Tapping in Rochdale

[Maplesedge]

Every year, I think, "weirdest weather ever" until the next year comes. I'm sure some old timers here have seen it all, but this is a pretty weird year. It'll be interesting to see how long the season will last once it finally starts to warm up. Looks like this coming weekend will be good enough to start, so probably tap on Thursday and see what happens.

[Maplesedge]

First day, Thursday, 3/6/14

Was only 23F when I got out of work, but the streets were wet with melted snow from strong sunshine, a good omen. The next five days look ideal. Got to work with the brace and bit and every tap hole but two ran right away, nice sweet taste.

Never noticed this before, but one tree had wet spots on the bark. Sap was seeping from what looked at first like closed up old holes, just a very small circle, but looking closer, the cut was fresh, like someone had just started to score the bark with the tip of a drill, and there were several of these around the south side of the bole. I'm guessing it's from a woodpecker or some other bird, either drinking the sap, or luring bugs with it, or both. Tapped a couple, and they ran great.

End of first day, Friday, 3/7

Well, wasn't as warm today as I thought. Hardly anything in the bags. Supposed to be warmer tomorrow. This winter has to end sometime.

[Maplesedge]

Second full day. First day over 40F in a long while. But less than a gallon in every bag. Disappointing. Maybe the trees still too cold? A slow start to a slow year. Ah well, we'll see what tomorrow brings. Won't boil until next Sunday anyway.

[Maplesedge]

After four days, less than two gallons in each bag, total, and it's supposed to get cold again on Thursday. I boil outside on weekends, so by Sunday, maybe I'll have 20-30 gal of sap if I'm lucky, so 2-3 guarts of syrup. Pretty darn slow. But, it has to flow sometime, right? Will we have three weeks of gushers later? Nature is weird.

[Swampmapleman]

Mine are running slow too. Anywhere from 10 to 16 gals from 50 buckets. Some sugars mostly red.

[Maplesedge]

A little better today. Mid 50's. Enough in the bags that I had to change some out. Pulled off at least 15 gals.

Looking back on some records from 2007-2008, I was tapping from March 6 into early April, so I guess this year isn't that weird. Just seems that way after starting in mid Feb the past few years.

[Maplesedge]

Day six and back to no flow at all, not that cold today but cloudy and rainy, and now getting colder. Maybe a little come Friday and Saturday, with any luck. Next week not looking all that much better. Wonder if I can go into May?

[Maplesedge]

Two more days of nothing. But tomorrow's supposed to be warm. Guess my first boil will only be 20 gals. Wont take long anyway.

[Maplesedge]

Two MORE days of nothing, well maybe a gallon in each bag, probably from yesterday. The 15 gallons or so of sap I'm storing at home are frozen solid, and I decided to skip boiling all together for this weekend. Twenty gallons fills my pan, but I'd rather make a day of it with sixty gallons or so. Guess i'll see how this week goes. This is the last week of winter, supposedly.

[Worcester]

we have had maybe 3 or 4 decent days of flow a little up the road from you on Henshaw.
Sweetened the new pans with about 240 gallons of stored sap collected over the last couple weeks, the barrels never went without ice in them! Favorable weather for sap storage, but thats about it!
First season, trying about 200 taps. maybe 2/3 red maple, but a few sap cow yard trees as well.
Wednesday looks like the beginning of something good! Hoping to get rest of a 50 tap gravity line and 50 more buckets hung for Wed.
Good to see another sugarmaker from so close by on here.

[Maplesedge]

Wow, that's a lot of taps for your first year. I have some extra ones and tubing connectors if you want them. I'll drop by. There's actually quite a few people in town boiling, they just don't go online. Olny, down the end of Henshaw has a big rig. I'll do it until I run out of ice storm wood, then I'll give my pan to someone who wants to do small batches, its only 36"x18", but it's nice and deep. Didn't get any sap worth gathering today either. Hope you're right about the end of the week.

[Maplesedge]

Well, it's been a week since I last took some sap, and I just collected about 6 gallons. Mostly because tomorrow should be 50ish and raining and those are usually good flow days. It's been cold, and I'm sure the foot of ice for groundcover isn't helping. But, hey, today is the last day of winter, d**n it! If I find that groundhog, we're gonna have some BBQ.

Dan, nice rig you made, can't wait to see it running. Post some pics when you get a chance. If your welder friend has any scrap left, what I need for a door is a flat panel of iron or steel, ideally 16 1/2" wide by 12-13" high, with another piece at a 90 degree angle so it will stand up straight like a bookend, and some kind of handle. It'll stand up on the cinder block I run my blower through and cover the end of the fire box. If he's got nothing suitable, I can just keep using cinder blocks, they crack with the heat eventually, but they're cheap to replace. Thanks either way.

[Maplesedge]

Warm air! Love it. Collected more sap in the last 24 hours than in the previous 7 days! Definitely enough for a Sunday boil this week. Spring finally arrives!

Funny, some years I'm finishing up around this week, but this year just starting, hope it lasts a while. Have fun everybody!

[sweetwater sugar shack]

Hope it comes this way soon

[Swagner]

:evil:Did my first real boil yesterday. FINALLY !!!! I have three pans on a homemade evaporator per say. Plus a warming pot. Goes from warming pot into first pan. As middle pan gets low i transfer over. And same with third pan. It gets transferred from middle pan. Each step to the next pan is a little more evaporated. I brought my finish in today and after about a half hour on stove I had a half gallon of sweet thick yumminess.. Hope weather man is wrong about up coming cold spell !!!!!!!!! :confused:

[Maplesedge]

:evil:Did my first real boil yesterday. FINALLY !!!! I have three pans on a homemade evaporator per say. Plus a warming pot. Goes from warming pot into first pan. As middle pan gets low i transfer over. And same with third pan. It gets transferred from middle pan. Each step to the next pan is a little more evaporated. I brought my finish in today and after about a half hour on stove I had a half gallon of sweet thick yumminess.. Hope weather man is wrong about up coming cold spell !!!!!!!!! :confused:

Nice. Old school style. I love that first syrup of the year.

[Maplesedge]

Almost got up to 40F today, but real windy, so hardly any flow. Tomorrow should be warmer and better. Next week looks to start off cold, then improve. Guess it's going to be a take what you can get kind of year.

[Maplesedge]

Yesterday was pretty good, about 14 gal from six holes. Just finished setting up the arch for the first time this year, got about 40 gal or so to boil, some of it still frozen, but I'll work around that. Looks like a nice day to be outside boiling.

[Maplesedge]

Nothing much flowing again. End of the week looks good. Then next week looks too warm at night. Hope to get a third boil anyway. Finished my batch on the turkey fryer and bottled it. Ended up with a gallon and a pint, kind of a light amber. The color varies with the size of the container.

[Maplesedge]

No sap since Sunday, but looks like temps are about to open the floodgates. Here's hoping!

[Maplesedge]

Went Sunday to Thursday with nary a drop, and today 2 gal/tap. Forty-four degree rain is a good tree starter. Two years ago, in weather like this, I found the bags full, six gallons when they stretch, and overflowing, in one day. It could be like that tomorrow, when it gets into the fifties. Temps are predicted to be borderline freezing at night, but with some wind, maybe we can hang in for a week or two.

[Maplesedge]

Two years ago, in weather like this, I found the bags full, six gallons when they stretch, and overflowing, in one day. It could be like that tomorrow, when it gets into the fifties.

Come to think of it, if the trees are dripping all night, I'd better get out there and check em this morning. Going to have to collect twice a day if I can. It's flood stage!

[judgejp]

biggest run of the year yesterday afternoon thru to this morning. Nothing like a big leader bucket full to the brim!. 85 gallons off of 25 or so taps. pumping off the tank and back out and see how the other 50 did. I'm in northern mass so hopefully will hit NH soon
Pat

[Maplesedge]

Trees be flowin'!! Drip drip drip drip drip drip drip, like a faucet without a washer! I've waited the whole year for these days, hope they last a little while yet. Took another 12 gals off the six taps in about 21 hours, so could flow even a little faster still. Still enough snow around to keep my bags cold until Wednesday, which is the next day I can boil outside. We'll see what the weather looks like after that. Should have 60-70 gals at least by then.

Long ago, April 1st was New Years Day, as winter ended and a new cycle began. When they changed it to Jan 1, some folk naturally resisted, and were dubbed April Fools. True story. Google it.

[Maplesedge]

Strange days indeed. Another 23 hours go by and I collect only 4 gals, about a third of yesterday's haul. Actually a haul, because I have no trees, I have to drive a mile up the road to tap a friend's trees. I got two gallons from the largest of them, and a gal each from the other two, but expected more. It's 37F today and raining, but didn't freeze last night, so maybe they're shutting down a little. Forcast is the same through tomorrow, and no good outlook for freezing nights in sight, but I'm leaving the taps in this year and see what comes. Had to scavenge whats left of the snow to pack around the bags, and covered it all up with a tarp, and that's working pretty good, for now. How long can sap sit outside, up to 50F, and still be good?

[Maplesedge]

Cold and snowing a little. Only about 2 gal from six taps since yesterday. Should freeze tonight and be near 50 tomorrow, so hopeful. Next ten days look like above freezing at night, have to hope for wind chill. Guess I'll boil the 30 gal I have tomorrow, wont take long.

[Maplesedge]

Turned out to be a beautiful day. Got the 30 gals done, let the fire die to go an appointment, picked up another 10 gals on the way home, and just finished with that, so should make a gal of syrup, I'll finish it tomorrow. I think I'll hang in for one more boil on Sunday, and see what comes. Tree buds still tight and small, and I should have just enough snow to keep the bags cold. That'll make my usual 3 boils, 3 gals syrup for the year, just about 3 weeks later than the past few years. My bees kept coming over to check things out, can't tell if they're getting any significant amounts of pollen yet. Lot of flies out too. Nice way to end a long winter.

[Maplesedge]

Just barely touched freezing last night, might've had a little wind for chill, and 53F now, trees dripping pretty good, collected another 10 gals. Sap still clear, buds still tight, but I'm running out of snow for storage, will have to grab some from a pile down the road, but should make it to Sunday, and then quit. Outside knocking yesterday's batch down some more on the turkey fryer before I bring it in to finish and bottle. So much nicer to boil outside when it's in the fifties, instead of the low thirties.

[btflaw]

Not much flowed in Sterling yesterday into today. Just completed my final boil of the season and began pulling taps. I was having the same problem of keeping the sap cold. Best of luck hopefully you make it until Sunday.

[Maplesedge]

Not much flowed in Sterling yesterday into today. Just completed my final boil of the season and began pulling taps. I was having the same problem of keeping the sap cold. Best of luck hopefully you make it until Sunday.

Thanks. Sorry it's over for you. Weird year, but they're always weird somehow. Would've thought Sterling was just a little colder than here, your like 20 miles north of me, but could be one of us is in some kind of micro-climate, or the variation of individual trees. Seems I always run out of snow before the trees I tap even think about opening their buds. Kind of surprised that your sugars are already opening, are they like that normally, or just this year?

[btflaw]

I think the sugars are budding due to the fact that they get almost full sun on the field edge, the others in the shade and in the woods are still closed. I just was not getting much flow to keep going. Historically these trees are terrific and crank out the sap but as we all know the weather has not been on our side. The last boil went fine however my hydrometer broke which I took as another sign to call it a season.

[Maplesedge]

I think the sugars are budding due to the fact that they get almost full sun on the field edge, the others in the shade and in the woods are still closed. I just was not getting much flow to keep going. Historically these trees are terrific and crank out the sap but as we all know the weather has not been on our side. The last boil went fine however my hydrometer broke which I took as another sign to call it a season.

Bummer. There's a farm supply store out in Belchertown that has all things maple, darn if I can remember the name.

[Maplesedge]

Picked up 5 gal, so half of yesterday. Everything still looking good. Snow under the tarp in shade working really good, like a big outdoor cooler. Next year, I'll make a bigger pile in the shade with the snowblower, and cover it early to ensure a supply of snow for storage.

Went to pull some mulch off the garlic, which was keeping it too cold, and noticed my last row of parsnips was starting to sprout, so had to dig them up, pretty tasty when they overwinter. Nice to be outside in the warmth.

[Dieseldog]

Devon Lane Farm Supply and TSC had maple equipment earlier in the season. Give them a shout.

[Maplesedge]

Devon Lane Farm Supply and TSC had maple equipment earlier in the season. Give them a shout.

Yes, that's it, thanks. It's a couple miles north of Rt 9, on Rt 202. Do they put stuff on sale when the seasons over?

[Dieseldog]

I do not know. I have never been there for maple supplies. I was told that the maple syrup supplies are at their second store not too far away. Call before you go.

[Maplesedge]

I do not know. I have never been there for maple supplies. I was told that the maple syrup supplies are at their second store not too far away. Call before you go.

The other store is a little bit east on Rt 9, it's got power equipment, lawn mowers, and such. The farm store on 202 has everything you need for syruping. I go there for filters mostly. Nice sugarhouse aross the road.

Only got about 2 gals today, seems I'm getting to my drip's end. Might only make a 1/2 gal syrp come Sunday, but I'll be happy for that this year. If anyone's wondering, the program to wipe out the Aisian Longhorn Beetles is working so far. I'm right next to Worcester, and no sign of them here yet.

[Maplesedge]

And . . . Done! Always mixed emotions when it's time to pull the taps, but it's time. Got another 5 gals sap over 2 days, and finished my last boil, which will end up at about half a gal syrup, almost 3 gals made for the year, and that'll do us fine or breakfasts and salmon and whatnot. Kids already on me to make maple cream candy, so will have less than 2 gallons soon, but it's tradition, and tasty too. Love seeing rows of syrup jars and bottles on the shelf.

So, tapped a month ago, took two weeks to have enough for first boil, third week was best, last week slow. Holes still dripping, but low and slow, and too warm now. Hope all of you north and west have better runs. Until 2015 . . .

[Maplesedge]

Sitting here boiling a batch of maple cream candy. While waiting for it to get to soft ball stage, looked through my records, and latest I ever pulled my taps was April 21, in 2007. Must have been a cold winter.