Test tap

[Jebediah]

Tapped one medium-size red maple yesterday, it is running today...

[jmayerl]

Then get off the computer and start drilling!

[Jebediah]

That's the plan this afternoon!

[SeanD]

Where in Mass are you, Jeb?

[Jebediah]

Sudbury--I think we've been in touch before re firewood and I've appreciated the good advice. Tapped 20 today, seem to be running well, I guess time will tell. 3% if I'm using my shiny new refractometer correctly.

[eustis22]

Holy God....ALREADY?????

[Mattbchillin]

3% that great!!! We did 4 test trees. 1 gave us a gallon yesterday and its already half full. The other 3 gave us about half gallon. We tapped 9-12 a year, enough to get us a years supply and some for family and neighbors. This is the earliest we have tapped. We are on buckets in Southwick.

Hopefully the season is off to a good start and continues being great!!!

[Jebediah]

Pretty spotty, no sap Sunday, limited sap today. On the other hand, last year at normal time these trees were pretty marginal. So maybe the jury's still out. Regardless, good to be outside.

[Maplesedge]

Reds are spotty anyway, aren't they? And it's early yet, the ground and roots are still pretty cold. This year is like 2012, you might get some early sap, but the holes will dry up as it freezes again, maybe skin over and you'll have to ream them out again later. But it's fun if you're doing small batches. Mid-late Feb is when it really started in 2012, I'm expecting the same here this year, but ya never know which way that polar vortex is gonna go.

[eustis22]

Ima gonna need more wood :)

[spud]

Ima gonna need more wood :)

I siding on your neighbors house will work just fine.:lol:

Spud

[foursapsyrup1]

Though the weather is tempting us to get moving, we're going to wait until @ Feb 10th to tap. Hope we don't miss anything. Still lots to do.

[eustis22]

We need Snow

and.....

MORE WOOD!

[Jebediah]

Got ~10 gallons sap out of 20 red maples this week. For these trees, sadly, this is actually not too bad versus typical week last year. In any case, will boil it tomorrow.

[SeanD]

Sudbury--I think we've been in touch before re firewood and I've appreciated the good advice. Tapped 20 today, seem to be running well, I guess time will tell. 3% if I'm using my shiny new refractometer correctly.

Oh, OK. I didn't recognize you by your Old Testament name.;) I'm glad to hear you are in for 2014. 3% from reds is a fantastic start. I hope that's a good sign for the rest of us. I've heard from the folks at Moose Hill in Sharon and they tapped this past week as well.

We've got the deep freeze on the way back here in a couple of days and it looks to be here until the end of the month. I hope to be ready for the next one, though. I'm always way too busy to be ready for the January thaw anyway.

Enjoy your first quart of 2014 syrup!

Sean

[Jebediah]

Well, wound up with ~10 gal for the week, which gave ~18oz syrup...hopelessly inefficient but lots of fun!

[Jebediah]

Inconsistent, I just realized, with sap being 3%, as I originally said, or at least inconsistent with it's having stayed at 3%.

[Jebediah]

Tapped about 25 this morning, most were flowing nicely. Original 20 tapped 1-11-14 flowing more slowly today (after producing pretty much nothing for two weeks) think that super-early business was a mistake...

[Jebediah]

Third boil (mini-boil) today. 20 gal sap from 72 red maples--sap primarily ran yesterday, I think. Have decided not to sell today's quart of syrup, for fear of flooding the market and throwing off the price.

[Jebediah]

Wound up with ~50 gal sap, made maybe 3/4 gallon syrup.8868