Central Ontario Tapping

[NTBugtraq]

Well, since I shut down yesterday I gathered another 140 gals of sap so far, so now that I'm up to 320 or so gals in storage I will have to get more serious about boiling. The last few boils were all short ones; boil 2 hours, draw 7-8L of syrup off, and shut her down. I've already made more syrup this year than all of last year. I'm telling you, when you get the pans sweetened it is truly amazing to watch it turn from sap to syrup in such a short period of time. My lowest brix has been 67, highest 70.4. I really got to learn how to adjust it to get a more consistent brix. Given how much I gotta get through now, I may just give it a try tomorrow. I plan on mixing a little sap into the syrup to adjust the brix...is that very wrong?

Apart from the abundance of sap, one of the nicest things so far is 5 repeat customers from last year.

[Run Forest Run!]

Today might end up giving me the most sap per day in my four seasons of sugaring. Storage is becoming a problem, but what a wonderful problem to have.

[Rob Walton]

Awesome to hear Karen! HOpefully you run out of room....😉

[Run Forest Run!]

This is the day when my refractometer is king. I boil sap strictly in order of sugar content. I LOVE that thing on days like today. Takes all the guess work out of boiling.

[67HEAVEN]

This is the day when my refractometer is king.

Make and Model?
Price?

Thanks.

Things are flowing well here too.

[MustardSeedMum]

280L of sap and counting....

Came in for a mini break and to check on the weather forecast. Wednesday and Thursday looks like a miserable day for boiling. Hopefully i'll be able to get
most of the sap boiled down by tomorrow.

Looks like we're going to be done the season by this week?

[NTBugtraq]

So a mighty sappy day today. I boiled for 9 hours, drew 14.5L of syrup off, and still ended up with as much sap in storage as I started with. Still at 320gals.

[Run Forest Run!]

Collected 183L of sap from the 28 taps I have. That's 1.7 gallons (6.5L) per tap today. There is still more out there since my last collection, but it can stay there until tomorrow. I think I've collected 5 times today already. The burners have been going steady and I plan to put in more hours tonight to try to swim my way through the tide of tap.

MSM, I don't know how you do it. Six kids and 280L of sap. You must be superhuman to keep up with it all.

[NTBugtraq]

Karen, you are now officially, my goal....;-] My calculations say you are ~.494L/tap...my estimate on mine is ~.334L/tap. You are clearly the Maple Queen atm!

[Run Forest Run!]

Make and Model?
Price?

Thanks.

Things are flowing well here too.

Here you go

http://www.ebay.com/itm/0-10-Portable-Brix-Refractometer-w-ATC-Fruit-Juice-Wine-Vegetable-Coolants-Sap/331375836328?_trksid=p2047675.c100011.m1850&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%3D1%2 6asc%3D30002%26meid%3D3363ccf5800a41ae8254fd44383b bf2c%26pid%3D100011%26rk%3D2%26rkt%3D4%26sd%3D2311 57961168

[PaulaBt]

Hi,
I am new here and I want to ask you fellow Ontarians if you know of any place where I can pay to have my syrup filtered? I live in Udora, ON (35 minutes East of Newmarket. This is my first year attempting to make syrup and my first two batches were good but the filtering was brutal. My third batch (yesterday) was my largest and I netted about 3L of syrup and I have filtered it twice through three pre filters and it is still cloudy. I used a hydrometer to ensure that the density and sugar content is correct.
Thanks in advance to anyone who can help me.
Paula

[Maplesapper]

Orlon filters do a great job filtering.
The prefilters wont get your syrup " Shiny ".

You may do well to decant your 3 litres into a gallon jug, allow it to settle for a week or so, and then siphon off the syrup.
Rinse the gallon jug in your next batch of hot sap so you don't lose a drop.

[NTBugtraq]

Hi,
I am new here and I want to ask you fellow Ontarians if you know of any place where I can pay to have my syrup filtered? I live in Udora, ON (35 minutes East of Newmarket. This is my first year attempting to make syrup and my first two batches were good but the filtering was brutal. My third batch (yesterday) was my largest and I netted about 3L of syrup and I have filtered it twice through three pre filters and it is still cloudy. I used a hydrometer to ensure that the density and sugar content is correct.
Thanks in advance to anyone who can help me.
Paula

Paula,

I am NE of you between Kirkfield and Coboconk on Highway 48. You'd be welcome to bring your nearup here and we can finish and filter it on my equipment. Filtering is often messy, but it always works great for me. Shouldn't take any longer than 30 minutes. I typically filter 7-8L at a time...so your quantity shouldn't be a problem. Just send me a private message and we can exchange contact information.

[67HEAVEN]

Here you go

http://www.ebay.com/itm/0-10-Portable-Brix-Refractometer-w-ATC-Fruit-Juice-Wine-Vegetable-Coolants-Sap/331375836328?_trksid=p2047675.c100011.m1850&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%3D1%2 6asc%3D30002%26meid%3D3363ccf5800a41ae8254fd44383b bf2c%26pid%3D100011%26rk%3D2%26rkt%3D4%26sd%3D2311 57961168

Thank you, Karen.

I've noticed similar items on eBay before and wonder why they all seem to be shipped from Hong Kong. I guess no one is stocking them in North America.

[MustardSeedMum]

Dragged myself out of bed to get the fire going early. Going to lose 4 hours of boiling this afternoon because the kids have piano. This is the time I wish my oldest could drive. :)

Yesterday's haul was 300L. Still more in the buckets when I called it a night. This morning I walked around and estimate another 60-80L. Taps are now starting to drip again.

Trying desperately to keep up with the boil before the rain comes. Oh sugar shack, sugar shack, wherefore art thou, sugar shack?

Clearly I am sleep deprived. :lol:

[67HEAVEN]

If I understand the trend, I may be done. Although I harvested 49 L yesterday, the trees stopped dripping at around 6:00 p.m. Today, nothing is happening, and it doesn't look like we're going below freezing at night anytime soon.

Am I reading this right? Do get things going again, I'll need a freeze?

[NTBugtraq]

If I understand the trend, I may be done. Although I harvested 49 L yesterday, the trees stopped dripping at around 6:00 p.m. Today, nothing is happening, and it doesn't look like we're going below freezing at night anytime soon.

Am I reading this right? Do get things going again, I'll need a freeze?

My forecast is similar, although I have Fri/Sat/Tues at or slightly below freezing. You should get yourself an outdoor thermo that records minimums, so that you can verify for yourself whether it got down to a temp likely to produce sap. I find I am always up to 5 colder than my forecast. In any event, doesn't mean you're completely done, I was still getting sap on April 27th last year.

[Run Forest Run!]

If I understand the trend, I may be done.

Determining the end of a season can be almost as tricky as determining the beginning. It does no harm to leave your buckets up. Just wait and see. It's supposed to go below freezing here tonight, but who knows what will actually happen.

[67HEAVEN]

Determining the end of a season can be almost as tricky as determining the beginning. It does no harm to leave your buckets up. Just wait and see. It's supposed to go below freezing here tonight, but who knows what will actually happen.

Fingers crossed for more. The last batch of syrup I made was much darker than earlier batches. Perhaps it's a natural seasonal change; perhaps it's also because I used my newly acquired syrup hydrometer and boiled a bit longer, thus removing more water. Whatever the cause, sure tastes good.

Frankly, it's a good thing that the annual maple season is short or I'd weigh 500 lbs. in a few years. :lol:

[NTBugtraq]

Well, last night it only went down to 28.5F, but overnight (after 6:30pm at least) I got another 64gals of sap. So this morning my 400gals of storage stood at 388gals...whoops. I boiled 68gals today, drew another 7L and the pan is ripe for another draw in an hour or so of boiling tomorrow. Apr. 7 was the first day I made syrup last year, and I have already made nearly double my entire last year's total...this is what I thought I would get in a good season. Even with the forecast the way it is, I still expect to get as much sap in the new few weeks as I have already gotten so far this year.

[Run Forest Run!]

Anyone seeing any sap? Things have been really quiet here since the sap tsunami on Monday.

[Clinkis]

Was running like crazy this morning when I left for work. I haven't gotten any since Monday either. Just got home now and most of my buckets are half full but doesn't look like it's running anymore. Also snowing/raining and temps have dipped a little. Should have a decent collection and very possibly my last one. If forecast is correct they are calling for warmer temps and no more below freezing in my area which means I could be done. I'll probably leave everything in place til the weekend and then pull everything if that's the case. Here's hoping forecast is wrong like usual!

[Run Forest Run!]

Thanks for the report Clinkis. I didn't check my trees down the street because I was a little concerned about icy roads. Maybe they are dripping? The buckets here at the house aren't dripping. I need to get all four propane tanks refilled too, but was also holding off on the roadtrip for the same reason as above. When the temps rise and the freezing rain warning is long past I'll hit the road.

[67HEAVEN]

Anyone seeing any sap? Things have been really quiet here since the sap tsunami on Monday.

Nada in Northumberland.

[NTBugtraq]

I got ~10 gallons of sap before 10:30am, but nothing since. I managed to do 2 draws and could've had a third if I had the stamina. Officially now more than twice as much syrup as last year.

[Run Forest Run!]

Great news on your syrup total NTB. I should really go and check on the taps, but it's wet out there and dry in here. :lol:

[Galena]

Hey Karen! Pack up your propane burners and tanks and stuff and get over here to my place! Swimming in 150l of sap (actually 170, counting what's going right now)

[NTBugtraq]

Has anyone else heard the theory that there should be 20 good sap flowing days in a season?

[Run Forest Run!]

Well, I braved the soggy disgusting weather to collect from the trees down the street. I haven't measured exactly, but it looks like 20-25L from the 10 taps - but that's a two day total not 24 hours. If those trees go from frozen to finished in about a week it will be disappointing but, hey, you get what you get. :)

[Galena]

Has anyone else heard the theory that there should be 20 good sap flowing days in a season?

Not til now, but as I've been keeping daily records of tapping season since 2010, will let you know if anything like that crops up. However....the weather has changed a huge amount in the last 20 yrs so that theory may be long washed up the wayside by now.

Besides, what exactly defines a good sap flowing day? And surely 1-day sap tsunamis must count for 3-4 days worth of *regular* collecting, wouldn't it? And surely it must apply to only buckets and driplines, as now the weather doesn't affect those on vacuum.

[NTBugtraq]

I'm not sure how to respond. Weather affects vacuum, so not sure where you got the impression it doesn't. You suggesting there is less syrup now than 20 yrs ago?

[MustardSeedMum]

Has anyone else heard the theory that there should be 20 good sap flowing days in a season?
Haven't heard that one before. 2012 was a 10-day season. As Galena said, weather patterns have changed over the years.

[MustardSeedMum]

No flow here in Erin today. It was a soppy mess outside with freezing rain and more rain. Took whatever I had in the pans inside to finish. I still have 50L of sap from Tuesday to finish boiling.

Meanwhile inside, I had a boil-over in my steam pan - left the kitchen for a split moment after putting in a little more partially boiled sap, thinking it was far from done. Probably spilled about 100ml of nearup. :(

[Run Forest Run!]

In the same boat here MSM. Brought in my sap from the pans today and am also finishing on the stove. I have about 25ishL of raw sap left with a bit outside still on the tree. If the forecast shifts just a tiny bit Friday and Saturday nights we might get a little more.

[MustardSeedMum]

What website are you using for weather, Karen? I've been working with weather network, but the last few days their "last 24 hours" chart has been missing, so I can't tell if
the overnite temps have gone below 0. Technically we should've gotten sap today since we went below 0, and a tad over today. My trees seem to be sensitive to rain and barometric pressure. Sigh.

There's a rainfall warning for my area tomorrow…I guess I won't be boiling tomorrow. Do you think my sap will be okay in the white 5 gallon buckets tomorrow? Or should I figure a way to keep it cold until I can boil?

[Run Forest Run!]

I've been looking at Accuweather and weather.gc. Even though Accuweather says tonight's low for me will be 1, it's currently 0 here. Fingers crossed. I also have a rainfall warning for tomorrow. I think that the sap we've both got in white buckets should be fine because the daytime temperatures aren't too high and the evening temps are fridge-cold. If you are really concerned you can freeze a few water bottles and then drop them into the white buckets. That would help.

[MustardSeedMum]

On accuweather right now. It's saying that Friday night will be -2. (Weather network = +3).
Further out, accuweather shows the week of april 19 having 0 to -2 lows. Weathernetwork is all + territory??!
If accuweather is accurate (hahaha), I wonder if the trees will hold out a week before budding. I remember in 2010 we had a week where it got all warm in the middle of march. Moths, flies, bugs. But my sugar tree lady told me the season wasn't over yet. True enough, temps dipped again and we got more syrup.

[Run Forest Run!]

I always remind myself how inaccurate the forecasts can be when we are trying to figure out when the season is going to start. Why should their forecasts be any more accurate now? :lol: All the buds are tight around here, so I'm willing to leave my buckets out for a while yet. The worst thing that can happen is that they stay empty.

[Lespetras]

I always remind myself how inaccurate the forecasts can be when we are trying to figure out when the season is going to start. Why should their forecasts be any more accurate now? :lol: All the buds are tight around here, so I'm willing to leave my buckets out for a while yet. The worst thing that can happen is that they stay empty.
I'm with you Karen, like I said earlier.. The locals here say that the north facing trees aren't done yet! By the way... I knew you'd be up!!! Me too I'm still boiling... My 12th batch and yes a glass if wine:rolleyes:

[Run Forest Run!]

Yes, I'm still up. :lol: I'm trying to get this mini-batch of box elder syrup rendered down far enough that I can check for density in the morning. I can't wait to measure out the batch of soft/sugar syrup that I made from Monday's tsunami. Looks like it could be 7 or 8L!

[Lespetras]

Yes, I'm still up. :lol: I'm trying to get this mini-batch of box elder syrup rendered down far enough that I can check for density in the morning. I can't wait to measure out the batch of soft/sugar syrup that I made from Monday's tsunami. Looks like it could be 7 or 8L!
Ooooh.. Those are good numbers!! I'm rooting for you! I must admit I'm in love with maple syrup... We made a ham with glazed maple sauce and maple carrots this week... It's like the movie 'Chocolat' except with maple syrup... Everything maple!! I'm addicted... Food tastes better with maple syrup:lol: and we have like a few years supply!

[Run Forest Run!]

Thanks. OK, I'll admit that when I had a couple of pieces of ham at dinner tonight I drizzled a little of the warm syrup that was cooking on the stovetop over it. ;) I know, I know.

My box elder syrup is now thick enough for me to turn everything off for tonight. Final adjustments in the morning. :)

[NTBugtraq]

Well folks, I don't know what you trees are doing, but mine are in a sap tsunami right now. I have received 60 gallons of sap in the last 5 hours. The forecast calls for temperatures to continue to rise through tomorrow afternoon, so I imagine this is going to peter out at some point, but its pretty awesome right now. My 1" main line is 1/2 full and constant...nvr seen so much sap in the pipe before.

[MustardSeedMum]

NT, good for you. Quiet on my end here. It's foggy and damp out here, and the only thing in my buckets is tree pee.

Finishing all my nearups I've kept over the last week, and probably going to boil indoors the sap I have leftover, since rain is forecast for the next little while.
Don't want my sap to go bad waiting for the skies to clear.

Bad news today would be my obligatory pour-syrup-into-coffee-urn-canner-while-the-spout-is-open today. :(
Good news is I didn't go freakazoid on my girl who was in charge of pouring out the hot water out of the canner and setting it up.
And by golly, I got bonus points for allowing my 3.5 year old to turn the spout on and off while I held the bottle to be filled. :lol:

[Run Forest Run!]

NTB, I checked your weather vs. mine and it seems that a few measly degrees has made all the difference. That's great news for you! :) I hope it continues.

MSM, I held a moment of silence for your lost syrup. Brutal.

[NTBugtraq]

NTB, I checked your weather vs. mine and it seems that a few measly degrees has made all the difference. That's great news for you! :) I hope it continues.

I said earlier, I often run colder than the forecast for my "area". Actually, the nearest weather station to me is Lagoon City, which is on the east shore of Lake Simcoe some 40Km east of me. Next nearest is Peterborough Airport, a ridiculously far distance from me. My own thermo says I got down to 30.9F overnight, and it was obviously long enough since water pooled on my deck froze. I wonder if I could've got more sap had I left the low vac running overnight...hmmm. I'm at 76 gallons so far today, and its still running (albeit much slower than before). I have to wonder how much of this run is due to the low vacuum pump...which is sold as being able to get more sap on "poor" days.

MSM, did that myself last week. Consider it an annual ritual that MUST be observed....;-]

[NTBugtraq]

BTW, Karen, sorry to say that my new goal is Lespetras. Her/his stats say 1.0029L/tap. Yours is at an impressive .4939L/tap. I'm at a measly .3814L/tap...but I still have sap to boil....;-] FWIW, both of your numbers are way higher than I thought was possible, so a humble bow to the small tappers...you folks are awesome.

[Run Forest Run!]

I do graciously concede to the reigning Queen 'Lesley of Acer'. My signature stats will be updated shortly, hopefully tonight, but alas they will still be short of the 1L/tap mark. All hail Queen Lesley.

[Lespetras]

I do graciously concede to the reigning Queen 'Lesley of Acer'. My signature stats will be updated shortly, hopefully tonight, but alas they will still be short of the 1L/tap mark. All hail Queen Lesley.
Lol!! Like I said beginners luck, was only aiming for 10 litres.. Are you guys convinced season is over? I'm hanging on a few more days.. Gonna wait to see if the north facing trees continue... ;)

[Run Forest Run!]

As to the question of when the season will end, I'm 100% certain that I'm uncertain. I am 100% certain, however, that if the buckets are down they will collect no sap. Therefore they will stay hung on the tree until I hear peepers and see big fat buds. Of that I am certain. All hail Queen Lesley of Acer. :emb:

[Galena]

Wouldn't that be Queen Lesley of Inverary? Sorry tired.....*surprise!*.....
And maybe the resident Court Jester has something to do with the wonderful syrup flowing from yonder maple bush ;-)

[Run Forest Run!]

I've now bottled the syrup made from Easter Monday's sap tsunami. I got 1.35L of box elder and 6.5L of soft/sugar blend. The niter is settling to the bottom of the bottles and a final bottling will follow.

Update on the box elder. In previous years the syrup is always very 'butterscotchy' in flavour. This year it's different. If you closed your eyes you'd have a difficult time distinguishing it from liquid honey. It's very good, and certainly not what I expected compared to other years.

I updated my signature tonight am thrilled to be over the 20L mark. My best season yet!

[Lespetras]

I updated my signature tonight am thrilled to be over the 20L mark. My best season yet!

Your not doing too badly yourself Karen, that's great!!

[Run Forest Run!]

It's a good current total for the year. It's not "Lesley good", but it's definitely good. ;) Thanks!

[NTBugtraq]

So the temperature has risen steadily since yesterday morning, and all through last night to the point it is now 48.9F.

Meanwhile, the sap has continued to flow also, up to this minute it continues...and I've collected slightly more than 140 gallons since yesterday morning...sheesh!

[67HEAVEN]

Checked my buckets this morning and found a small quantity of dark yellow liquid in most of them. Either the squirrels have decided to use them as outhouses, or the sap has really changed.

[Run Forest Run!]

67Heaven, that's just stained water than ran down the bark and into your buckets during yesterday's storms. Dump it - pronto! Things have started to drip convincingly here this morning. I think the falling barometric pressure is giving us a little gift.

MSM - dump that tree pee A'SAP'. We're getting fresh sap right now!

[MustardSeedMum]

Surprised to see some buckets half full to almost full this morning. I really thought we were done. But I'm tossing some of the really yellow stuff. Keeping the clear and slightly tinted ones. Will be putting some iced bottles into the buckets to keep the sap cool today. Don't want to fight the wind outside. My block chimney has been giving me heart palpitations every time the west winds take a swipe at it. Really afraid they'll come crashing down into my steam pans. I'll wait to boil tomorrow.

In the meantime, I'll be finishing what I have inside.

Karen - a big thank you for taking the time to explain your finishing process. I tried it with my last batch. Got it to syrup, let it sit overnite to let the nitre settle, next day checked/adjusted density, heated it back up, and bottled it. Letting the nitre to settle overnite was a huge factor in getting all my syrup go through the prefilters and felt filter go through so much easier.

Also Big_Eddy, your tip on pushing aside the prefilters as they clogged up also helped tremendously, as well as washing the prefilters in between pouring. I did a slight variation, put 2 (sap-wetted) prefilters in the felt filter. When the prefilters started to clog, I pushed it aside, put in another set of 2 prefilters and poured.

Using these processes, I was, for the first time, able to send through my entire batch of 8.5L into bottles, without lots of stress and muttering.

Man, if I could go visit all you guys to give you big hugs, I would. :D

[67HEAVEN]

67Heaven, that's just stained water than ran down the bark and into your buckets during yesterday's storms. Dump it - pronto! Things have started to drip convincingly here this morning. I think the falling barometric pressure is giving us a little gift.

MSM - dump that tree pee A'SAP'. We're getting fresh sap right now!

Thanks for the information, Karen. I dumped the tree pee.

Now, I'm (sort of) patiently waiting to see if we're blessed with more sap. http://i50.tinypic.com/30hlllj.jpg

[MustardSeedMum]

Collected another 75L of sap at 11 this morning. Taps were dripping slightly, but the wind has kicked up several notches since. My blue buckets and lids are flapping in the wind. White buckets are flying around. Taps have stopped. Karen, you still getting sap right now?

[NTBugtraq]

Fwiw, I have been getting sap all morning, albeit slower than I can boil, but it's still coming!

[Run Forest Run!]

The drips have slowed down dramatically with the gusting wind. Today is one of those days when my string is worth its weight in gold. No flying buckets and jugs. It's wicked out there.

[Newbie18]

Almost 55 f this afternoon in Warkworth. Fields to wet to collect sap over in bush. Think it may be done for this season!

[MustardSeedMum]

Finished bottling up 2 batches today - 15.4L.

Total syrup made so far:46L. Still have sap to boil down - maybe another 2.5L worth of syrup in there.

All hail Queen Lesley of Acer!

[Run Forest Run!]

Great work MSM. I checked on my white buckets of sap in the garage this afternoon. All are still crystal clear and cold. I'll have close to 30L to boil tomorrow when the winds simmer down. Fingers are still crossed that tonight's forecasted 0* weather will create a nice little flow tomorrow. Enough to keep my boiling pan topped up through the day would be really nice.

All hail Queen Lesley of Acer.

[67HEAVEN]

I just boiled down my remaining sap to 2.25 L of medium amber syrup. Tastes wonderful. :mrgreen:

My buckets on the trees are empty. Looks like the end....or very close to it.

3 Silver maples; 1 Sugar maple; 1 Manitoba maple - all with two buckets each.

If I'm done, my First Year totals are:
Sap collected - 493 litres (130.25 U.S. gallons)
Resulting syrup - 13.125 litres (13.873 U.S. quarts)
Ratio sap to syrup - 37.56:1
Average syrup per bucket - 1.31 litres syrup/bucket

I'm already waiting on next year. :lol:

[Run Forest Run!]

What excellent results you had 67H. Now, get yourself that sap refractometer for next year and there'll be no stopping you!

[5050racing]

You guys are almost done up there? How does it compare to other years? Had a great year way down in NJ !!

[Run Forest Run!]

You guys are almost done up there? How does it compare to other years? Had a great year way down in NJ !!

I've had my best year yet, and I fear that we must be nearing the end of sugaring weather. Our thaw came on fast and furious. Unexpected to say the least. If we get more I'm ready, but even if I didn't get another drop for the season I am thrilled with what I managed to make. Had a blast.

[NTBugtraq]

Well, the sap finally petered out around 1:00pm, boiled for 6.5 hrs and ended drawing 5.15L and the storage at ~312 gallons. I tested two sources of sap today, one is 6 trees into 1 bucket; 3.6brix, the other is 210 trees, 2.6brix...awesome. My draws are typically at least 7L, and I thought todays was about the same, but by the time I bottled it into these new little 50mL maple leaf bottles, I ended with the 5.15L...the rest was all over the place...its darn difficult filling little bottles. I'm expecting more sap tomorrow too.

[NTBugtraq]

I've had my best year yet, and I fear that we must be nearing the end of sugaring weather. Our thaw came on fast and furious. Unexpected to say the least. If we get more I'm ready, but even if I didn't get another drop for the season I am thrilled with what I managed to make. Had a blast.

Karen,

I do appreciate the ominous forecasts, and understand that the climate is changing, but I got sap until the 26th of April last year and I will be danged if I give in just yet. I have 4 days in my 10 day forecast that could yield sap, so I'm just going to be optimistic. This has been such a bang up year I'm sure not giving up on it yet...;-]

[Run Forest Run!]

I bottled it into these new little 50mL maple leaf bottles...its darn difficult filling little bottles.

I agree, those little ones are a challenge. I fill some of the 50ml 'royal' style bottles for small sample-sized gifts, but those little maple leaf bottles pretty much sell themselves if you are using them for farmgate sales!

[NTBugtraq]

Well, I filter in one of those 10 gallon coffee urns, and as good as they are for filling many bottles, the flow moves around a lot coming outta the tap...and the little bottles are smaller than the urn's spout, so I seemed to end up with as much on my hands as in the bottles...lolz.

[NTBugtraq]

I agree, those little ones are a challenge. I fill some of the 50ml 'royal' style bottles for small sample-sized gifts, but those little maple leaf bottles pretty much sell themselves if you are using them for farmgate sales!

I'm selling the 50mL "Autumn" (maple leaf bottle), with a little neck tag that holds my label and looks pretty...for the same price as a 125mL "Royal" bottle. I couldn't believe how well the Royals sold already this year, and everyone said they were getting them as gifts. So I figured, give them a better looking gift with albeit a lot less syrup, and they'd be happier. We'll see. I am also making sure these small bottles get my highest brix values.

[Jerome]

I forced a piece of plastic tube into spout on my coffee urn to allow filling directly into the bottle.

[NTBugtraq]

I forced a piece of plastic tube into spout on my coffee urn to allow filling directly into the bottle.

Great idea Jerome, I will have to give that a try.

[Run Forest Run!]

The sunshine has now prompted the taps to start to drip a little. Hopefully it will continue.

[NTBugtraq]

Practically no sap today. Boiled 212L of sap off my storage, drew 16.825L of syrup. That's 12:1, a number I don't understand. Must have something to do with the sweetened pans. If that number holds, it means I have some 75L of syrup left to boil up. That would be awesome.

[Lespetras]

Practically no sap today. Boiled 212L of sap off my storage, drew 16.825L of syrup. That's 12:1, a number I don't understand. Must have something to do with the sweetened pans. If that number holds, it means I have some 75L of syrup left to boil up. That would be awesome.
Those are some wild figures! Maybe some of your good fortune will rub off on our last few boils;)

[NTBugtraq]

Those are some wild figures! Maybe some of your good fortune will rub off on our last few boils;)

Unlike you, I fire up my arch and my thermo says +7F over water boiling point. So I boil till it gets to +10, then draw down to +7 again. When I close it up, I am usually at +7.5-8.5F...In many ways, I'd prefer to do it a batch at a time as you do, it would suit my anal nature. To get my volume, however...I have to leave the pan with "nearup" all the time.

[Lespetras]

Unlike you, I fire up my arch and my thermo says +7F over water boiling point. So I boil till it gets to +10, then draw down to +7 again. When I close it up, I am usually at +7.5-8.5F...In many ways, I'd prefer to do it a batch at a time as you do, it would suit my anal nature. To get my volume, however...I have to leave the pan with "nearup" all the time.

Hmm.. That's interesting. I'm sure we'll be doing the same as you next year... As we are going to build an arch.. Seems that although it saves money... It's a bit more complicated! Though today we did a batch... Sugar contents better than we've seen in over a week... Just so strange the way the sap fluctuates like this... After this boil I'm a bit reluctant to pull spiles!

[Run Forest Run!]

Lesley, what's the rush? If you leave the buckets up and nothing happens at least you didn't miss out on anything. If you take them down you are guaranteed to get nothing. Just my two cents. After all, you're in contention for the world record for first timers! Don't blow it!

[NTBugtraq]

27F here right now, so should be a good sap running day...;-]

[Lespetras]

Lesley, what's the rush? If you leave the buckets up and nothing happens at least you didn't miss out on anything. If you take them down you are guaranteed to get nothing. Just my two cents. After all, you're in contention for the world record for first timers! Don't blow it!
I completely agree Karen, Like it went down to -1C here last night with a decent amount of frost this morning... I'm thinking and crossing my fingers that his gives us a run today... What about Caledon?

[NTBugtraq]

Well, here's a quandary. I shut down last night with 240gals of sap in storage. I go down this morning and the storage is down to 220gal...hmmm...I look at the arch, and the back flue pan is full to the brim (8" of sap versus the normal 1.75"). The only way I can imagine this happening is that some animal put a foot on the float valve...for a while. Guess I will have to re-establish the gradient again...;-[

[Clinkis]

I've had this happen several times. Usually caused by a bit of debri stuck in a float box valve. Gets worse later in the season when nitre starts to build up. I always shut the valves off in my float boxes but I know this is not always an option if you still have a hot fire going when you shut down.

[Run Forest Run!]

Lesley, I don't think that it got all the way to zero, but it got close. This morning the sun is helping out and I do have dripping taps. I'll be boiling my storage sap and adding every drop that I get. At this time of year, the holes are already drilled, the buckets are already hung and the burners are already out, so I'm going for every drop. Hope you are having a drippy day too!

What a head scratcher NTBugtraq. It must have been mystifying this morning. If Clinkis is correct, that would explain a lot. Hope you are also getting more sap today.

[67HEAVEN]

Pulled my spiles today. Only two trees were plunk-plunking and the number of flies floating around in the sap was disgusting. I'm done, but very happy with first year results. Already thinking about modifications for next year.

Living near to Lake Ontario seems to result in the season ending sooner than those of you a bit north of the big pond.

Thanks for all the advice and suggestions. It is appreciated.

[Run Forest Run!]

Congratulations on a successful first year. Nice seeing a new face in the Central Ontario thread. Enjoy your syrup!

[MustardSeedMum]

Oy. What a predicament I'm in. Taps are dripping, clear cold sap. Some had too many flies in them, so I tossed those. But I have at least 40-60L.
Can't get myself to toss it out. I think I might let my 15 & 13 year-olds try their hand at firing up the arch and taking it to syrup.

[NTBugtraq]

I've had this happen several times. Usually caused by a bit of debri stuck in a float box valve. Gets worse later in the season when nitre starts to build up. I always shut the valves off in my float boxes but I know this is not always an option if you still have a hot fire going when you shut down.

Well, the interesting thing was that the float was completely askew, only one small edge of the float was touching the bottom of the float box. When I touched it, it moved easily. I too wondered if I had boiled down to the point of the float sticking to the bottom of the box, but it doesn't appear so...but thanks Clinkis, I will definitely keep an eye on that.

To resolve the problem, I did something that now appears strange. I drew some 20gals of "nearup" (maybe 30-40 brix) off the arch and dropped it into my storage sump. That promptly changed the color of the tank the sump pumps into, and the manifold that comes off the bottom of each tank. I tried drawing off into my OMG pail, like 10 times, hoping the color of the sap would lighten...it didn't....;-] So right now it looks like I am feeding my arch with a light amber sap....?? In any event, I boiled for 6 hours today and got my front pan back to +8, then I shut down. I wanted to shut down early so I could check Clinkis' idea. So far, the pan level is not rising and the boil is gone. Later I will be putting a piece of plywood covering the float box. Unfortunately, it means I boiled some 40 gals with no draw...so much for my 12:1 ratio.

I have to say, I don't get you guys and your aversion to flies. So a fly (or 100 flies) get into your sap, that's what filters are for. If you find them revolting, I just want you to consider how many animals have peed around your maple trees, pee which seeps down to the roots and...becomes sap. As maple syrup producers we should embrace the nature that gives us this nectar. Also remember how prosciutto is made...hams are hung to be infested by flies laying eggs...when enough have laid eggs, the ham is then smoked...I'm just saying...like everything else in our bushes, flies serve a definite purpose and should be embraced for the job they do, and if we happen to kill a few in our sap buckets...sorry flies, but I'm not throwing anything out because of it...;-]

[67HEAVEN]

Different strokes.

I don't do prosciutto either. LOL

[Run Forest Run!]

MSM I collected 56L today! Very unexpected. Just take the flies out and boil down everything you get. They just add to the 'terroir' of your blend. Enjoy your day!

[MustardSeedMum]

Don't get me wrong. A few flies, moths, spiders and whatever other crawlies that are in my sap don't scare me. But I had 1 bucket that had more flies than sap. As in a complete layer of flies in a 5gallon bucket that had at most 5mm of sap. I don't need that sap *that* badly to bother filtering it out.

[NTBugtraq]

Don't get me wrong. A few flies, moths, spiders and whatever other crawlies that are in my sap don't scare me. But I had 1 bucket that had more flies than sap. As in a complete layer of flies in a 5gallon bucket that had at most 5mm of sap. I don't need that sap *that* badly to bother filtering it out.

and 3 seconds later with a strainer and bada bing, its pristine sap....;-]

[Galena]

LOL with ya all the way, Bugtrap! Everyone, don't forget, that water you're drinking today was probably once dinosaur pee, and in a few more hours it'll revert to that state again. And don't forget all the nummies made due to infestastions of more microscopic bugs like mold...blue cheese, anyone? Yum yum yum!! I loves me a good stinky Stilton! Probably because my heritage is mostly British, I have a palate very oriented towards savoury. And for ages the Brits didn't have refrigeration...they would keep cooked meat in a cupboard and continue to eat it til it was pretty manky.

So, so long as any wildlife in my buckets aren't mammals - I do have my limits - I'll go ahead and keep the sap.

[NTBugtraq]

So, so long as any wildlife in my buckets aren't mammals - I do have my limits - I'll go ahead and keep the sap.

Oh, don't get me started on mice and voles...;-]

[Galena]

What, you do get the little stinkers in your sap? I get em in the attic usually in the fall, and trap them. Also see evidence of them and their tunnels everywhere (have a nice cube of green nummy rodent killer, you little $#&%^!) :-0

[Run Forest Run!]

Had a nice day boiling. Swallows returned and I hear peepers! Oh no! :o

[Clinkis]

Very disappointing day. Sap ran reasonably well and collected a 100 gallons of sap. A little cloudy but still tasted sweet (2.7%) and smelled fine. I noticed slightest hint of an off flavour but nothing terrible. Kinda attributed it to all the bugs I strained out. Started boiling and the smell was awful! Ended up dumping it all. 😥 Evaporator was all cleaned out when I started so not sure what happened. I've had buddy sap before and I don't think it was that. A couple of my collection barrels on my pipelines had a bit of sap in them for a few days so I suspect one of them had turn and contaminated it all. A lot of work for nothing. Certainly not how I wanted to end my season. Now time to tear everything down and clean it all up and start planning for next year. Ended up making 118 litres from 147 taps which is a little disappointing but I guess you take whatever Mother Nature decides to give you.

[Run Forest Run!]

What a shame Clinkis. Too bad your season is ending on such a sour note. :(

[Galena]

Sorry to hear about the last batch souring on you. But you still got a good haul and there's always next season. Just 11 months away...;-)

[MustardSeedMum]

well, our surprise collection of 55L from yesterday yielded some very light syrup...how much exactly I don't know - because it nearly became a burnt mess.

I started boiling the sap yesterday afternoon on the kitchen stove - yes, indoors. (I decided not to start a fire outside, and we have a really awesome hood vent)
Managed to get it reduced to about 6-7L. Restarted the boil this afternoon. I was down to about 4L of very light stuff when I decided to go down to the basement to sort out some previous year's syrup stash. I was gone for maybe 15 minutes and came up to brown-foamy-past-syrup state! Gah. Since I have no more sap or distilled water on hand, I decide I have to try my hand again at making sugar with the stuff. Thankfully, I'd done some filtering before hand, so *some* nitre had already been taken off.

Anyway, we ended up with 3.3lbs of nice light/medium sugar. :)
Looking at the confections section, it would appear we made approx 2L of syrup? That's a pretty sweet ratio, if that is so.

[NTBugtraq]

Glad to hear of your salvage MSM, that is great...I have never tried to go past 71 brix myself, perhaps I will try with some of this year's last sap. I received another 20+ gallons of sap today, so I'm still on a roll. I was able to recover from yesterday's problems and bottled another 9L today. I had another 8L or so in the filter canner when a friend showed up...and you know how it goes...by the time I was back at the arch the fire was out and the canner had cooled. At least tomorrow's boil will start well...;-]

Tonight's forcast is 0C, again, so hopefully I will get some more sap tomorrow. I hope you all get sap happy soon.

[Lespetras]

Glad to see people still going in central ontario. . I also have had a bit more good fortune with sap both yesterday and today. . It's crazy because the temperatures have been so high.. but I may try some of that maple sugar perhaps with tonight's boil. . We are boiling 64 litres.. would love even a couple if pounds of maple sugar.. never done it bf and don't have a hydrometer. . Only candy thermometer. ..

[Galena]

You only need a candy therm to make maple sugar. Go check the candy making thread and you'll see that they just boil the bejeezus out of the syrup and go to about 260 - stirring constantly, I might add - and as ever, be ready to pull it off the heat at a moment's notice. Some say to transfer it do a different pan at this stage. I haven't done it yet but plan to try it once my trees dry up!!

[MustardSeedMum]

Lesley,
You don't need a hydrometer to make sugar (or any other confections). Your candy thermometer is all you need.

I am by no means an expert on sugar making - but here's my experience with 2 batches! 1 unsuccessful, the 2nd one successful.

Unsuccessful: I boiled it to 260 (according to a video on sugar making I saw - I believe a few people on the board have also said 260)
It looked terribly wrong - the syrup was burning, and my girls kept screaming at me to get it off the fire because it looked burnt, and I kept saying
but no, they said get it to 260, so by golly i'm going to go to 260! hahaha
By the time my therm said 260, it looked and smelled burnt. I start stirring and ended up with burnt stringy threads. No sugar.
We had fun playing with the threads, pulling strings as long as we could. But that was a total waste of syrup.

Success story today: therm was reading 245 and my daughter wanted to try making maple butter but after googling we realized our temps were too high (needed it at 232) - but we took some out at 245 anyways and she started to stir. Well, that started to crystallize into sugar. By this time the rest of my syrup was at about 250, so we decided not to take it up to 260, since sugar was already forming at 245.

Dumped the foam/syrup into my kitchenaid mixer and a little while later, we got sugar. :D

Oh, use a saucepan with maybe an inch of syrup in it to avoid a boil over. a little butter rubbed on the rim will also help. We also kept stirring the syrup especially when it was foaming. Put the heat on medium at most. Good luck!

[Run Forest Run!]

Finishing off the 56L from yesterday and 21L from today on the stove. I think the trees on my property are pretty much finished up while there is still a last gasp in the sugar bush down the street. Three orange butterflies were helping themselves to the excess dripping down the tree bark. They were three happy butterflies.

Don't know if this was my last boil or not, we'll see what tomorrow brings.

[NTBugtraq]

I have yet to see a bud on my trees. No wild leeks have poked through the dead leaves, and my ever-blooming strawberries have only just started to green up. I have flies and lady bugs, but they aren't here in force yet. I roto-tilled my chicken coop yesterday and put down some new mulch, and 1/2 of my mulch pile was still frozen. I dare not try to put my mushroom logs back on their racks as they are still stuck to the ground. My bush grows on an Alver, so a lot of loose big rocks and gravel in the soil...and all my trees are at least 60' tall, some 80'...so I guess I got a kinda quirky mix here. Anyway, for me, I go by the budding.

[MustardSeedMum]

Karen - you might get more from the sugar bush. I was surprised to see more sap in my buckets this evening before sunset. Also had a 5gallon bucket that was 2/3 full - this is from 5 taps on a line running down a small hill slope onto my driveway. I'm gritting my teeth because I just.cannot.boil.anymore. Shall I bring you my sap? :D

[Run Forest Run!]

MSM, if that sap comes along with a little helper or two, then perhaps. ;) You must be swimming in syrup by now. How much have you made so far?

[MustardSeedMum]

haha, my little helpers have defected. They're now helping daddy haul logs out of the forest - they get paid for that job. :)
My total this season came out to 51L plus today's 2L (?) which we made into 3.3lbs of sugar. Mostly light, with 1 batch of medium.

Going to start cleanup this week. First thing tomorrow I'm pulling the taps so I don't agonize over the sap collecting in the buckets.

[Galena]

Thanks MSM for sharing your experiences with making sugar...I will have to do it manually as don't have a kitchen aide or similar heavy-duty mixer handy. But I thought 260 sounded kinda excessive! Will try 245-250 and see what happens. Once I get finished with me trees!

[MustardSeedMum]

Galena, you can do it by hand. When we took some out at 245, we used a wooden spatula to get it to sugar. The mixer came into play because the rest was in a larger pot and my arm couldn't handle the quantity as it stiffened.

I noticed as I took it off around 250 that the mixture is a kind of "gloppy foam". Just keep stirring and getting it off the sides of your pot. Stir, stir, stir. It'll soon magically become sugar. Really cool. I might try some again and see if we can do a video.

[Run Forest Run!]

haha, my little helpers have defected. They're now helping daddy haul logs out of the forest - they get paid for that job. :)
My total this season came out to 51L plus today's 2L (?) which we made into 3.3lbs of sugar. Mostly light, with 1 batch of medium.

Going to start cleanup this week. First thing tomorrow I'm pulling the taps so I don't agonize over the sap collecting in the buckets.

Great effort this year MSM. You, MSD and the seedlings are to be congratulated. Just curious, but will your family consume all of the syrup over the course of the year, or do you use it for gifts etc? It's so wonderful to have an abundance to be able to try things like making maple sugar and to scour the net for cool recipes that call for maple syrup.

[MustardSeedMum]

Thanks Karen. It was fun this year. Except for the crazy week we had last week, the season seemed more relaxed.
And thanks to your tips, my finishing process has been a lot less crazy as well.

We still have about 8L left from our 2013 50L stash. This is personal consumption plus lots given away. Still trying to decide whether to sell some to friends this year. Pricing is so touchy. We're definitely going to experiment more with value added products. My oldest made some maple popcorn the other day. Oh my. My husband thought we'd bought popcorn from Kernels!

[Run Forest Run!]

Still trying to decide whether to sell some to friends this year. Pricing is so touchy. We're definitely going to experiment more with value added products. My oldest made some maple popcorn the other day. Oh my. My husband thought we'd bought popcorn from Kernels!

Yes, pricing. That can be a sensitive issue. You want to give lots away, but recovering some of your costs for your time and supplies can be nice. Do you think "your oldest" might be convinced to share the maple popcorn recipe here? I'd love to give it a try. Maybe I could mix it with a batch of maple nuts to create a new family favourite.

[NTBugtraq]

Yes, pricing. That can be a sensitive issue. You want to give lots away, but recovering some of your costs for your time and supplies can be nice.

Perhaps its because I got into this strictly to make some of my income, but pricing was only an issue for me in the very beginning, when a few people looked at me in horror as I gave them my price. This year, my base price for 1L didn't change, C$25. I upped the price of my 500mL to $15, and bought 125mL "Royal" bottles and priced that at $5. The 24 x 125mL bottles sold out in a week...so I bought more, and I added 48 x 50mL "Autumn" bottles (the ones shaped like a maple leaf) with a tag, and sell that for $5 as well. Nobody has complained about the price this year, and I have already had a number of repeats from last year.

As for friends, like everyone, I have a few I outright gift, and others I give no discount to as I know they can afford it. That other small group gets a 20% discount, period. Oh, and my stuff is all between medium and amber. I would charge even more for light.

Just pick a price, stick with it, and have confidence that your product is awesome.

[Run Forest Run!]

Boiling down 16L gathered today from the sugar maple bush. A nice surprise.

[5050racing]

It's funny most people like the dark over the light down here so charging more is reversed here?

[Galena]

Possibly, regional differences in taste and all...from what I've experienced over the years, the light is more tempered in terms of actual maple flavour and has more interesting notes like vanilla and marshmallow. The darker my syrup gets, the more I get a stronger maple and then a noticeable tone of brown sugar/molasses/coffee (all acceptable flavours on the Flavour Wheel btw).

I don't sell my syrup, I either give it away or barter for other regional goodies, and will describe to recipients what kind of things they can expect to taste in certain batches of syrup. Lots of people try and like the light marshmallowy/vanilla, but even more love the more developed mid-run maple flavour and the late-season coffee/brown sugar/molasses.

[NTBugtraq]

Galena,

We have a lot of honey makers around here, so for light, vanilla, marshmallow flavors people like honey. I really don't get why people would like a less maple-flavored syrup...;-]...but they grade it that way for some reason??

I have developed an unproven theory that the longer the sap sits, the darker it gets. This is why I believe syrup gathered later in the season is generally darker, and why my first year I was able to boil up an ultra light batch...it was taken from tree to pot and boiled within hours of coming from the tree, like most of you bucket boilers do. I can't start my arch till I have 50 gallons or so collected, and then for the first several days I am leaving it on the arch to get 8L to syrup...so the sap has sat longer. Its all good with me, I like medium to amber, thicker, and sweeter...

I collected maybe 15 gals of sap today, but bottled 13L @ 71.4brix. I know its high, but if I don't sell it I will turn it into sugar or something. Hey, quick sugar question, I assume you filtered the syrup at some point before you went to sugar...and it would seem you can't filter after you've gotten up there (say above 230F?)...am I right?

[5050racing]

I will agree the lighter has marshmallow ,vanilla flavor for sure,we sit around n taste all the batches and some from last year,it's fun to compare them! With my friends,I give away more then I sell always!

[Timberwolf]

Galena,

"I really don't get why people would like a less maple-flavored syrup...;-]...but they grade it that way for some reason??"



Grading is a layover from the old days when maple sugar was the primary sweetener used in the Americas. It was used as a sweetener in most everything and thus maple flavor was not always desirable especially for some dishes. In my opinion grading adds little value, fortunately grading is not required in Ohio.

[Run Forest Run!]

The 16L boiled down from last night is delicious. I kept it separate from my last two smaller batches in case it ended up tasting like Lesley's buddy batch. Don't want that! It's now safe to combine all three to bring to final density. I don't know how much more sap will be running at the sugar bush down the street, but what I'm getting right now sure makes a yummy syrup.

[MustardSeedMum]

Was your last batch light as well, Karen? We took all the buckets off yesterday - threw away about 60L of sap. :cry: Spent the day washing the buckets. Today I'll be cleaning the tubing and pans.

Last night we tried to make maple nuts with some light syrup we had from 2013. Total disaster. First batch we took it to 245-250. Ended up with clumps of taffy cashews. Second batch took it to 260 and ended up with rock almonds. Gah - we wanted sugared nuts. Trying to figure out what went wrong. I've heard about syrup sometimes having too much(?) invert sugars which messes things up?

Made maple popcorn today again. Here's the recipe we used:
1 cup maple syrup (light)
3/4 cup popcorn kernels
pinch of salt
butter

Butter the sides of a saucepan. Cook syrup until hard ball stage (260). I put in a pinch of salt and ~1 tsp of butter and stirred it in to the syrup
just before pouring it over the popped corn. Mix to coat popcorn.

This makes lightly coated popcorn - probably equivalent to the double butter popcorn sold at Kernels. If you like double double butter, adjust your amounts of syrup/popcorn ratio. If you like the maple flavour to be stronger, I think using a darker grade syrup would be better. (Or use maple flavouring...hahaha that's blasphemy on this board, isn't it?!)

[Run Forest Run!]

Thanks for the recipe MSM. It looks like a keeper!

Low and behold, for the first time ever I am actually making something other than light and extra light syrup. Last night's batch will register as a medium. It appears that three of my batches this year might end up being medium. When I do the final bottling I'll know for sure. I'm thrilled to have a little extra variety with my syrups this year.

[Run Forest Run!]

I'll be pulling my taps here tomorrow, and likely the ones down the street as well. Mine are dry, and the ones down the street held a lovely collection of bugs, flies and moths doing the backstroke. I dumped out the little bit of sap in those buckets and tomorrow when I check on them I'll be either bringing home sap or bringing home the buckets. It's do or die. It's been a great year. Can't wait to finish off what I've got and update my signature with a final tally for 2015. :)

[67HEAVEN]

Now that Karen's pulling the plug, I think it's fairly safe to say it's all over. :lol:

[Run Forest Run!]

Good one 67Heaven. :lol: Yes, I'm a real die-hard. I can hear the fat lady singing loud and clear.

[MustardSeedMum]

Low and behold, for the first time ever I am actually making something other than light and extra light syrup. Last night's batch will register as a medium. It appears that three of my batches this year might end up being medium. When I do the final bottling I'll know for sure. I'm thrilled to have a little extra variety with my syrups this year.

That's great, Karen. For the first time ever, I've not made anything darker than medium. :D I'm wondering if it has anything to do with the fact that I took off each batch after a max of 1-2 days of boiling. I used to just keep my nearups on the arch for several batches.

But yes, it's great to have the variety of syrups. Looking forward to seeing your final tally.

[Run Forest Run!]

Pulled my home taps today. All but one was dry as a bone. Went to pull the taps at the sugar bush, but instead came home with 16L of 3%. It's boiling now and I hope I don't end up with buddy soup. We'll soon find out!

Sounds like a nice syrup variety for you too this year MSM. You could be right about the syrup being darker the longer it boils. My sap is never usually boiling longer than 6-8 hours before it becomes syrup. That's likely a major contributor to me only getting light and extra-light syrup.

[Galena]

I have pics (no colour manipulation done) of my 6 home bush syrup samples in dollar-store spice jars, Karen. Will send em to you for *grading*...ONCE I CATCH UP WITH MY TREES!!!!!

Yes they're still producing, just got another 10l...#6 is leading the pack with all 3 spiles going strong, and both #1 and #9 are being one-spile wonders. All perfectly clean, clear, sweet sap with not too many bugs to fish out.

Have it all on the stove now, but what I did was collect from each tree in separate containers, and boiled 2cups from each batch individually in a small saucepan to boiling to make sure no fouls smells arose. None did, so the two main boiling pots are back in service...again...I feel like I'm stuck in an endless sugaring vortex :-O

And still not a single bud to be seen on the sugars, which are the only ones producing now. The reds' buds are looking fat but haven't blown yet.

[NTBugtraq]

Well, I don't get it. I have been down to 26F every night for the past 3 days, and at least below 28F all night each night, but nothing is coming in from my bush. I walked the lines today and there are no breaks or taps out...I really thought I'd be getting sap. Still no visible buds. I haven't boiled for the last 2 days as I have only 120gals of sap left...I was worried if I boiled off all available sap I would have to take the nearup off the arch and ruin the gradient. Near freezing in my forecast through Saturday night, so not ready to shut down yet...but I will likely boil down my remaining 120gals tomorrow and leave the arch full till I see what may come on the weekend.

Sales are awesome, I shipped syrup to Colorado and B.C. today...;-]

[Run Forest Run!]

The taps in the sugar bush are still dripping well - some at a gallon/day. But..........the pails are so full of moths that the sap in the buckets is totally brown with 'moth dust'. For days I've been trying to position bags over the pails to keep the moths out, but without success. As much as it pained me to do it, I pulled the taps at the sugar bush. Sap was still flowing out in rivers down the trunks of the trees, but without a closed sap collection system I had little choice. :( I guess the sap collected and boiled yesterday will be officially my last batch. It's too bad because the sap that I was currently getting from the sugar bush was giving me delicious medium syrup. I'll get my last few batches to proper density and then hook up the power washer to blast everything clean for 2016.

[Maplesapper]

Sales are awesome, I shipped syrup to Colorado and B.C. today...;


Hey NT-
Congrats on the successful sales-
How are you handling the cross border sales- re: shipping liquids ?
What have you found is working well kijiji, your website etc.

We are a small producer, but trying to sell about 20 gallons to try and help cover some of the costs.
Most of our sales are actually giveaways to friends\.....\lol

[NTBugtraq]

Hey NT-
Congrats on the successful sales-
How are you handling the cross border sales- re: shipping liquids ?
What have you found is working well kijiji, your website etc.

We are a small producer, but trying to sell about 20 gallons to try and help cover some of the costs.
Most of our sales are actually giveaways to friends\.....\lol

Canada Post didn't require me to do anything other than state on the shipping label that it was Maple Syrup from Canada. I did specifically ask if there were any other hoops I had to go through and they said no.

As far as advertising, I do have an ad on Kijiji, but no sales from there that I can see. I don't have a web site, so my sales have been by word of mouth. I got cards from Vista Print and have been giving them out to everyone who comes. GL...I am happy to finally have syrup after the season as I sell so many other things throughout the year I will now be able to offer syrup as well. I hope this gets more people to realize they can get syrup here next season.

[Maplesapper]

Good luck with your future sales.
Thanks for the info

[Run Forest Run!]

All of my 2015 syrup has now been finished to proper density. Had a phenomenal year ending up with 25.1 L of syrup with batches in light, medium and amber. I had only ever made light syrup before. Production was double that of last year. :)

The change in weather has all of my spile holes weeping, and it's killing me to see sap running down the bark but all of my collection buckets are now washed and stored for next year. I've updated my signature and had another year of great fun in the forest and great conversation on MapleTrader. Thanks to everyone for all of their enthusiasm and guidance again this year.

[Jerome]

A nice warm day here on the south coast of Ontario and I can't tap as I sold my orchard and moved to Niagara Region with no maples in my yard. I hope you all have a good season.

[Run Forest Run!]

Out of curiosity today I snapped a couple of tiny twigs on several maples to see what would happen. When sugary drops formed right away I certainly had mixed emotions. Restraint was the challenge of the day after that.

[BrutemanAl]

The temps this week around my place would be ideal, but after Thursday it cools down again, and looking at Accu-weather( I know it will probably change) but I will likely be getting the taps in the trees in around the last weekend of February.... seems so far away, I will definitely be watching the Weather and these forums.

[Run Forest Run!]

The temps this week around my place would be ideal, but after Thursday it cools down again, and looking at Accu-weather( I know it will probably change) but I will likely be getting the taps in the trees in around the last weekend of February.... seems so far away, I will definitely be watching the Weather and these forums.

Same here Al. That's why I going to wait even if those drops of sap are out there just taunting me.

[67HEAVEN]

It's 7C / 45F here this afternoon. Feels like March 15th, not the end of January.

[PCFarms]

Anyone started tapping in Central Ontario - Simcoe/Bruce or Haliburton/Kawartha?
Looks like we are getting thawing conditions later this week, but nothing big yet.
We are going to start our tapping this week - getting very excited!

[JDP]

We are tapping starting tomorrow morning. ..........forcast shows a lot of favourable temps later this week. hoipefully deep freeze is over.

Cant wait to fire my new arch1

[Lespetras]

Same here Al. That's why I going to wait even if those drops of sap are out there just taunting me.
Hey hey Karen,
R u in hibernation? I'm the same ... Waiting for warmer weather to tap! It's depressing right now.. Keep us eastern board posted on when u tap!

[MaxJ]

The cold snap is coming to an end, but the downside is this 100% chance of 30-40cm of snow tomorrow. Looks like it'll be a chore to open up all the trails, just when I thought I was getting off easy this year by having not to do this too often.

[Run Forest Run!]

Hey hey Karen,
R u in hibernation? I'm the same ... Waiting for warmer weather to tap! It's depressing right now.. Keep us eastern board posted on when u tap!

Hi! While the weather at the end of this week look inviting, I'm leaning toward tapping closer to the 26th. While I'm normally not collecting consistently until mid March, this year I'm betting that we'll get a two week head start on the season. I know that I could have been collecting a bit here and there at the moment, I want my buckets to be on freshly drilled holes this year. I'm surprising myself with my restraint this year.

[ridgerunner394]

Well like everyone else I am sitting and waiting for the temp to turn! Cold here still -20 C last night. But calling for rain on weekend, my guess is I will be collecting by first week in March with pails on and set last week in Feb judging by long term forecasts...

that was a real teaser at start of the month!

John ~

[ridgerunner394]

couldn't help myself, I gave in and put my 25 taps in yesterday at around 2pm. Heck it was close to 10C here! Well several of the pails were at the brim today, pulled down just over 25 gal sap. This will make a good batch to warm up the old pan with :{) Going to turn cold again so it will let me work out the bugs and be set for when the good runs begins.

[Run Forest Run!]

Awesome start to your season ridgerunner! Let the fun begin in Baltimore. :D

[ridgerunner394]

Thanks Karen - have to admit I was surprised to see it run so well :{)

[PCFarms]

What a weekend!
We tapped about 2500 trees over the weekend and collected over 4000 gallons of sap! Got a ton of boiling to do yet - the cold weather should give us a little breather to get the rest of them in. We are still working on a few details - one of our sap ladders isnt ready yet and there are some leaks to fix, but things are looking good!

[Run Forest Run!]

Geez PCFarms, you and ridgerunner are killing me! I know that I could have been getting sap over the past few days but I hope that gambling on fresh taps in a week will be a good choice in the long run. If this season warms up quickly and cuts the collection time short I'll be sorry that I didn't jump in like you two did! Have fun boiling down those 4000 gallons. I should be able to smell the steam from here. :)

[daverobitaille]

Well, I am glad I was able to boil this weekend. Collected about 100 gallons of sap and will finish to boil today. Now looks like this was just a teaser as the long range looks like sub zero temps for untill the first week of March. Well, the pan is sweet!

[PCFarms]

Apparently, tapping early doesn't effect sap yields too much, the early runs basically make up for the late ones - the important thing is to use new "health" spiles every year. The new clean ones keep out the bacteria longer and keep the sap flowing to the end of the season.

Here is a piece of research
http://www.uvm.edu/~pmrc/tapping.pdf

[Run Forest Run!]

So.....:confused:......I think this weekend might be a good time to pop in some taps on the open trees. That way I can at least collect over the weekend and store whatever sap I get in my large collection pail. When it dips below freezing at the beginning of the week I'll happily remove the ice each day to concentrate the sugars. I'll hold off on the forest trees for another week.

Any other jumpers in the area this weekend? Should I hide the drill for another week?

[JDP]

We had a great run last weekend. 200 gallons from 75 taps. Almost 6 gallons finished syrup. Our new evap hit 16.6 gallons an hour without our preheater yet booked up and a wind blowing on it as well. Shell be well over 20gph once the Shack walls are on and preheater done. (Shack Framed but not completed yet) You need to tap tomorrow Fun Forest Run as your missing the boat. Caledon will be almost 10 degrees on Sunday!

[Run Forest Run!]

Well, twist my arm JDP. lol I was hoping for an easy sale and I got it! Pitter patter let's get at'r.

[MarkReynolds]

Well Karen I'm Tapping Saturday I can't wait any longer! I'm not missing out like I did last weekend..

[STP92x]

Just put my taps in this morning and the sap was flowing as soon as I pulled the drill bit out. Looking like it will be a good weekend.

[MarkReynolds]

Put all my drop lines in crazy windy today ugh. Few of the sugars were running but tomorrow should be a bit better.

[Run Forest Run!]

Needed to empty two of the jugs before breakfast before they overflowed. The others are slowly waking up and I expect to be collecting from them by the end of the day. I have fewer than half of my taps in so far so the fun's just starting. :) BTW, my Norway is offering up 3.5% this morning.

[Bruce L]

Must be a heat wave up your way Karen,snow and ice still solid to walk on here to get back into the woods

[Run Forest Run!]

Bruce, I'm having to empty again before dark. One silver maple tap has given me 8L today! I've never seen anything like it with that tree before. And 3% to boot!

[NTBugtraq]

Hey all, nice to be back syruping. I got 45 gallons of sap today, but my vacuum pump isn't getting any atmosphere's so there must be a significant leak out there in the bush. I tapped a week or so ago and didn't have the pump on when I did so no way to know if the taps were tight. So tomorrow I will be out pushing taps in that little bit. I will do a boil tomorrow to clean out the lines.

[Run Forest Run!]

Finished my third collection today. Out of 13 taps I have in, 9 are producing. Got 36L today from them, all with sugar content no lower than 3%. Not a bad first day.

[Maplesapper]

Getting jealous reading these posts....still frozen solid in Parry Sound

[SAS]

Where are you all located? I tap up at the cottage in Bracebridge and I haven't had a chance to get up there yet. Worried I missed a run.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[ennismaple]

Where are you all located? I tap up at the cottage in Bracebridge and I haven't had a chance to get up there yet. Worried I missed a run.

SAS - I don't think you've missed anything. When it was +15 C in Toronto yesterday afternoon it was frozen solid at -5 C in Perth at our farm! Crazy how much of a difference there was 3 hours apart!

[SAS]

Thanks Ennismaple. Hoping to get the taps in this week.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[NTBugtraq]

Where are you all located? I tap up at the cottage in Bracebridge and I haven't had a chance to get up there yet. Worried I missed a run.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I'm east of Kirkfield on HWY 48. I've collected 76 gallons so far.

[Run Forest Run!]

I'm near Albion Hills. I've collected 61L from 9 taps in two days. The freezing temps for the next few days will be perfect for me to be skimming slushy ice from my holding tank. I've taken an initial sugar reading of 3% for the sap in the tank. It'll be interesting to see how high the sugar will be in the tank after four or five days of tossing the ice.

Even with the wicked winds we've had for the past two days, the trees have been more than generous.

[naturenitwit]

Hey gang. I am a little further north of NTBugtraq in Minden, and am tapping this weekend. I had one test tap in an 18 inch DBH that has not really done much yet so I think we are ok. These posts have been making me a little nervous as well. I usually see a big difference in my woodlot as I sit on the Canadian shield as I suspect you would as well in Bracebridge. I drive by NTBugtraq's place every weekend (and bucket dump run when it is hopping), and I find that my woodot is always a little behind. On the positive side it also runs a little longer. The shield starts about 30 km south of me and it really seems to change the temperatures quite a bit. I always seem to have a heavy run in the end just when everyone south of me has pulled their taps.
Good luck and happy sapping. Looks good next week, so no pressure but get your butt up there this weekend.

[gmack]

I hope to be tapping on saturday here in Renfrew . 325 taps on buckets .

[Run Forest Run!]

I've got 19 taps in so far and just waiting for the first big run. Things should rip wide open tomorrow and Monday. While waiting for the cold weather to break around here I was asked by my cousin's son if I'd show him the ropes on how to tap and make syrup. What a fun day that was. Took him through the entire process. I think there's another budding sugarer in the making. I told him that he needs to be careful about taking on this new hobby. A fireman who also makes his own syrup?? Look out ladies. ;)

[BrutemanAl]

The boys and I (well there was 2 boys with me, but 1 just sat on the atv lol, didn't want to get his boots dirty) put in another 9 taps & buckets yesterday, I picked up 10 brand new... never used 20 L buckets and lids Friday, so yesterday the boy(s) and I went and put them in place. I also boiled down my collection from last week and I had forgot just how much I enjoy filtering it :(

[Brian66]

Taps went in today, sap just starting.

[naturenitwit]

How was the flow today

Taps went in today, sap just starting.

[Brian66]

Not much flow today. I don't think it got cold enough last night. It looks like a few days of being too warm now. The weekend looks promising though.

[BrutemanAl]

I collected 30 ltrs yesterday around lunch time, everything was flowing really really well. I probably could have gone back in the early evening and collected, but ran out of time, today i suspect i will collect around the same amount if not more :)

[Run Forest Run!]

Not much flowing today, but am boiling off what I have. My one storage pail with 61L of ice in it had a fair bit of melted sap that I was able to pour off. It was registering at 10%. That helps!

[ridgerunner394]

somewhat disappointing of a run today, although the temps did seem fairly high it was mostly overcast here - really need that nice sunshine to help out! I collected 25 gal (from Monday afternoon till this morning). It was dripping fairly well but seemed to shut down mid day. I ended up with another 10 gal today, still would like to see more cold temps at night.. forecast is 14C tomorrow!!
So far boiled off just under 2 gal syrup :{)

[Run Forest Run!]

Today I boiled the sap that I had to the nearup stage. Added my nearup from the first boil and made 2.9L of syrup tonight. I'm letting it settle in jars instead of filtering. Got 39:1, so a decent sugar count. It seemed to take forever to get to the proper density, but I'm happy that I've finally got some syrup for 2016. :)

[BrutemanAl]

I boiled off 45 ltr yesterday,it was sap I had collected from a few days ago and yesterday morning, just finishing it now on the stove.

I went over to the forest around 3 pm yesterday expecting to see some good drippage.... not so much, it was dripping but very slowly, then I remembered what Big Eddy told me when we had the cold snap, just to leave the taps be till we get out of the cold snap, then check them, so out came the hammer and I tapped them all ever so slightly and guess what.... the drippage got real fast. I was kind of frustrated that I forgot what Big Eddy told me, hope I didn't miss much yesterday.

[Run Forest Run!]

Al, thanks SO much for that reminder. My very marginal sap day is looking slightly better after I reset my taps with a gentle "thunk". Its no tsunami, but every extra drop helps. :)


Update: Sap count for the day drastically improved after I got to the sugar maples down the street. :)

[Bruce L]

Karen,I notice in your profile you are down 9 taps,did you lose some trees or time?

[Run Forest Run!]

Karen,I notice in your profile you are down 9 taps,did you lose some trees or time?

Thanks for reminding me to update my signature Bruce. :) That number of taps was correct until recently. A couple of days ago I added ten more taps into the sugar bush down the street. I couldn't get in there any earlier due to snow on the laneway. Thank goodness I've got taps in there as they might be the saving grace to my season. I might end up pulling some here and putting them down there instead. Today I collected 85L on the ten down there and sadly, most of them had overflowed long before I got there. Then I made a dumb manoeuvre and dumped 15L of it all down my pants and boots. Good thing there was still lots left. :lol:

[NTBugtraq]

Well, I had collected 240gal of sap up to 3:00pm yesterday when I finally got my vacuum working again. For 3 days I walked the lines checking for leaky taps...when low and behold the problem was at a pressure tank right next to the pump. Took one of the ends off and greased the O-ring, and voila, there's the vacuum...so with that fixed, I started my first boil of the season. Looks to me like its going to be a good season.

[Run Forest Run!]

Aside from that large block of ice in my storage pail, I'm all caught up with my sap. I'm happy to report that I made 3 more litres this weekend and now have 6L of wonderful looking syrup. Finally I feel like I'm officially in the syrup game for 2016. :) This weekend and next week certainly look promising as long as the buds don't break.

[BrutemanAl]

I didn't collect a thing yesterday, it was flowing....slowly.... I think, or it was rain I saw dripping in the buckets. How do you know if it is rain water or sap? Other than using my refractometer. 1 of my water jugs on the forest floor had a few liters in it, but it had a yellowish tinge to it, don't think I will keep that, unless I am told otherwise by you wonderful people. My last 2 batches I have boiled down have ended up really really dark, can't even see through it even when held up to the light, but taste's wonderful, I prefer the dark anyhow.

[Galena]

...it had a yellowish tinge to it, don't think I will keep that, unless I am told otherwise by you wonderful people. My last 2 batches I have boiled down have ended up really really dark, can't even see through it even when held up to the light, but taste's wonderful, I prefer the dark anyhow.

Relax, it's just tree pee, aka good ol' rain or snow getting into your sap. So long as it doesn't smell or taste *off* then it's fine to use, though some dump it out on aesthetic grounds. Sounds like you're getting some gorgeous black syrup, if it's that dark that you can't even see through it...yum!!!

[MaxJ]

Relax, it's just tree pee, aka good ol' rain or snow getting into your sap. So long as it doesn't smell or taste *off* then it's fine to use, though some dump it out on aesthetic grounds. Sounds like you're getting some gorgeous black syrup, if it's that dark that you can't even see through it...yum!!!

You beat me to it Galena. :) Al if it just a little bit I'd keep it, but if it's dark yellow I usually dump it as it's not a big loss. The first time I saw the "Tree Pee" I really thought that it was, and somebody was playing a cruel joke!

[Run Forest Run!]

Accuweather's forecast looks really good for us for the next two weeks starting Friday. Wouldn't that be nice! Some of the soft maples might be too far gone, but most of the sugars should still be hanging in.

[sinker]

Flowing good here south of peterborough today.

So far 9l finished out of 46 taps on buckets. I hope to at least double that before its all done!!

S.

[Run Forest Run!]

Surprise, surprise. Despite not dipping below freezing last night I collected 27L from 10 sugar maple taps today. :confused: Perhaps that crazy low pressure system that blasted through here yesterday had an unexpected side effect. Below freezing temps are forecast for tonight.

[wobbletop]

Just washed out my buckets and going to rehang them on the trees. Only 8 trees. I've only boiled down 5.5L of syrup this year (down from 7.5L last year) so hopefully this week will bump me up. The taps have been on the trees since Feb 21st though.

[67HEAVEN]

I never fully grasped how much of an impact micro-climates can have. I guess I live in the Banana Belt of South Central Ontario.

Here in the southwest corner of Northumberland County (a couple of km north of Lake Ontario and about 7 km east of Durham Region), I've had no sap running for over a week. Now, I could swear my Silver Maples are in bud.

Syrup so far this year? 0

I tossed the small amount of sap I had in the buckets due to so much warm weather and not enough to bother boiling.

Here's to a better 2017.

[Maplesapper]

Hey Heaven-
Our area is the same sad story.
We setup and had one marginal run; made 2 gallons.
Now its -14 and when the weather finally breaks; the sun may have coaxed the buds too far along just like in 2012.
SW is over and in our honey hole up north we have barely started....

[Run Forest Run!]

There was nothing to collect today. Despite the forecasted low, I don't think it actually got below freezing last night. Tonight it most certainly will. Let's hope that recharges the trees for tomorrow. I pulled five of my Silver and Freeman maple taps today and moved them to sugar maples down the street. If I have decent luck there, I'll move more.

67Heaven, I would be almost certain that your Silvers are done. Mine are flowering. Are there any nearby Sugars, Manitobas (box elders) or Norways you can tap? Those ones are still really good around here and likely are still good in your area too. If you can find a few, our weather looks fairly decent for more sap this coming week and into next week. Even if you get a little bit, that should soften the blow of what the Ontario Maple Syrup Production Report has labelled as a "tricky" year for us. That's certainly the word for it!

Looks like those of us who didn't tap during those early flows and gambled on a somewhat normal season in March have rolled snake eyes instead of sixes.

[Galena]

*wandering in* hey all...nothin happening in Eastern, though it was cold enough overnight, it was sunny but windy today so not even 8l over last two days...anyways...I haz Tap Me toques for sale, limited edition, only 8 left! See Classifieds for details or PM me.

[NTBugtraq]

I had no sap run yesterday, and the forecast doesn't look good for sap until next Saturday...although the forecast is very close to good.

Luckily I have 320 gallons of sap still to boil.

[BrutemanAl]

I didn't get anything yesterday either, tree's started to drip around 3:30 pm, the sun didn't come pop out of the clouds till around 1pm, and that darn wind didn't help one bit !!! We took the kids out for a bit yesterday, and I was all excited on our way home, I kept thinking to myself.... this is perfect sap condition's :) , got home went right over to the forest and almost cried when I started to look in the buckets :cry:, I keep asking myself "what have I done wrong this year ?", then I check this site and see everyone else is in the same boat as me. Getting frustrated but I'm still hoping to get more.

[MaxJ]

Trying to plan for anything this season seems to be wishful thinking, the weather looks good and then it doesn't happen. Looking at two different weather reports for this next weekend Accuweather has temps. 19c-13c-12c, and The Weather Network has it 9c-4c-6c it's totally crazy to have them so far apart.

It's like ordering and getting my new pan, was promised it Monday latest Tuesday-by Thursday it was going to be on the truck for Friday-no pan!:mad:

[NTBugtraq]

Today I dumped 16.5L of syrup. 2nd customer today who said they didn't like the flavor of the syrup. I quit smoking 5 weeks ago cold turkey after 49 years of smoking so my taste buds are useless atm. But if 2 people don't want to buy, it must suck, only problem is I don't know why...no buds, so that's not it. People said they thought it tasted burnt. I thought it had a "tang" to it.

Since my sugar shack sap lines are all frozen, I drained all the near-up off the arch. I plan on putting house water into the arch tomorrow (fill it up as much as I can) and boil it for an hour and then drain it all off. Start from scratch. There is no visible burnt sediment anywhere, so I don't know what else I can do.

Suggestions?

[Galena]

Hey Bugtrap, that's tough to hear that your syrup tastes burnt. Are these repeat customers who are familiar with your syrup or newcomers? Also something you could try is to find someone who you know doesn't smoke or is known to have a really good palate. Maybe the person who's the judge for the local fall fair? Personally, I'd take advantage of two sets of people for whom I've worked with in the past and am comfortable asking: the owners of the fine dining restaurant near me and possibly the chef (even if he is a little scary). Other people I would get to try are the owners of the closest sugarbush as they don't smoke either and have tasted a lot of sap in the 30 or 40+ years they've been doing it! Hope this helps!

[MaxJ]

What grade was the syrup NTBugtraq? That's a lot of work just to dump, it makes wonder why or how it could gone that way. Hasn't old sap got something to do with getting dark syrup with a robust flavour?
My first batch turned out dark and had a robust flavour, or a lot stronger than what I'd being use to from over this last year so the taste took me back a little as I wasn't expecting it to be so heavy.
It's hard to describe a taste in words but I could almost detect a slight burnt taste, and thought it was because of the burnt pan from a week before, but the pan was scraped, cleaned, rinsed so many times that I doubt that it could retain any previous problem. I tasted it a few hours later again and got a different impression again, and I asked the wife what she replied, "yummy". So plainly put if use to light a dark might throw off a person's taste preference, it's just a thought.

Lots of frozen blocks happening in the buckets and containers, as I was out all day and returned tonight and took a short walk around the taps.

[Bricklayer]

It's probley your mind playing games with you. With the burnt tasting syrup. It's like people say about when you have a fire in your house and after its all fixed up nobody else can smell it but you. You have the burnt pan smell in your head. One never forgets that sight or smell.

[NTBugtraq]

Thanks everyone, I appreciate the encouraging thoughts.

One of the two couples was a repeat customer, and they said distinctly there was a significant difference...and not in a good way. The syrup was very dark, and some of the sap was 1 week old. I agree that the older the sap the darker the syrup. I did not clean out my arch from last year as I had read many times people talking about "keeping their gradient" from last season. The thought that the syrup in there from last year might be a bad idea and that haunted me and perhaps kept me thinking it wouldn't be good...in any event, its all been dumped now so time to move on.

Now the only question is whether or not to use pan cleaner.

[Clinkis]

If I understand you correctly you are saying you left your pans full of syrup from last year?! Or do you mean since your last boil? Most people with continuous flow evaporators don't empty their pans out between boils to maintain their gradient but never heard leaving them full all year. I can't see how it would keep. If this is the case then I would think most definitely this is where your off taste is coming from.

[NTBugtraq]

If I understand you correctly you are saying you left your pans full of syrup from last year?! Or do you mean since your last boil? Most people with continuous flow evaporators don't empty their pans out between boils to maintain their gradient but never heard leaving them full all year. I can't see how it would keep. If this is the case then I would think most definitely this is where your off taste is coming from.

Yes, I left syrup in the arch since last year. Of course the arch was covered...but I guess I misunderstood what I thought people were doing.

[Maplesapper]

To clean the pans, we leave some syrup in them.
We leave the last bit of syrup to remain in the pans after the season....it rots, smells absolutely nasty.
Wait a month if you can stand it , and then one shot with the power washer and the pans are left nice and shiny and put away for the rest of the year.

[lpakiz]

Well, I think we have discovered the reason for the off-tasting syrup......

[NTBugtraq]

Well, this is the 2nd day the temps were close but no cigar...and now I am sitting looking at beautifully clean SS pans with transparent sap in them...dang, I so want to cook. Here's wishing for just a couple of degrees more.

[NTBugtraq]

I've had 1.5L of sap per tap over the past 24 hours, and it continues to flow today. Amazingly everything was thawed at 7:00am this morning so I started boiling then. Check your buckets folks...;-]

[Run Forest Run!]

I collected 92L this morning. I'm a happy boiler now!

[NTBugtraq]

I collected 92L this morning. I'm a happy boiler now!

Woot, WTG!!

[Run Forest Run!]

What a day! 137L! The 15 sugar maples that I tap gave up 113L today. From the 15 soft maples, I collected 24L. It's easy to tell that the sugar maples are ready to really kick into high gear now as the soft maples slow down. I started boiling this morning with a full storage pail and after boiling all day long I STILL have a full storage pail. Time to update my signature. :)

[NTBugtraq]

I've forgotten how long it takes to turn an arch full of nothing but fresh sap into my first draw-off. I've boiled for 18 hours and I think I am an hour or two away from my first draw (now tomorrow morning). Sound right?? No sap today.

[ridgerunner394]

I confess i am surprised at what this week has provided! I did not expect to see much of anything going by the poor performance of last weekend when I was only seeing 2.5gal of sap Sunday and 1.5 gal on Monday.
I did not make the trip to the bush Tuesday as the weather here was no hell and Wed. I was out of town all day.... when I got back I saw the posts here and was very anxious to see what this morning would show.

Well I have 25 taps, 24 of which were full to the brim and overflowing - frozen with icicles hanging off the bottom of the pails as they hung on the trees !! So, after a number of trips up and down the mountain (thanks to the freezing rain and snow overnight) I pulled out over 50 gal of sap - guess i will be boiling again this weekend :{)

[NTBugtraq]

I confess i am surprised at what this week has provided! I did not expect to see much of anything going by the poor performance of last weekend when I was only seeing 2.5gal of sap Sunday and 1.5 gal on Monday.
I did not make the trip to the bush Tuesday as the weather here was no hell and Wed. I was out of town all day.... when I got back I saw the posts here and was very anxious to see what this morning would show.

Well I have 25 taps, 24 of which were full to the brim and overflowing - frozen with icicles hanging off the bottom of the pails as they hung on the trees !! So, after a number of trips up and down the mountain (thanks to the freezing rain and snow overnight) I pulled out over 50 gal of sap - guess i will be boiling again this weekend :{)

I'm glad you got most of it...

[ridgerunner394]

Yes thanks NTBugtraq I hate to see it overflow but somehow that seems better than the alternative - dry pails :{)

[Run Forest Run!]

Whew! All caught up on my sap and syrup. Took all day, but it's done!! Made 6L of syrup today and now I'm hoping that Good Friday is going to live up to its name. ;) As far as the eye can see from up here on the hill everyone else is in a hydro blackout. Saw transformers exploding in the valley as I finished off my last batch on the stove. Caught a lucky break there.

[Ghs57]

Good work Ontario.

I'm done here in NY (Hudson Valley) except for the clean up, but following your progress. I guess I don't want the season to end.

[NTBugtraq]

Just bottled my first batch after cleaning out my pans and tossing 15L of syrup, and I am pleased to say that I now have a beautiful Medium bright orange grade of delicious syrup. Historically, my syrup has always been what I called a "Medium Amber", half-way between Medium and Amber. Now its definitely Medium, and boy does it look so different. I notice no difference in flavor from my historic syrup, just a difference in color.

I have run into another problem...getting the correct Brix. Last year I bought a temperature compensating digital refractometer, and this year I was having so many problems comparing calibrated thermometers with the refractometer that I decided to buy a handheld refractometer to calibrate the digital...

The problem I am having is that if I check any refractometer within 5 minutes (or so) of taking the sample, I get wonky results. After 5 minutes (inside the house), the results more accurately reflect the thermometer's readings.

So here is my question; What do you do during that waiting time (the 5 minutes I'm referring to)...do you keep boiling, stop boiling, what?? My syrup is in my finishing pan at the point I am trying to determine brix, so I can turn down the propane and more or less maintain a temperature. Today, I took a sample at +10F over boiling point and by the time the sample gave me an accurate reading the pan was at +11F. I ended up bottling at 69.3 Brix...not desirable.

Alternatively, does anyone know how much water (or sap) I could add to how much syrup to lower it by 1 Brix?

[NTBugtraq]

My sap started running again today at noon, hasn't run for 2 days.

[can'twaitforabigrun]

There is a chart is available for download at the attached link showing how much water/ sap to add to syrup that is too thick. It is in the hydrometer compensation document. http://www.omspa.ca/resources/downloads/#

[Galena]

There is a chart is available for download at the attached link showing how much water/ sap to add to syrup that is too thick. It is in the hydrometer compensation document. http://www.omspa.ca/resources/downloads/#

Thanks for the info! Sadly I can't download it, as I'm running Windows 7 and you need Windows 8 :-/

[NTBugtraq]

There is a chart is available for download at the attached link showing how much water/ sap to add to syrup that is too thick. It is in the hydrometer compensation document. http://www.omspa.ca/resources/downloads/#

Thanks for that, its really appreciated.

[NTBugtraq]

Thanks for the info! Sadly I can't download it, as I'm running Windows 7 and you need Windows 8 :-/

Its a PDF, or Adobe Acrobat document, nothing to do with Windows version Galena...??

[Galena]

I didn't say I can't open, cause I could if I could download it. But I can't download it. Just checked my files and it's nowhere to be found.

[NTBugtraq]

Thanks for the info! Sadly I can't download it, as I'm running Windows 7 and you need Windows 8 :-/

My bad, just realized I was looking at the wrong element. Galena, what do you get if you go to;

http://www.omspa.ca/download/brochures__charts/hydrometerchart1.pdf

[Galena]

Just tried it and it worked! Now I have it downloaded. Thanks Bugtrap! :-)

[Run Forest Run!]

Hearing peepers tonight. That's not a welcome sound just yet.

[Bruce L]

Not surprised Karen,talking about warm temperatures and rain tonight or tomorrow,that should just about end it. Saw another snake out today,some sort of black butterfly or moth that comes out after sugarmaking,and there were a lot of small summertime bugs buzzing around the sap in the tanks. Only thing missing is a phoebe always shows up to claim the sugarhouse as her home for the summer.

[Run Forest Run!]

Didn't see a phoebe today Bruce, but the bluebirds returned yesterday in the middle of the ice storm. They seemed happier today.

[sluggish]

Well the sap was running like mad yesterday here. Everyone of my 5 gallon jugs and 3 gallon jugs were overflowing so I poured them all into my 55 gallon barrel. 4 hours later they are all overflowing again and I am completely out of storage. I might do one more boil but I will only get through maybe 30-35 gallons during a boil. My neighbor has taken some but judging by the weather here tomorrow and the next day, I will be continually be flooding the ground with sap. I collected about 100 gallons yesterday and I have no idea how much ended up on the ground. If anybody is in the Barrie area and wants to take away 50-60 gallons of sap, bring your containers. I'm getting ready to pull the taps tomorrow but if somebody wants the sap, I will leave them in until Thursday or Friday for you. I definitely need a more bigger evaporator for next year. Almost makes me cry to not be able to get through it, but hopefully somebody can.

[canadian_diesel1964]

I wish I could come get it...down in London area and its still flowing good here...I am surprised but my trees are sheltered from the sun on a low ridge..I am a newbee at best

[Run Forest Run!]

Only thing missing is a phoebe always shows up to claim the sugarhouse as her home for the summer.

Hey Bruce, your phoebe is here on my deck right now. I'll let her know you are looking for her.

[NTBugtraq]

Well the sap was running like mad yesterday here. Everyone of my 5 gallon jugs and 3 gallon jugs were overflowing so I poured them all into my 55 gallon barrel. 4 hours later they are all overflowing again and I am completely out of storage. I might do one more boil but I will only get through maybe 30-35 gallons during a boil. My neighbor has taken some but judging by the weather here tomorrow and the next day, I will be continually be flooding the ground with sap. I collected about 100 gallons yesterday and I have no idea how much ended up on the ground. If anybody is in the Barrie area and wants to take away 50-60 gallons of sap, bring your containers. I'm getting ready to pull the taps tomorrow but if somebody wants the sap, I will leave them in until Thursday or Friday for you. I definitely need a more bigger evaporator for next year. Almost makes me cry to not be able to get through it, but hopefully somebody can.

Either my sap is running (which means I must be here and boiling, because my storage is full) or my storage is full but the lines are frozen to the arch (which means I couldn't add any sap to my storage). But next year I am going to add some storage to my trailer so I can take such offers. But I should add that 60 gallons is not really profitable to drive to get...(but hey, I am 1 hour from Barrie, if I was in Barrie it would definitely be profitable).

I have 400 gallons of storage here and this year has been weird as I have run always near capacity. Yesterday I couldn't boil as my lines were frozen and I had 160 gallons of storage space when I went to bed, I woke up this morning to only 10 gallons of space left...lolz. So, you're not alone. I have 6 x 5 gal food grade buckets that I keep handy just in case...

I should add, no buds here yet.

[NTBugtraq]

Another good day of boiling (started at 2:00am yesterday and today). Sap flowed a little bit today, only 40 gallons from 216 taps. Forecast says I can boil for 2-3 days before more potential sap, looks like I might finally get caught up. Still no sign of buds, heck I still have snow on most of the forest floor. So, I am currently behind on syrup produced since first sap flows, but every sap running day has been mega...so my fingers are still crossed for a very good year.

Is everyone else finished?

[Run Forest Run!]

The trees are no where near finished. Me on the other hand? That's a different story.

[Clinkis]

The trees are no where near finished. Me on the other hand? That's a different story.

I know the feeling.....just got back from and collecting and everything over flowing. Looked long and hard with hopes of seeing some swelling buds but no luck. I do agree that things could go for another week or two but don't think i'll make it.......

[NTBugtraq]

Alas, you need to do like I did, count on maple syrup for some portion of your yearly income...highly motivates you...;-]

[c0ps]

Your sap ran today? I had 144 L drop from what trees I have left yesterday, but today hardly a drop.

[Run Forest Run!]

That's really odd c0ps. My trees were doing well today. You'd think that we'd be experiencing the same results as one another today.

[c0ps]

That's really odd c0ps. My trees were doing well today. You'd think that we'd be experiencing the same results as one another today.
That's why I was surprised to hear yours ran, we must be less than 20 min from one another. Maybe it's because I only have Manitoba maples left.

[Run Forest Run!]

c0ps, I'd say my Manitoba maples were iffy today. A few weren't giving anything up, two were decent and one was really pumping it out. The taps on the north sides of the Manitobas were the best ones today.

[c0ps]

Ahhhhhhhhhh, ok maybe that can be it. I tapped all the trees on the south east side.