Started our season yesterday!!

[HAHA I 1]

The 10-day forecast for our area looks spectacular for sap. We put out 46 taps yesterday and will put out another 50 or so tomorrow, with the last 50 or so later this week. We MIGHT try to hit 200 this year, but our evaporator is kinda small and would keep us pretty busy with that many. I need to move my evaporator to the new barn today and get the stack hooked up. Also need to clean out my barrels at lunch today. But we should be collecting our first sap tonight and boiling tomorrow.

[Dixie Bee Acres]

Congrats and good luck. I too, am in Indiana.
I only have 6 taps in so far, one tree is giving me just over a gallon a day of sap, while others are barely releasing a quart. I hope to tap 15 or so more later this week.

[HAHA I 1]

Welllllll, that was a waste of time. Our wonderful local weather forecasters were way off. Tapped 46 trees and then the bottom unexpectedly dropped out of the forecast. Still waiting for a good run. Should have decent weather for this weekend, so we will probably tap about 100 Thursday.

[DougM]

Good luck, as cold as it's been around here I don't think we'll get anything until late next week at best.
We're still waiting to see what the forecast is for more of next week before deciding about tapping.

[Broglea]

This will be my first year tapping. Planning on 25 taps. Looking at the weather forecast it will still be pretty cold next week. My question for some of you more experienced guys should I tap this weekend or hold out for next? I was thinking next weekend, but at this point I'm kind of learning as I go.

[DougM]

Some people like to have their taps in & waiting for that first drop, our trees always seem to take a couple of days to get going when the temps finally do above freezing. We put out around 175 taps, and we can get them all out in one day so we normally wait until the forecast is for at least a couple of days of thawing.

We also use plastic bags, so if they aren't filling up there is always a chance the wind will come up & blow them off the trees.

It's more frustrating to wait this year because we just bought a new finisher and pressure filter, but it's a lot more frustrating to put out taps & then go around putting empty bags back on. After 12 years of this we've consistently had better results from waiting.

Where in Indiana are you?

[Broglea]

Doug - I'm in Terre Haute which is 60 miles west of Indy. I can wait to put the taps in, but my 8 year old is ready to get to it!!

[DougM]

I grew up in the area, about 35 miles north of you in Cayuga

[Indiana-Jones]

Doug - I'm in Terre Haute which is 60 miles west of Indy. I can wait to put the taps in, but my 8 year old is ready to get to it!!

Hello from West T. We are a couple of miles south of I-70 off of Darwin Rd.

I'm thinking that we are going to tap Feb. 15-16th. I don't think that much is going to happen till then and truth be told that is about the earliest I can be ready.

Good luck and maybe someday we can get together.

Chris

[Broglea]

I think I will tap next week just to be safe. I appreciate the info guys.

Chris - Perhaps someday I can check out your set-up. I have a buddy just off of Darwin Road.

[Mark72]

Still waiting on consistent weather. Winter is hanging tough this year!

Mark

[HAHA I 1]

Yeah, its been rough this year. Normally we would be half way through our season by now. We only have 80 gallons of sap off 46 taps. Can't really even tap any more because of the cold. We will likely try to tap next week to get the other 100-150 taps out, then hope the weather gives us something starting next Thursday like it says it will.

[Broglea]

I'm heading out Saturday morning 2/15. I can't stand to wait any longer. Weather is finally starting to warm up.

[DougM]

Same here. It looks like at least through the middle of next week the weather in our area should be cooperating.

[Mapler]

Your friend on Darwin rd- I met him at Terre haute farmers mkt

[Indiana-Jones]

Mapler, are you Dans brother? I'm thinking that I'm the guy that you met at the farmers mkt.

Welcome to the Trader


Your friend on Darwin rd- I met him at Terre haute farmers mkt

[Dixie Bee Acres]

Looks like the weather in Indiana is finally going to cooperate a little this week.
But with 2-3 days of rain this coming week and 11 inches of snow that will melt....how many people collect sap in a boat?

[DougM]

We tapped about 2/3 of our trees yesterday, using the snow blower on the tractor to clear the trail. But we may be wearing waders to collect by the end of the week.

[Mapler]

Yep, that's me. Odd year here. About to finish up. Boiling about 1000gls today and will hold out till middle next week.

[Mapler]

Yep that's me.

[Indiana-Jones]

Good to hear that you are getting some syrup made Mapler. I'm guessing next week will tell the tail for the season.

We have about 500 gallons to run today. Then we might have to wash up a bit and prepare for what looks to be the final run. I would like to be able to write in the journal that we were still boiling in April.

Good Luck
Chris


Yep that's me.

[lpakiz]

Hey Chris,
It finally started a little here in central Wisconsin. Had a few days of mediocre runs. The next 4 days are gonna be fridged, with lows tonight and tomorrow night to be near 0 F, so we boiled for the first time this year. Got about 8 gallons in the milk can. All went well.

[Indiana-Jones]

Larry, I'm happy that you have gotten started. Sorry about the ZERO over night lows. OUCH! That has to be tough on you folks up there. Is this the first year for your new arch and pans?

We are to be 14F tomorrow night. That might be the reset that we need here.
Today we boiled for 13 hours, went through about 500 gallons. Added some air under fire. That helped quite a bit.



Hey Chris,
It finally started a little here in central Wisconsin. Had a few days of mediocre runs. The next 4 days are gonna be fridged, with lows tonight and tomorrow night to be near 0 F, so we boiled for the first time this year. Got about 8 gallons in the milk can. All went well.

[lpakiz]

This season is the 2nd season. Last year, we made 260 gallons. The set-up works really good. It's 2 X 10, but 8 feet of drop flue and just 2 feet of cross-flow syrup pan. Things get hectic and stressful, so we seldom carry out a precise measurement of evap rate, but at the end of the day, it's 90-100 GPH. We have a 1/2 HP blower under it, running on a 3 phase motor and VFD converter. Usually we need to run the cycles at 68-70, which gives us just a bit more air than a regular 1740 would give. Nice to be able to dial up the precise amount of air we want.
After this cool spell, will you be able to go again?

[Indiana-Jones]

Larry, I'm hoping that the trees have one more run in them. It didn't get too cold last night, about 22F. Tomorrow night they are calling for low teens. I'm thinking that that may set us up for more sap.

Saturday our tally was 425 gallons of sap, Sunday we cleaned up and got ready for a run if it comes.
We now have 7 five gallon buckets syrup to process when the bottles get here.

Your rig, 100 gallons per hour sure would keep a guy hopping. What did you do with 260 gallons of syrup?

[lpakiz]

Well, some of that 260 gallons was returned to the sap suppliers. Then I sold some of my own as bulk. The rest we bottled and sold at a couple craft fairs, some out of the house, traded some on halves for maple cream, sold some to my younger son for gifts and such for his business, some to his father-in-law for gifts for his business clients, donated some to our church for their annual pancake breakfast, I dont know, somehow, slowly, most of it is gone. The fancy bottles did not sell as well as I had thought, so we won't need to bottle as much there. All the quarts and pints are gone, tho. I think a market that is easily overlooked is small bottles to businesses to give away for good will. 8 oz and 12 ounce flats, mainly.