Saw my first buds today.

[sawyerkirk]

My Maples have started budding, should I pull my taps? I haven't gotten as much syrup made as I had hoped, but I don't want a bunch of nasty tasting syrup

[JohnM]

If you are tapped in sugar maples you should have some more time.

Listen for the peepers. They usually tell me when I'm done.

[maplemonkey68]

The peepers?

[ahowes]

I heard peepers this past weekend, but got good sap. Hopefully, the peepers are just disoriented due to the unseasonable weather and that usually accurate rule is wrong this year!

[happy thoughts]

The peepers?

They're little frogs that start to chirp when the weather turns warm in the spring. If you hear one you'll hear a thousand usually coming from a wet spot. They're common here in the NE. You may have them too in MI, though you may call them something different.

[Dennis H.]

I find with my reds that once the buds start to swell the end is near.
The sap also starts to get cloudy and have a slight yellowish color when the buds are getting large.
At that point you have to decide how much grade B and commercial grade you want to make.

[SeanD]

I was at my in-laws' yesterday and was stunned to see the sugar maples in their front yard were all fully budded out. Every branch had fat red clusters popping out. Their trees are sheltered by the house and face SE, so I'm sure that helped. Mine haven't swelled too much yet, but I can't help think time is almost up.

Sawyerkirk, don't pull your taps yet. Just make a bucket by bucket decision when you collect. If it looks too yellow or if it smells, toss it and hang it back up. If it's a little yellow, but tastes okay, you might want to keep it. The next bucket you get to could be crystal clear. The trees never go all at once and more than once, I've gotten yellow sap from a tap, but a cold snap gets it running clear again for a couple days.

Sean

[sawyerkirk]

Definately heard the peepers, some of my buckets were pee colored, not much sap the past few days, I've still got a couple hundred gallons to boil down, so I should end up with enough. I have noticed I have alot more sediment this year, oddly enough I am filtering alot more than last year not real sure whats happening there.

[Logan Cabin]

Saw silvers that were budded out a couple of days ago. Haven't taken a close look at the sugars, hope we can get one last run with the cold snap the next couple of nights. Predicting a couple of days up to 60 next week, that may do it for here in Bloomington.

[PerryW]

I would not use sap color, smell or cloudiness to determine when to pull taps. Often times, a warm spell will give you cloudy, yellow sap but a cold stretch will bring the sap back to normal. I have also seen crystal-clear sap make buddy syrup.

If you want to check for buddy sap, just take a quart of sap and bring it to a boil on the kitchen stove. The steam from the sap will have a distinctive bitter smell.

[Indiana-Jones]

The sugar maples all seem to be dormant here in W. Terre Haute. The soft maples are starting to get some red to their appearance, but I don't see anything that looks like the end yet. I'm hoping that these cold temps the next couple of days might make for one more run at the least.

I went around Thursday and dumped the buckets and bags of the buggy sap, getting ready for what mother nature thinks that I have coming to me. If there is a government program for controlling moths by drowning them in sap please let me know where to sign up. Keeping the the bugs out alone are enough to make me want to put in tubing, not even factoring in the convenience.

We have about 200 gallons to boil today. Tomorrow we plan to bottle today's and last weekend syrup and see if this is the end of 2012. This has been one unusual season.

I bought a cheap refractometer, from the interweb and our sap has been 2.25%

[ahowes]

It was an OK run yesterday, the sap was very clear thanks to the 23 degree night. But, as has been the problem all season, the quantity is pathetic and the length of time the sap runs is minimal. I've made about 12 gallons compared to last year's 4.5. Since I had four times as many taps, I should have made much more, even with the smaller 5/16 spiles.
Oh well. Such is living on the southern edge of the sugar belt.

[sawyerkirk]

So, I go out this morning expecting full buckets, but 75% of them were empty, those that did have some looked good, clear with about 2 gallons each, I'm wondering why that was.

[Indiana-Jones]

I waited two days to collect this run. Too busy Sunday bottling to collect. We had a few bags and buckets overflowing, but some not so much. Some of our trees have been tapped for a month and I think that they are starting to dry up. I have maybe 125 gallons to be boiled, would like to get a 100 more to make what looks to be the final run.

I'm all ready hoping that the weather next year is "normal".

Good luck.

[ahowes]

All done here, I believe.

[TerryEspo]

Buds ???? All I see in Norhtern Ontario is snowbanks and frozen taps !!

Hopeing next week the weather breaks and the day temps. get above freezing.

Terry

[Indiana-Jones]

Do you think that we load everything up on a trailer and head north? Surly there is a State park up there some where that wouldn't mind us moving in for a couple of weeks. Ha ha

After the warm temps of the last couple of days, even if it cools off I think that I need to wash all of the buckets and change the bags for new.


All done here, I believe.

[ahowes]

I hear peepers, all the other trees are budding. Heck, I've even seen tomatoes ready to be picked. I think I got 12 gallons made; should have been much more in a normal year, but at least I have enough to satisfy my family's addiction and even give some away. Time to clean everything up...............

[sawyerkirk]

So, I have about 3" of concentrated (close to being syrup) in the pan, I had to go out of town last thursday, so it has been setting there since then, any chance it's still good, should I cook it on down and see what happens? I guess I just answered my own question. We actually had plastic spiles broke off in the woods from the hail Friday.

[Indiana-Jones]

So, I have about 3" of concentrated (close to being syrup) in the pan, I had to go out of town last thursday, so it has been setting there since then, any chance it's still good, should I cook it on down and see what happens? I guess I just answered my own question. We actually had plastic spiles broke off in the woods from the hail Friday.

If it is Thursday March 1st you are talking about I think your are good. I boiled yesterday in sweet that had been setting for a week. It turned out OK.

We had marble sized hail. No damage TH.

Anybody down south here thinking of one more run? I had a low of 24 here last night. I'm going around this AM getting buckets and bags ready, washing tanks and such. We will wait and see.

[ahowes]

I was going to take sap the last two days, but then I saw buds starting on the trees. I pulled all the taps yesterday.

[HAHA I 1]

We pulled our taps a week ago. We only had 20 that were giving us anything, and those were the ones we tapped late. The remaining 100 or so were dry. It was a sad year for us - wayyyyy too warm. Here is what I am thinking about doing next year: starting early like I normally do to catch that late-January sap run, but use a 1/4" or 5/16" tap. Then when we get that inevitable warm spell and the taps dry up, I will re-drill the same hole for a 7/16" tap and have at it again. I have heard mixed reviews, and most folks agree that it would not bring me back to the tree's full potential sap run as if I would have tapped later, but will be an improvement over nothing. Thoughts?

[ahowes]

I'm just a novice, but sounds good to me. I will just move my early taps to other trees when they slow down since I have more trees available than I have time to boil for.

[sawyerkirk]

Finished up for the year. Definately didn't end up wiith as much syrup as I had hoped, but still happy with the year over all. My new pan worked well, next year I'm going to add another just like it. Bought some 5/16 taps, like them, I will get some more before next year. Tried making my own taps using metal conduit, worked OK, lot of work, probably won't do that again. built my sap trailer, complete with pump and filter, worked really well. Goals for next year build another pan stockpile more dry wood. Build a finishing stove/pan. Build a filter/bottler. Build better bridges in the woods. sounds like I better get busy. See ya next winter. Kirk

[Indiana-Jones]

I still have a little going on. Yesterday I had a small run from the cool weekend weather. Put about 75 gallons of sap in the tank last night. I plan to head home from work today and see if there is any more. I have been keeping things cool by freezing sap and making sapburgs. I don't think I can keep it till the weekend, so I may boil tomorrow and that will be it.

It seems that this season has been long and in slow motion. I think that I will be happy to see it go. If all of this works out I will be 50% short of what I was shooting for this year. I had my hopes for 25 gallons and I maybe I will get 11 or 12. I had about 90 taps one time or another this year.

There is always next year.

[Indiana-Jones]

Well tonight is it for me. Boiled the last 80 gallons down, pulled off all of the sweet we could get and flooded with water and vinegar.

Just as we were picking up some of our mess the peepers started.

Plan to bottle and finish cleanup this weekend.

Hoping that everyone enjoyed this warm winter, but please don't criticize me for wishing next year is a bit colder.