no others are starting. I think I am going to check the long range forcast next Fri. and make up my mind then.
I wish someone on this site was a weatherman or someone new one so we could get some good advise. My understanding is that some kind of high pressure or something like that over Greenland is giving us this unnormal warm weather this winter my question is, is that pattern changing or does it look like it is going to continue for a few more weeks?

Nathan in Killingworth CT

[wcproctor]

Look in the Farmer's Almanac it's calling for smow in Feb. So far it been close this year.

[Cranberry Hill Farm]

Several of the guys I have been talking to in N.E. CT plan on being all tapped in by Feb1. That's about 2 weeks earlier than normal!

[batsofbedlam]

If you were at our association meeting last Saturday, you would have heard that one large producer in E. Connecticut is already making syrup.

[Octo]

I'm a rank beginner. We started last year late in the season and had fun making nearly a gallon of syrup. This year, we hope to have 24 taps, and the first one went in yesterday afternoon. By evening I had collected only a few ounces and decided that it really is too early. This morning at 8:30, that single bucket was full! Wahoo!

[markct]

i am realy thinking of maybe a very early tap date like beggining of feb this year if no big weather changes happen, atleast for my vacuum lines since they usualy flow first anyhow, and with check valve adaptors im not as worried about it if im guessing wrong. I dont think the trees are frozen very hard as its been so mild thus i doubt it will take long to get them flowing as opposed to last year when we had a very cold winter

[Starting Small]

Last year was my first in making syrup and I started the last 2 weeks of March. I ended up making a decent amount. This year it sounds like with the shift in temperatures it could be almost a 1 to 2 month swing. Incredible!

[lafite]

looks like winter is not over yet. I target valentines day each year with a give or take on the long range forecast....I don't think I'll be using my snow shoes this year to get to the trees!!!

[Tanta K]

I start teaching on the 6th of February so will tap a tree or two for show and tell the week before. With this cold, looks like the sap will wait a bit more. I hope it's good and clear as just 2-3 weeks ago some other trees were trying to bud. Tell Charlie I'll be waiting for his visit.

[batsofbedlam]

I plan on starting to tap next Tues. The forecast looks like 40ish days and freezing nights. 1500 taps in 3 sugar bushes should take 4 or 5 days.

[Maple1]

I'm going to start later today here in Bethel. My worry is that the weather is going to jump into the 50's before we know it. The past 2 years we tapped early and this will be the first time we started in Jan.

[markct]

This coming week looks very much like sap weather, i am realy thinking i may start tapping in this week, i spent today trying to button up the last areas of my vac setup, just a few little things left to do then i think i will start up the drills, the week ahead looks perfect, altho i may hold off on the gravity taps as they dont have check valves

[Starting Small]

Would you CT guys only recommend tapping this week if you are on vac or would you recommend with buckets too?

[markct]

hard to say, not sure i would even recomend it on vac but im tempted to take the gamble from seeing the forecast, and the fact that just last week on the warm days the places i had drilled and put in eyebolts in trees were leaking sap makes me think that the time is near, its way earlier than the usual time but this winter hasnt been too usual either

[Mike Van]

Right or wrong, I'll wait 'till the first week in Feb. It's always a crap-shoot, start early, end early?

[batsofbedlam]

This year will be a good test for the check valve fittings. I'm starting to tap tomorrow with 1500 new CV's ready to go. Randy out in Brooklyn has about 3000 taps with CV's and he tapped two weeks ago.

[killingworthmaple]

Does anone know how much sap Randy is getting?

[markct]

i put the manifold on one of my zero tanks and tapped in 15 taps on a small area and just turned on that line, the vac pump is set to come on tommorow at 10 am so i will see if anything flows, still gota rinse out the tank but just kinda experimental still at this point, but if the results are good i will realy be scrambling to get the last little plumbing done and start making syrup! spent the evening in the sugarhouse getting the releaser and tank ready for an area of trees at work im tapping, hope to set that up wednesday

[batsofbedlam]

We put in 700 taps today and the sap is running like crazy. The rest go in tomorrow and Thursday.

[killingworthmaple]

Tapped 70 in as soon as the bit was pulled out of the tree the sap started flowing need to tap 50 more. Looks like a may be boiling tomorrow.

Nathan

[Starting Small]

My evaporator is not coming in for another 2 weeks, (no more block arch for me), should I be concerned about missing a good part of the season? I am getting antsy with todays warm weather, the forecast and the fact it seems like alot of other people are already tapping here in CT! Maybe I just need to relax and have faith in Mother Nature that there will be normal flows in Feb and early March?

[Tanta K]

We have always waited to tap between Feb. 1 and Feb. 14 each year. We hang anywhere from 20-40 buckets depending on our staff's availability. And we use a wood fired 1/2 pint hobby evaporator as we need to show the old fashion way of doing things. Though this year we may string a few lines to show the gravity fed tubing method! We have made anywhere from 7-10 gallons on average. Because we Tap to Teach and the first of hundreds of school students start coming on February 6 we will be tapping on February 3 this year. I think we'll be doing 30 taps this year. One way or another, the sap runs. But putting the taps in too early one year and then having them all freeze, a couple did push out and then we had to reopen some holes, drill some new ones, a real pain. I'm not an expert but each year we have some delicious syrup to sell to our adoring public that helps support the park and with thousands learning about the craft, it's all worth it.

[sirhart1]

Input sugar makers need more input..
Are you tapping? Is sap running? When will it be the best time?
Input more input?????

Thanks all and happy sugaring

[Jec]

Well yesterday we got 61 gallons from 100 taps. So, it was ok. Today there wasn't any. Tommorow we might have a run. When we got 61 gallons the sugar content was ok at 1.5%. So, that means a little more 40:1.

[markct]

i had 50 taps in and got about 30 gallons today, hope to tap in the rest of them by end of the weekend

[sjdoyon]

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[Starting Small]

So is everyone in agreement that now is the best time to tap or should we wait a little longer?

[sirhart1]

well thanks all for the updates. I am hoping by the weekend i'll be up and running.

[killingworthmaple]

Collected 30 gallons from 70 taps today and boiled down a little just sweetened the pans.

Nathan

[dhbiker1]

I tapped all mine yesterday (about 150) after seeing the extended forecast. Although I am disappointed that we never really had a winter this year, now that I tapped i'm hoping any freeze up is not too extended into Feb. Only saw a couple holes get wet yesterday and the majority was not running. However, I tapped a test tree on Mon and have gotten a couple gal from that hole since then. I have to finish hooking up the vacuum and releaser after work today and I am expecting a run maybe through the night enough to rinse the lines and maybe get enough before the weekend freeze to fire the evaporator.

I tap all red maples with super low sugar content and usually bud out faster, and am wondering how the lack of winter will play out with the buds coming out this year.

good luck to everyone.

[paqmom]

Wow! I came to visit and see if anyone was tapping in CT yet. Like a few others, I figured Mother Nature would have the trees holding out until more into Feb. I guess I'd better get the equipment ready and see about tapping this weekend. When you look at the temperature swings for the area, it does look like sugarin' weather instead of winter weather!

Unfortunately, my new evaporation pan won't be ready. I'll have to stick to the old set up, which has served me well, but I was excited about going 'fancy' this year with the new pan.

Thanks for the updates!

[ctjim]

contemplating tapping this weekend atleast some of my taps, but i'm on buckets. i was wondering if anyone w/ buckets tapped yet and how it has been running? the weather forecast for next week looks good, and the extended forecast seems good also.

[DaveB]

I'm interested in how things work out for those that are tapping. I usually tap at the end of February and tapping a month early seems like a lot but I know that larger place up north start tapping about now so they are done in time so it's not unheard of.

FYI, I'm a meteorologist and while the next two weeks look to be warm and perfect, it looks like we could have a week or two after 2/5 that will be cold. Not sure if that we dry out some taps or not, but I thought I would share that.

[delta757and767pilot]

I would wait till feb 4th weekend to tap!! That is the best time, we tried this week but not much luck, I think that will be a perfect time.

[markct]

My taps in Oakville, a section of Watertown, are running decent today, the little dairy releaser is dumping every 8 or 10 minutes off 60 taps

[wkies]

I'm going to stick it out and tap as usual (mid-February). Looks like temps could take a nose dive around February 5th. Call be a traditionalist but I'm not messing with mother nature.

[killingworthmaple]

Did not know we have a weatherman in the house. Any info that you could give us would help us with making up our minds about tapping. Like what is the overall weather patterns going to be in the next month? I do have 70 buckets out and the warm day they are running ok but not great I am hoping that this weekend they will run a little better. Keep you posted.

Nathan

[DaveB]

Did not know we have a weatherman in the house. Any info that you could give us would help us with making up our minds about tapping. Like what is the overall weather patterns going to be in the next month? I do have 70 buckets out and the warm day they are running ok but not great I am hoping that this weekend they will run a little better. Keep you posted.

Nathan

Honestly, it looks like a big pattern change around the 4th or 5th. A storm on 2/3 is going to bring about the change. Most of the long range models are showing a parade of storms which should whiten things up but you never know at that range. It just looks COLD for about week to 10 days after that. If anything, that should get things nice and frozen and ready for some good runs (I think) when it does warm up after that.

[killingworthmaple]

Thank you very much, I would love it if you have the time and could keep us updated though out the season.

Nathan

[DaveB]

Thank you very much, I would love it if you have the time and could keep us updated though out the season.

Nathan

I'm going to try. I come by every once and a while but I've been trying to come by more regularly. I think I'll start a weather thread in the next few days and put updates in there.

Dave

[batsofbedlam]

This year is my 40th year of tapping trees. Early on I was tapping about March 1st, but as global warming changes things, I needed to also change. Suddenly mid-february seemed more normal tapping weather. This year appears to be one without a true winter and as the string of ideal day and night time temperatures occur, I decided to tap the earliest I have ever done so. This past Tues.-Thurs., we put 1400 taps out with CV's. Checking my bio below, you will see that all are on vacuum. The first days run was given back to Mother Nature to flush the lines. Yesterday, I collected 1250 gallons on sap reading 1.7%. Today, I collected an additional 750 gallons with the same sugar. We are making some great syrup.
Time will tell if tapping early was the right move or not.

[Durham Sugarhouse]

Well after agonizing over if I should tap or not, I put in 350 of my 400 taps today. Sap flow was pretty good and sugar was 1.7%. Weather conditions look favorable for another 3 days of sap flow.

Durham Sugarhouse started in 2002 with six taps, aluminum foil pans on the BBQ and finishing the syrup on the stove until the steam blew up the microwave above the stove. For the 2012 season:
- 400 Taps on vacuum
- 2'x 6' Leader evaporator
- Springtech HERO reverse osmosis
- 2011 Season: 62 gallons

[DaveB]

This year is my 40th year of tapping trees. Early on I was tapping about March 1st, but as global warming changes things, I needed to also change. Suddenly mid-february seemed more normal tapping weather. This year appears to be one without a true winter and as the string of ideal day and night time temperatures occur, I decided to tap the earliest I have ever done so. This past Tues.-Thurs., we put 1400 taps out with CV's. Checking my bio below, you will see that all are on vacuum. The first days run was given back to Mother Nature to flush the lines. Yesterday, I collected 1250 gallons on sap reading 1.7%. Today, I collected an additional 750 gallons with the same sugar. We are making some great syrup.
Time will tell if tapping early was the right move or not.

I'm interesting in seeing how your CVs work out this year. I'm personally holding off but I can see why you'd want to tap. If the CVs hold up, you may get a couple of early weeks in before we return to more winter like weather for a couple of weeks. If they hold up, you should be able to make it till the end of March when the season ends. I just don't know what two weeks of potentially frozen (or marginal) weather will do.

One of the reasons I'm holding off is that I'm still clearing out the woods where half of my taps are from the October storm. It's such a mess there. I think I'm going to have more of a limited season because of that and nothing else.

[sirhart1]

ok so i tapped 100 on vacuum yesterday. Started pump around 3:00pm by 7:00 i had 30+ gals....
a good line cleaning and So I'll see what happens today....

Happy Boiling !!!!!!

[Littlesap]

OK, after much debate (mostly with myself), I tapped today. 25" of vac - little leak somewhere but it's getting dark and I'm pooped. I thought I fixed all of the storm damage to the lines but I still managed to spend 2-3 hours just on repair work. Started the pump about 1 and had 20-30 gallons by 4pm which I dumped... my sacrifice to the maple gods... now the rest is for boilin'

[DaveB]

In looking at the latest weekly guidance, I think that it's not going to be as cold as it might have been so tapping last week might have been good timing! I wish I could be tapping but I still have too much debris to clean up from the October storm. I think I'll be tapping a limited number of trees around my normal time of mid-February.

BTW, for those tapping early "because of global warming" all i can do is point toward last year when it was the latest I've ever tapped in 25 years and the season lasted into April which is pretty rare for me. I think each year is different.

[lafite]

I tapped 15 tree's on my CV gravity lines today. the sap was running fast....directly onto the ground. I wasn't fully prepared for this early of a start...

I hope to get everything up and running by Saturday with a potential first boil. Sugar content is 2.5%.

Another 50 degree day tomorrow...I hope the maples don't wake up too soon..

[delta757and767pilot]

I agree, we only have about 96 taps out right now but we got 55 gallons today, tomorrow I have high expectations

[markct]

im a little nervous as the buds on my red maples are swelling it looks like, but sap is crystal clear and syrup tastes good, hope the next few days of cold weather keeps them in check!

[newbee]

I decided to tap as much as I could reach with all the down brush etc...so I got about 25 taps in on buckets. I tapped 4 on sunday just to see, and got a bit so I decide it was time so as to not miss this early run, and tapped the rest tuesday nite and this morning. I noticed that some trees gave a bit yet many gave none when I checked tonight. I also noticed that some gave a bit with a yellow tinge to the sap. I've never tapped this early (second year), but read a bit and some say yes tap early, but other say no, so is the yellow "normal" or "bad"? I also noticed quite a number of moths, and remembered from last year that someone had mentioned that the moths indicated an end to the season. With potential "winter" weather returning are the moths a normal item, and will/are the trees that gave nothing so far likely not to give any? Thanks for any advice!

[Starting Small]

I tapped all of mine today. 25 tubes going into buckets. Nothing really flowing, just too cold today but this week is looking good.