Shortest Season YOU ever remember ???

[TerryEspo]

I am just wondering what some folks remember to be their shortest season ever. Has anyone ever had only a few days to tap and then the season was over ??

Has Mother Nature ever "skunked" a certain area and nobody ever got sap ?

It will be interesting to see what everyone has to say.

Thank-you.

Terry

[wnybassman]

Two years ago was the shortest in my syruping memory. I tapped a week earlier than normal because I saw mediocre temps for the upcoming week. It only made the mid to upper 30's that week, but the sap flowed like no tomorrow. The following week the temps rose and then we hit March, where it only went below freezing TWICE that whole month. I basically made 4 gallons that year in a week and a half, and then that was it.

[DonMcJr]

This year is my shortest year cause it's my first! LOL

I do remember the Spring of 2010... First Spring at this house and I was chainsawing logs out of my creek and sweating my ash off... Did many things outside that Spring that usually wouldn't get done til May.

My 1st year has been pretty good...Close to 90 Gallons of Sap from mostly 2 Trees and 5 taps.

[mike z]

That's an easy one; T O D A Y. I finished tapping today, and may have enough for one partial boil tomorrow. The temps are supposed to be 60s all week with no freezing at night. I think today was it - season over.

[jmayerl]

Last season was normal for our area, but bad for me. We got about 7 gal/sap average per tap. This year is the worst in my 4 years 800 taps, 2 runs, 20 gallons of syrup. Rinse I'm swamped today and have to sell sap since it will be almost 700 the next 2 days. Not even st pattys yet, thats normally when we tap.

[lew]

Can't remember the exact year, but it was the late '80's. We had our first ather on March 17 and it was all over by March 29. We sold all our sap back the off of 6-7,000 taps. As I remember we made 38% of a crop, which, by the way we used to figure things, means we made only 3.8 gallons of sap per tap. my mnemory isn't the greatest, but bad years like that get burned into your memory. this year our first gather was Feb. 22 and our last MAY be some day this week. We didn't have vacuum back then, what a difference that makes. Even with the low sugar content we make at least a quart per tap. 1/2 crop by todays vacuum standards.

[tuckermtn]

Our first year, 2005, was only two weeks. Hard to say if it was the season on the lack of experience on our part of knowing when to tap.

[red maples]

2009...my first season...I was all set ready to go tapped early everything was running great for my first year, then we got the wind storm, and awful rain combined with beavers blocking the cuvlverts flooded out my yard tanks were floating, wood floated all though the swap I had to go out and coral the log length wood and wedge water was less than 1 inch from coming into the sugarhouse. which is 4-5 feet about the normal level. that combined with tapping reds which needs vacuum to run hard and with no power for 5 days because the stupid UNITIL saw my house with lights on but when your house is 400 feet from the road you can't hear the generator over a car radio!!!!!!!!!! then it warmed up and it was done made less than 25 gallons!!! was very disapointed to say the least!!!

[PerryW]

2012 is my 24th year at this location:

shortest season was 1993. First syrup on March 27 last syrup on April 8 - TOTAL 90 gallons
worst year was 1998 first syrup on march 9 last syrup on march 31 - Total 72 Gallons
best year was 1996, first syrup mar 14 last syrup april 16 - total 201 gallons

[markcasper]

1986 - BAD YEAR...

2005 - BAD, BAD year (in Wisconsin, some mentioned the worst in 100 years)

2010 - Shortest season, but pretty good yield

2012 - if its over this week, (worst year in 1,000 years)

[SilverLeaf]

This one's easy...... 2012!

Looks like I'm done now and will need to close up shop for the year. Close to half my taps stayed bone dry, and the rest didn't give much. If I average it out I got 1/5 gallon of sap per tap total. I've only been doing this for a few years, but in 2009 I made 4 times as much syrup as I did this year; and that year I only had 15 taps!!!

[emo]

2010 - February never got above freezing. March started,sap ran for 1 1/2 weeks, then never went below freezing. Still got about 2 gallons of syrup.

2012 - Longer overall season, but not enough cold nights below freezing. Same taps as 2010, but only made 1 1/2 gallons of syrup.

[Prezidint]

This is our 5th year.
5 years ago was great.
4, 3, and 2 years ago were all ok.
This year was very short, with, maybe 3 sets of runs. That is, 3 multi-day periods of good sap run.
I saw some guys tapping on January 31st this year - first time I've seen taps out in January.
February didn't seem like it had good running weather, and I tapped in mid to late February.
Got 3 good sets of runs, 3 boils total, 4 gallons, give or take.
Pulled in buckets a week or more ago.
So, few runs, but decent production - last year was more runs, same total. Much prefer fewer/bigger than more/lighter.
It's March 12th, and the 10 day has the coldest night at 39 degrees and the warmest day in the high 60s. So we're done. Even if we had a few freezing nights left, I'd be done, because 1. I hate boiling when it's sunny and warm out - time to move on to other things when I'm in a t-shirt. and 2. The buds are pushing hard right now - one week of temps in the 60s and the sap will turn.

[KZecher]

this season has been a run of the mill season.. started tapping on feb 8-12 with the sugar content 1.9 one week later sugar content 2.4- 2.6 beautiful fancy taste color everything you want... boiling for the last time today gathered about 5000 gallons yesterday of sap with a content of 1.6 and making dark, grade B... if that says anything sugar content was awesome and season was satisfactory... last night we went over last years goal of 1010, right know we are sitting at 1075, after tonight i would like to be almost to 1200.. come on baby one more day!!! it has been another race to make the liquid gold season 2012