Clarkfield Farms
04-16-2013, 09:46 AM
hah... all kidding aside, I can't help but wonder about these maples of mine or perhaps the conditions causing them to be this way. Maybe it's a combination of all things. Anyways, last year, after everyone else's maples had dried up or gone buddy, mine were still pouring sap. Good, clean, sweet sap. For a LONG while after; in fact, it was almost 3 weeks after virtually everyone told me it was too little to haul, they'd need at least 300 gallons to justify starting things up again. I'd get about 200-275 over two days, but last year's record warmth hurt the keeping quality of the sap. I pulled the taps, rinsed the tubing (about a 1,600' line of 5/8" tubing, pretty crazy steep slope giving nice natural vacuum) and still the holes in the trees were running sap. I had no way of processing that much sap, hence my selling it.
This year? Ohhhh..... hurts even worse, on top of the ongoing issues with the Town and the building permit standoff. Once again, selling the sap because no sugarhouse (YET) or a way to process that much sap. It's now about 2 weeks after (I think, as far as I've heard) everyone else's sap dried up, and that line of maples is still flowing. Since -- maybe April 13th?, and as of this morning, over 300 gallons more good sap in the tank. Dumped about 150 gallons on the 13th or so. Not enough to make it worthwhile to fire up RO's or evaporators. The roadside trees pretty much have dried up, but the hill is still flowing.
450 gallons of sap would make a nice batch of syrup. Too bad it wasn't all at once.
And there are only 41 taps on that hill line.
Even the few trees here at my house, about nine miles distant and roughly 700' lower elevation, dried up about 2-1/2 weeks ago, even though they were tapped almost a week later than the hill. And that's another thing, when I was checking the tubing back in February, wherever there was a freshly broken limb on the maples, the sap was running out pretty strong. They were probably ready long before I was.
And it's still coming strong. I expect today I'll empty the tank and pull the taps, clean the lines and the tank. But the sap will still keep flowing, maybe for another week or more.
Anyways, maybe it's the trees. Maybe it's the elevation, maybe the slope, maybe the natural vacuum. Maybe none of it, maybe all of it. One thing I do know: It ain't 'cuz of me. :)
"Magic Maple." Unless already taken as a name -- DIBS!!!! mine!mine!mine!allmine!!! :lol:
This year? Ohhhh..... hurts even worse, on top of the ongoing issues with the Town and the building permit standoff. Once again, selling the sap because no sugarhouse (YET) or a way to process that much sap. It's now about 2 weeks after (I think, as far as I've heard) everyone else's sap dried up, and that line of maples is still flowing. Since -- maybe April 13th?, and as of this morning, over 300 gallons more good sap in the tank. Dumped about 150 gallons on the 13th or so. Not enough to make it worthwhile to fire up RO's or evaporators. The roadside trees pretty much have dried up, but the hill is still flowing.
450 gallons of sap would make a nice batch of syrup. Too bad it wasn't all at once.
And there are only 41 taps on that hill line.
Even the few trees here at my house, about nine miles distant and roughly 700' lower elevation, dried up about 2-1/2 weeks ago, even though they were tapped almost a week later than the hill. And that's another thing, when I was checking the tubing back in February, wherever there was a freshly broken limb on the maples, the sap was running out pretty strong. They were probably ready long before I was.
And it's still coming strong. I expect today I'll empty the tank and pull the taps, clean the lines and the tank. But the sap will still keep flowing, maybe for another week or more.
Anyways, maybe it's the trees. Maybe it's the elevation, maybe the slope, maybe the natural vacuum. Maybe none of it, maybe all of it. One thing I do know: It ain't 'cuz of me. :)
"Magic Maple." Unless already taken as a name -- DIBS!!!! mine!mine!mine!allmine!!! :lol: