Effect of this warm weather??????????

[Brad W Wi]

The weather forecast of 50's+ days and mid to upper 30's nights. I'm wondering how this will effect the flow. I've only been doing this 15 or so years and haven't run into weather like this before. What will happen to tapping???

[wnybassman]

It will stop the flow here. It will run good today, halfway decent tonight and tomorrow, then after that dwindle to nothing. At that point I have two choices, clean everything up real good for a POSSIBLE next run, which may or may not happen, or clean everything real good to put away. I only like cleaning everything up real good once a year. lol

[Brad W Wi]

Thanks wnybassman. Anyone else with ideas???

[cur dog]

I'm packing it in after todays run. No more freezing nights in the 10 day forcast, and my sap is getting quite cloudy anyhow.

[slammer3364]

We cleaned everything up today,quick season pretty sucessful but we had a great time with alot of work.Ready to roll for next year

[sticky face]

Accuweather long range looks like things could change for the better after around march 21st. Hope they are right! I have been on the fence
but maybe i will tap next weekend if that forecast holds up. Brad did you tap this weekend? How much has all that snow settled?

[green4310]

I'm done, switching over to clean-up mode.

[sbingham]

Brad - I'm just south of you in Tony.
Not sure what to do here either, the middle of next week in the "forecast" looks like it may get cooler again.
Any residual sap in the bags after yesterday will surely sour in the temps forecast for our area.
Should a guy make the rounds and try and rinse the bags out with fresh water and wait it out?
Anyone else have any thoughts?
Thanks

[Jeff E]

Here in NW Wisconsin, we usually can get sap into April. If you have already tapped, I would collect sap tomorrow, cook it down and wait out the warm spell. If it stays warm to long, the trees will start making buddy sap, that is what makes me quit.
If you havent tapped, your the smart one. When the next cool down comes, be tapped and ready. We still have a month+ of potential syrup season.

[Rhino]

Jeff, we are still holding tough and not tapping, the reports im getting are very poor sugar content in the little amount of sap people are getting, but it is nice clear looking sap. 1.7 and 1.8 i heard from 2 diff. people and that their woods are 64 miles apart. Accuweather does have a cool down after this weekend but this morning 2 local weather men stuck their necks out and said warmth goes thru next week to. Who to trust right?? Snow really took the beat last night with the rain. A buddy of mine did put 15 bags out on Saturday and he is only 1 mile away from me so thats a true test what my trees are probably doing, the results on Sunday were 9 bags completely empty and 5 gallons total from the other 6 bags. (YAWN). Wouldn't pay to dirty the equipment.

[dshansen]

In the St.Croix Valley, near Taylors Falls, MN its the same story. Some have tapped, others not. I have tapped 4 trees, 10 buckets and got nothing. Buckets dry. If we do not get a cool down in the forecast by next weekend, the 77 degree Saturday coming up will put the trees in "bud" and then its Game Over. So much for the 2012 season..

[markcasper]

Yesterdays sap was 2.7%, just average, I was hoping it would be much higher considering the year. It is true the smart ones were the ones that did not tap. I have only tapped my one woods on vacuum, and one guy that hauls in to me has tapped who also has vacuum, everybody else, told them NO......

Considering the warm "winter" we all had, I am not very optomistic about there being quality syrup if it does cool down 10 days out.

[Brad W Wi]

I'm holding out for more sap. I'm old and to stubborn to give in yet. I've got 250 taps out and am holding on to the other 150 till hopfuly it gets back to normal. I did collect about 180 gals of sap and boiled it off this A.M. STICKYFACE I sent you a PM

[mike z]

I think by mid week all our questions will be answered, as they will be more accurately able to give us early next weeks forecast. As I was complaining to my wife about the season, with all the work put in for just a few gallons, (sap barely at 2%) she reminded me it was just a hobby. Guess she's right, but it still S U C K S.

[Prezidint]

Here in Erie, PA, I've already seen one red maple popping open flowers. Earliest I've ever seen it in all my years. We pulled buckets over a week ago - don't like boiling in warm weather, and not worth the effort if the syrup isn't good.

BTW - my sugar content was terrible this year (1.8ish versus 2.2 usual).

[79Binder]

Central wi. taped wensday and thurs. 1050 bags out. Collected 150 gallons sap on friday, 550 monday. Still frozen ground in the woodlot, so we are hopefull that the trees will not bud. We are praying for a cool down to extend the season.

[Jeff E]

79Binder, I hear you! The ground is frozen here as well, with snow still covering about 60% of the ground. I would bet that will change by the end of the day tomorrow. One positive, that will allow the moisture to get into the ground so the trees have something to work with.
That is what us sappers usually are, OPTIMISTIC!
I have 2500 taps in on vacuum, and sweetened the pans on Sunday, and pulling off 6 gallons of syrup. Any sap now will push that sweetened sap out of the evaporator as syrup really quick. With the vacuum real tight (I have had plenty of time in the woods, not the sugar house:rolleyes:) at 25", I pulled in just 500 gallons in the last 36 hours. That is poor...

So, as the optimist, here is what I see: The ground is frozen, so trees will be slow to bud out for a while yet. We get through this warm stretch, and it rains as the cool front hits. Moisture goes into the ground. Low pressure triggers a big run on the first 3 days of the cool down, and it continues with moderate sap until the 2nd week of April when the sap gets buddy, and we have had enough anyway.
IT COULD HAPPEN!

As PATheron would put it, you really have to WAAANNT IT!