Perth Lanark

[Asthepotthickens]

Who thinks we should tap this week?

[daverobitaille]

Hi,
I did yesterday here in Coldwater. The smaller trees are running. I put in 80 taps . Going for a collect in 30 minutes and we will see.
Dave

[govner4]

I put in a few taps today here many were dripping will continue through out the week mostly due to the fact that I'm busy next week so figured if I'm too early
its only a little to early :) temps look like they will be close to being good but a wack of snow due this week as well 30cm ,we need some bloody sun!

[DrewCP]

I'm still not convinced. There are a couple days that look promising but with the snow coming I doubt there will be much of a run for us. Still lots of snow in the bush. Forecast look better the week of Mar 4-10 but still only seeing highs of 1-2*. I will most likely not tap until Mar 8-9. If something changes in the forecast we can easily tap our 50-75 in an afternoon.

FYI: I am between Perth and Carleton Place.

[Asthepotthickens]

Is Coldwater not up by Peterborough? Further south.

[longbeard]

Nope - Coldwater is about between Barrie and Parry Sound on Geo. Bay (almost).

I am holding off for at least another week since the weather forecast isn't good at all until mid March - hope they are wrong!!!

[Asthepotthickens]

So I bit the bullet and put in 75 taps yesterday. Sap was flowing should run well today

[ennismaple]

Asthepotthickens - Where are you located? We're on Bennett Lake.

[Asthepotthickens]

Not far from you, Otty Lake

[DrewCP]

The 2 week forecast just keeps getting colder and colder. Looks like we may be headed for a traditional timed season which is awesome for me because I booked off the 3rd week of March to boil. It will be interesting to see how much snow we get in tooday's storm and how much further it delays us. Big fat flakes right now. Might have to take a trip to Covell's in Rideau Ferry to see if they have any new supplies that I can't live without.

[Farrellfarm]

We tapped in 700 on Sunday using CVs and vacuum. Although we haven't had the time to walk the lines and fix all the vacuum leaks (we're only pulling about 15") we have pulled in around 700 gallons of sap on Monday and Tuesday. We will boil it off tonight and wait for the cold weather to pass. The advantage with CVs is that we can tap earlier and still get the late runs. If you're on buckets you're probably better to wait until this cold snap passes.

We're south of Perth, between Perth and Westport.

[Asthepotthickens]

Made two gallons today, never worked so hard fitting elements but the syrup turned out #1. Beauty

[DrewCP]

Made two gallons today, never worked so hard fitting elements but the syrup turned out #1. Beauty

Nice! What was your ratio?

[Asthepotthickens]

Very close to 37 to 1.

[Asthepotthickens]

Best weekend ever for our small operation, made seven gallons of syrup. Too bad the sap stopped running today nice and warm but it did not freeze last night. Question if we head into a cold week after two warm days and nights, will the sap start to run again?

[DrewCP]

Best weekend ever for our small operation, made seven gallons of syrup. Too bad the sap stopped running today nice and warm but it did not freeze last night. Question if we head into a cold week after two warm days and nights, will the sap start to run again?

Good on you! We are struggling to get sap. Added an extra 15 buckets yesterday to bring us up to 65. In a week we have around 100gal. On the plus side it is all around 3.25%. Still 2+ feet of snow in our bush. I hope that is causing our delayed start. No matter what we will boil on Saturday. Hope to get a little more sap to run but the forecast looks poor.
In response to your question, it is my understanding and experience that yes, the trees will cycle again when we get warm again.

[ennismaple]

The pumps have run for 24 hours since we last gathered and we'll only have 500 or 600 gallons to boil today. Yesterday's syrup was a 31:1 ratio and since I recirculated sap through the RO for a bit before filling the head tank I made 48 gallons of syrup with only 3 hours between first full fire until last fire!

Things haven't really loosened up yet. There's still a lot of snow in our woods, especially on the north facing slopes.

[Asthepotthickens]

One ingredient missing to make syrup, SAP.

[DrewCP]

I hear you. A week of sub zero day / night temps on the way. I have no idea what to expect a week from now..........

[Silverhand]

Nice to see some locals on here. This is my first year tapping our trees. I decided to start with 10 buckets, but I can see things expanding a bit next year :D. We're in Scotch Corners.

[Asthepotthickens]

Nice to see some locals on here. This is my first year tapping our trees. I decided to start with 10 buckets, but I can see things expanding a bit next year :D. We're in Scotch Corners.
Good luck neighbor.

[DrewCP]

Nice to see some locals on here. This is my first year tapping our trees. I decided to start with 10 buckets, but I can see things expanding a bit next year :D. We're in Scotch Corners.

Welcome Silverhand,

I grew up in Scotch Corners. It is at my parents house that we tap and boil. (near the end of the pavement). I noticed someone setting up a block arch in their driveway yesterday morning....... Scotch Corners / Ebbs Bay area..... That you? Sap started to run for us again on the weekend. Should be a good week.

[Silverhand]

I'm at 739, setup behind the house. Just have a turkey fryer right now, although with the flow picking up, it can't keep up with my 10 buckets. I will need to work on a better solution for next year.

Are there any local suppliers of equipment and supplies I should know about? I picked up my taps and buckets from TSC in Smiths Falls.

[DrewCP]

Cool. I know the place. My parents are at 504. Around a km away.

If you are willing to drive to TSC in Smiths Falls then I would highly reccomend a trip to Covell Building Supply in Rideau Ferry. They have a whole back room full of syrup stuff. Everything you need is there. I know they currently have stock of 2gal galv buckets for $3 and 2gal allum for $5.25. Spiles, lids, testing, filtration...... you can even buy pans.
Sap is running well the past couple of days. Around a gallon / tree / day.

Looks like we will have a long weekend of boiling ahead of us. Will be there Sat/Sun at least. Feel free to drop in. If you see a gold Ranger with a grey cap then I am there. We are setup in front of the barn. Can't miss us. Follow the steam.

Drew Leger

[Silverhand]

Thanks. I'll make a trip out to Covell's and see what they have. At the very least I need some filters. I will probably stop by over the weekend to see your setup.

Chris

[ennismaple]

Thanks. I'll make a trip out to Covell's and see what they have. At the very least I need some filters. I will probably stop by over the weekend to see your setup.

Chris

Chris,

Springdale Farms (the Dodds family) may be closer to you and I doubt anyone within an hour's drive has more maple stuff in stock. They're on Galbraith Road near Clayton.

[Silverhand]

Thanks. I'll check them out as well.

[Asthepotthickens]

Although Covell's have been good to me I will go check out Springdale Farms thanks for the heads up



Chris,

Springdale Farms (the Dodds family) may be closer to you and I doubt anyone within an hour's drive has more maple stuff in stock. They're on Galbraith Road near Clayton.

[ennismaple]

Ask for Don, Marion or Stephen. They are great, honest people who love maple and are always willing to help out.

613-256-4045

[Asthepotthickens]

Well it's tap pulling time for us today, time to get busy in the lawn and garden business so sap season comes to a close after our best year to date. Talk to you next year have a good one.

[4045chad]

Wow finally!!! After 3 weeks of marginal runs yesterday all buckets where full or near full. Checked buckets again this morning at 6am buckets that were emptied last night at 6pm are near full again. With the weather predictions for the weekend might get 1 or 2 more good runs then probably pull the pails on Sunday.

[Asthepotthickens]

Ask for Don, Marion or Stephen. They are great, honest people who love maple and are always willing to help out.

613-256-4045

Had a visit with Steven today nice place, good products real nice sugar operation

[ennismaple]

Good to hear. If you need it they either have it in stock or will get it for you.