2012 - 220 Maple

[220 maple]

I like Brandon don't get on the message board that often. Been to busy, tonight is the first night since Sunday that the evaporator is down, mainly because of the wind, we did get water today, however the trees ran for about 5 hours before the temp. dropped below freezing, Hope to get another 800 plus taps opened early Monday before the trees thaw. With the temp down in the single numbers Sunday night it should take longer for them to run Monday, which gives me more time to tap more, if I can get them open that will put me over 2000 taps open this year.


Mark 220 Maple

[S Culver]

Mark good to hear from you. Are you getting the bush togethr behind the house? we mostly tapped a few weeks ago and had things shut down on us. Put in another mainline yesterday and started tapping off of it. I will be a little spread out this year but whatever works.

[220 maple]

Sloan, yes I have some trees open behind the Sugar Camp, we should get a big run off of this hard freeze we are having, I'll check in Wed. night and give a progress report. We basically have made nothing but fancy syrup, I'm planning on finishing some down in the next two days, customers are hollowing for syrup, and they have money and they are always right.

Mark 220 Maple

[220 maple]

Near 3 quarters crop, hoping for two more weeks anything beyond that will be a gift from heaven.

Mark 220 Maple

[220 maple]

Last Boil of 2012, Monday Night, Ended season with three milk cans of Grade C. Not buddy, overloaded with bacteria.

Mark 220 Maple

[220 maple]

I usually check Mapletrader every day, I'm amazed that producers in Michigan, Vermont, New Hampshire and other places are reporting that the buds have opened up. I quit almost two weeks ago and have been in the woods as much as I can pulling spiles and flushing lines, but the one thing I have not seen is any buds on my sugar Maples, in fact some of the holes still have water in them. All of the Red Maples are swelled and many have opened up, but the Sugars still have the stems that the seeds was connected to last fall. My theory is the bud needs to swell too push the old stems off when they start making buds, just a guess? Very unusual season to say the least.

Mark 220 Maple

[Edward Howell]

Hi Mark ,

What is the elevation at your woods , we went to pickens a couple weeks ago they are 3400 FT , I am 850 FT here in the (lowlands ) . With this warming trend if you were any father south at this level making syrup might dissapear :(

[220 maple]

Edward,
My elevation range on the trees that I got tapped this year is 1200 to 1600 feet. The crazy thing is the trees still look as if they are not ready to bud yet. I was thinking that I had damaged them with high vacuum but trees that have never been tapped near me have no signs of buds yet either, the Red Maple buds froze last week and have fell off, 10 out of 12 years that they will not seed because of freezing temps.
I'll send you an email when I have some extra time about the progress on our state wide producers meeting, all good news.
Mark 220 Maple

[PerryW]

It has been my experience that the syrup starts tasting buddy before there is any visible change in the sugar maple buds. My sugars are still tight, but the reds have popped. Sap still running out the holes yesterday while I was pulling taps. Last syrup made two days ago was getting definite buddy taste.

[220 maple]

PerryW,
I have been finished for a month now, what I'm seeing is hardly any bud development, I still have trees that have the stems from the seeds they dropped last fall on them, very unusual considering we have had several days in the 70s and a few days in the 80s, with some very warm nights. I don't have a good feeling about it?


Mark 220 Maple

[VA maple guy]

Hi Mark, here is somthing you might find interesting. I have about ten young sugars I have planted in my yard.
The trees I got locally have all opened, and a couple of them have leaves. I brought four saplings
home from my bow hunting trip in Highland county about four or five years ago. All the buds on these trees
are still closed and one tree still hase some of last years leaves on it. I guess theye still think theye are
still in Highland.
Gerry

[220 maple]

Gerry,
I have felt that some trees are genetically predisposed to budding no matter what the weather pattern is,more of a sun angle thing, and from what your telling me about the seedlings from Highland County I feel more confident about my theory. I believe I suggested last fall that we should do a seed exchange, even though I would probably not live long enough to tap the trees from the exchange I think it you be fun to have a tree growing that came from another location in the Maple Sugaring region. The next generation will have fun gathering from a Vermont, Michigan, or even a Canadian tree. Just another crazy Idea from 220 Maple.

Mark 220 Maple