It's either this weekend or next for me...

[craig101]

In looking at the extended forecast, the temps next week and going forward look to be in the target zone. I tap silver maples at my parents place and they run WAY earlier than my hard maples at my place, so the silvers will be tapped shortly (this weekend or next). I'm gonna wait to tap my maples for a bit. My brother is tapping boxelder at his place (first time tapper) and we'll probably tap those the same time as the silvers. He was gonna do regular maple, but he has WAY WAY more boxelder in his neighborhood that he will tap those and i will tap maple and trade syrup.

[supersapper]

I also tap boxelder and I have been checking them lately. If you break a branch off it will drip sap if it is ready. Nothing yet. I'm not drilling taps until I see drips.

[dufftj]

Nice thaw going on outside right now! Lots of snow around here. I think it'll be a while before things start to flow around this part of the state. I started to dig my block arch out of the mound of snow it is under...Just for the heck of it I tapped one silver on the edge of my woods and............Not a drop, but now I 'll have an indicator of when it starts to flow...

[SDdave]

Well I am all in. Did my 40 taps for the year, all silvers. Only one tap dripping, the rest of them were pretty dry. It got to 58 today so I figured it would be a good time to go. I'll post when it actually starts.

SDdave

[warners point]

I started to tap up in Mcgregor today. Still about 30 inches of snow. There's very little frost in the ground up there. Yesterday my dad took the big snowblower out and cleared the trails. He was throwing dirt, not just a little either. I put out 200 taps today and the holes were dripping this afternoon and the taps from this morning had a little sap in the bags. Usually it takes about two weeks from the initial warm up for things to get going. I'm glad I didn't wait until next weekend to start. It's going to happen early this year so you better get to tapping! !

[Birddog]

I tapped a few test trees near Barnum and 3 outside my window in Ham Lake. All are dry but at least I've got some to watch.


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[chad]

I attempted to get to the sugar shack but only made it half way to much snow and to warm for the old snow blower. not to mention some a-hole (land owner) :mad:drove back and forth a million times on the road with his snowmobile so I had a real challenge for the first 2 miles by then I was needing fuel and so was the tractor hopefully I get out there sometime time this week. Hope its a long season, good luck all:)

[Gissert]

I had about 85 in last week, and put in another 20 in today. One tree (sugar) had a drop in the tap hole. Looking good!

[SilverLeaf]

Put in 90 yesterday. I had about 4 wet holes. Almost 60degrees here right now, and with this week's forecast most should be waking up by the weekend. And (right now anyway) next week looks pretty good so things should start to get busy!

[StewieSugar]

I'm eager - but waiting.

I tried to get to the trees this weekend, but the snow was far too deep. In three hours, we got the plow truck stuck seven or eight times and only plowed about 100 yards of the driveway that's 600 yards long. Hoping the snow melts enough this week that I can tap this coming weekend.

[Leo]

I put out 10 taps today (out of 200) on my earliest running Sugars; all dry. Hopefully they will stay that way for a couple more weeks. The snow in the woods is almost impassible even with snow shoes. I thought I had my trails fairly packed for 'shoeing, but the 50 degree sun really made them soft again. It is going to be tough trying to collect! I can run my old snowmobile on the flat trails, but get stuck on the side hills. We have to lose a lot of snow before the 4 wheeler will be able to get around without getting stuck.

[mnguy]

Put out a test bag yesterday in the Forest Lake area. Dry as a bone. Will use the test tap to see when to tap the rest of the trees.

[rjenneke]

We put out about 50 taps on Sunday. A few were dripping...very slowly. It is almost time!

[Shorty]

My Sapping Buddy started tapping yesterday should be done on Wednesday (300 taps) located N.E. of Brownsdale, dry so far. Snow is knee deep but on north side a LOT deeper, he's hoping some will melt before trudging in there.

[lastwoodsman]

We opened the road to the sugar shack last week-end. Five hours and then we decided to wait till this week-end to see how much the snow settles.
Putting in 700 taps this week-end. We will be ready. Have not set up the new RO yet though.
Terry

[SDdave]

Real gusher the last two days. 3 gallons...total. All from one tree, nothing really waking up yet.

SDdave

[craig101]

looks like a couple of my taps are starting to open up. had a small frozen puddle in a bucket last night. i tasted it and it was sap and NOT melted snow. haha. today and tomorrow should be ideal to get them going.

[TooManyIrons...]

Ready to go here, ahead of the game due to excitement. Equipment is all sanitized. Dug out the new scratch-built arch and work area, all was buried under two feet of snow. Set up storage tanks and plumbed them for drip feed. Firewood was all split, stacked, and tarped last fall so is ready to go.

Tapped two test trees. By the forecast I do not expect sap to run for at least another week, probably longer. Snow needs to melt down in the woods, some trees I plan on tapping are still buried in 6-8 foot deep snow drifts. Due to the consistently deep snow cover we had here all winter I do not expect the frost depth to be much deeper than normal. As such I expect it will be a minimal factor at most affecting sap run. We'll see...

I tap silver maple trees. Second year, am now hopelessly addicted. Small operation but am trying to increase production and efficiency without getting too carried away. Am going for 5x the production from last year, revised goal is 15 gallons of finished product. If I succeed then I plan on expanding goal to 25 gallons finished product for next year and hope to maintain that level of production from then on. Doing everything solo, using wood fuel exclusively from start to finish - no dependence on expensive propane here.

To make better use of my time during processing, I will also be making my yearly supply of lump charcoal for grilling (it is done in the same area as the syruping). Not much physical work, just constant monitoring of both processes and feeding fires.

Some long days ahead, am much looking forward to it. :-) Been a long winter.
Good luck to all, be safe.

[SDdave]

TooManyIrons,

Welcome to the support group you are not alone in this addiction!!

About half of the taps are producing now, about 1.5 gal per running tap. The other half...who knows when they'll start. So get ready Silverleaf, and soon thereafter TooManyIrons.

SDdave

[Leo]

Tapped 50 sugars today on snowshoes, about 7 were dripping. Going to have to rig my small collection tank into the snowmobile sled for collecting, can't get the wheeler through the woods yet.

[Birddog]

One of my three test trees in Ham Lake started dripping a little late in the day today.


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[TooManyIrons...]

Temperature reached 49 degrees here today. My two test trees started dripping, both put around a gallon in their buckets. Each tree is approximately 42 inches in diameter. Both are in the yard - the microclimate in this area always causes them to run first, before the trees in the woods do their thing. Got five more in the yard, may tap them tomorrow to play it safe but will hold off on tapping the trees in the woods. Colder weather is still in the forecast here for next 5-6 days which I am sure will put things on hold.

[SilverLeaf]

Welcome, TooManyIrons! I'm about 30mi west of you.

As of last night I'm about 2/3 tapped. Same situation more or less - trees in the yard/open are running a little; those in the woods are mostly dry.

[Gissert]

One of my silvers in the yard put out a little yesterday. The 120 taps a few miles to the south (all sugars) are mostly dry. (Central Ottertail County)

[SDdave]

Holy crap was it cold and windy today! I managed to do my annual "chase a 5 gallon bucket" run event today. That's enough exercise for the week. :lol: Just broke the 50 gal. mark (40 taps) to date. Still a few trees dripping, but more are still dry.

Hope the sap overfilliths your buckets,

SDdave

[sk8heaven]

A nice balmy 8 below zero this morning .... maybe 2 days above freezing in the next 10 days. Not tapping until next weekend at the very earliest. Took the 4 wheeler out on the sap trails - that lasted about 30 seconds followed by 10 minutes of winching the thing back out :mad: I hope the sun settles some of the snow this week - snowshoes are standing by but that gets old fast!

[Birddog]

I just put 4 more taps in my trees in Ham Lake because I'm getting anxious to see some sap. One is running hard even though the temp is below freezing. Nice to see!


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[Sugar Bush INC]

Spent yesterday in the woods watching our neighbor dig out the logging trail to the sugar bush... It's three feet deep in the woods on the north side of Farm Island here in Minnesota. Put the chains on the other tractor and plan on blazing trails today...... Not to thrilled to see a winter storm heading our way but that is the nature of the beast! I have to say we were able to use a friends ATV Yamaha 700 grizzly with TRACKS!!!! Man are they awesome! Nothing will stop this machine only down fall is the turning radius due to 4WD and the tracks. I have got to get one of these machines. I love our Artic Cat 400 but it can't do 3feet of snow. Will not tap until next week at earliest. Although

[Maple Island Syrup]

400 taps on vacuum all tapped, squirrel damage repaired. going to get started installing the gravity tubing this week. wont tap those, for at least a week or more. 10 day forecast is showing 16-27 degrees this weekend and into next week.

[Birddog]

5 of 7 of the trees I tapped in Ham Lake are dripping very slowly today. It looks like it only got to 34 today. One tree produced about a half gallon yesterday so making some progress around here.


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[SDdave]

Been collecting for a week now only averaging 10 gal/d on 40 taps. On the bright side sap has been averaging between 3 and 3.3%. I'll take as much as that as possible. Looks like the next 10 days are going to be slow leekers as well.

Good luck to all!!

SDdave

[Gissert]

Checked my trees (125 taps now) in central Ottertail county this morning. About 40 percent had some flow, though none had over a quart.Not enough to mess with yet. Some sun and a couple 40 degree days and it should be off to the races.

[Hungry Beaver Sugar Camp]

Gotta love those tracks for this time of year in Minnesota. Have Mattracks on my Polaris 800. Can handle 100+ gallons of sap in the box at a time. Tapping 300 trees and only a couple have started and very little at that and only on high ground. Only got about 3" of the 10" snow that was forecast so that is good. Just waiting for the sap flow here in Motley.

[mnguy]

Hungry Beaver you know any Holmbergs over in Staples? I have 130 taps out and very few of them dripping East Central MN.

Mike

[craig101]

i got about 4 gallons today. tomorrow and friday look nicer weather wise, so i'll probably boil this weekend. my pan does about 3 gallons/hr so gotta be done in stages.

[jeepv8pwr]

First Timer, got 20 tapped (10 to go), no drips yet. Looks like temperatures are going to be dipping down again for the next week of so. About 2.5+ feet of snow in woods still, made moving around without snowmobile or snow shoes quite the fiasco. Good exercise though after the long cold winter mostly spent either sitting at work, sitting on the couch, or sitting in the ice house.

[Gissert]

Collected about 30 gallons this afternoon on 125 taps. Hopefully it will run into the evening and some tomorrow so I can do a batch on Saturday.(Central Ottertail County)

[RileySugarbush]

It is finally starting to run here. Will do my first collection run tomorrow.

[mnguy]

My 100 bags by Mora started today. About two inches in each bag.

[Hungry Beaver Sugar Camp]

Sorry I do not. Sap starting very very slow. Expect this weekend to shut it down with cold weather coming again.

[Birddog]

Nothing in my 60 bags near Barnum. But several of my taps were wet . Running well in Ham Lake on 6 of 7.


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[Shorty]

Cut up pallets today and yesterday. Have around 300 taps, collected 150 gallons today will start cooking tomorrow.

[SDdave]

Taps running at about 1 gal/tap/day. The sugar content has been pleasantly high so far. I see there is a cold snap coming next week for a few days, which will stop the flow. But then up and running again. The last weekend in March there calling for high 60's to low 70's. I think this will start the mass flow in my area. Finally got enough frozen RO concentrate to do a boil on Sunday!!

SDdave

[SZimm]

First Timer, I have 25 taps set, so far not seeing much. Had some sap run late last week (Thursday and Friday). Hoping this weather forecast will be accurate and I will start seeing something. I maybe have 2 gallons of sap so far...

[RileySugarbush]

We have about 80 gallons mostly frozen in the tank. Finally running again today.

[Birddog]

Only a little dripping in Ham Lake


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[SDdave]

Wind killed me today, no sap and buckets flying. Should have been a good collection day but with that wind wow. Glad to hear the trees are waking up for some of you.

SDdave

[Sugar Bush INC]

We have yet to tap a single tree. We opened up our trails last week and will start to make trails to the trees and possibly tap this weekend. Snow is still very deep 2 plus feet in most areas. After this cold spell the snow is solid again.....walking on top only to crash through every 4th or 5th step. Tough going.

[lastwoodsman]

We are going to get the last 500 or so taps in this week-end and try to open a few trails at least one to the vacuum pump Nothing in our 50 gallon barrel on our gravity line yet-no surprise---8 up there this morning.

[morley]

We got our 27 taps in last night. Had 1/3 or so that started dripping right away. Hopefully we'll see some good flows this weekend.

[SilverLeaf]

SDDave - put some bungees around those trees! otherwise that prairie wind will get those buckets for sure...

In my neck of the woods, we had a slow drip yesterday & today, probably coming to an end soon though with the snow coming. I took last week's sap plus a little from yesterday & sweetened my pans. It was my first boil with my new raised flue - I'm loving it!! :D

Now we all just need those trees to open up. This weekend looks promising...

[Leo]

Put in another hundred taps yesterday, for a total this year of 200. Nothing dripping yet. I am using wine bags this year - pretty cool - no bag holders to assemble or wash. I think things will bust loose this Sunday or Monday. Collecting is going to be a real challenge with 2.5 feet of snow (and it is snowing to beat hell right now).

[dufftj]

There's sap in the test tap sack!

Looks like I'll put the rest of the taps in just in time for the weekend!

Tim

[SDdave]

SDDave - put some bungees around those trees! otherwise that prairie wind will get those buckets for sure...

Dan I wish it were just that easy to control Mother Natures fury :lol: For each bucket I got a "counter weight" of 2 16 oz. water bottles. Then each bucket is individually tied to the tree. Each tie off gets a stick tourniquet to fully secure those little ba&^@$#'s. My next plan of attack is bringing out the nail gun and nailing them to the tree! But then I'll be singing "there's a hole in my bucket, my bucket...":o

I have to complain about something I guess. Certainly not the sugar content, today reached the highest so far at 3.8%.

Good luck boiling to you all!!

SDdave

[SognSyrup]

I put in about 15 more taps yesterday south of Cannon Falls. A couple started dripping right away and I'd expect some today too. Got a quick 30 gallons from about 15 other taps at the beginning of last week. This next few days should be great.


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[lpakiz]

When I had just old ice cream pails, I made "garters" from a heavy rubber band and and the appropriate length of heavy string or twine.
Tied the string to the rubber band, route the string around the tree and pail, and tie the loose end to the other end of the rubber band, stretching as necessary. Then it's easy to drop the string, empty the pail and re stretch the "garter", without untying anything.

[SZimm]

Considering I was not expecting to see anything yesterday with the "storm" and all; I was suprised to have a little more than a quart of sap. Keeping my fingers crossed that things will finally get started today and this weekend. Next week is looking favorable! This is my first year, is it common to have sap running down the tree? My spiles are set pretty firm. I used a new drill bit so the holes are clean...I would guess that maybe 3/4 is getting to the bucket - the other 1/4 is running down the tree. Is that normal, if not is there anything I can do to correct the issue?

[Birddog]

Considering I was not expecting to see anything yesterday with the "storm" and all; I was suprised to have a little more than a quart of sap. Keeping my fingers crossed that things will finally get started today and this weekend. Next week is looking favorable! This is my first year, is it common to have sap running down the tree? My spiles are set pretty firm. I used a new drill bit so the holes are clean...I would guess that maybe 3/4 is getting to the bucket - the other 1/4 is running down the tree. Is that normal, if not is there anything I can do to correct the issue?

I don't have seepage on mine this year. A couple things come to mind. First if you moved the drill at all while drilling the hole it might have become a little oblong and that will cause a leak. The other thing that I've heard people discuss is if the tree was frozen and the tap gets pounded in too hard, it can cause some splitting which can again cause leaks.

I hope that helps and have fun making syrup!

[SZimm]

Thanks BirdDog:

Is there anything I can do with the existing hole (IE: Drill a little bigger) or do I chalk it up as "lesson Learned" and try again next year? I am excited, I only have BoxElder trees. I planted a couple hundred Sugar maples, they are maybe 5ft tall now. Will most liklely be long gone before I could benefit from those.

[TooManyIrons...]

All my tree tapping is completed. Have approximately sixty five gallons collected at this point, production mainly from four trees in yard area. Sap run has been spotty and inconsistent due to variable weather and tree location. Will fire up my new arch tomorrow (Saturday) whether I have enough sap to do a full run or not - am getting impatient. :-)

Neglected to check on my collected sap in dark cold storage in an outbuilding. Very cold weather last weekend froze sap solid and split open a bucket. Oh well, I am glad only one exploded.

Got an inch of snow yesterday evening after an all day rain. Was 18 degrees here this morning. Old man winter is putting up a fight. I usually set up my temporary greenhouse last week of March. Not this year. Am more excited about syruping than plants right now anyway, so no big deal to me.

[TooManyIrons...]

I planted a couple hundred Sugar maples, they are maybe 5ft tall now. Will most [likely] be long gone before I could benefit from those.

This is why I planted Silver maples. Not nearly as nice a tree of course, but one must work in his/her time frame regarding the human life span to see any personal benefit. This year for the first time I got to tap some trees that I personally planted as seedlings approximately twenty years ago. A proud achievement if I do say so myself. :-)

To this day when anyone brings up tree planting questions I tell them do not delay, to make up their minds and get something in the ground. The one thing you cannot get back is the time wasted in indecision.

[Birddog]

I just saw on the weather that the long range forecast is going to shift from the current below average temps to average and above average starting mid April. The sap better start running soon


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[craig101]

gathered 8 gallons yesterday off 9 taps. best day yet. doing my second boil of season, i have about 17 gallons to reduce.

[SDdave]

Pulled out about 1.5 gal/tap today. Still a few trees that are being stubborn. I did notice on a few Silvers that the red "atennaes" or "antlers" are starting to pop out. Feel's good to get over 40 gallons in a day though!

SDdave

[SilverLeaf]

I did notice on a few Silvers that the red "atennaes" or "antlers" are starting to pop out.
Already?!?? Calendar-wise it ain't early, but given the temps so far that seems early...

I had a medium sap run this weekend. Nothing to write home about but at least they were dripping (& I got to fire up the evaporator again!).

[SZimm]

I have a total of 30 taps set. This past weekend was exciting. Again, this is my first season; I was happy that I collected a total of six gallons over the weekend - but dissapointed that it was only six gallons. I would have liked to have seen about double. About 1/2 of my taps were dripping, the others are still dry. Temperatures only went down to 37 last night - not expecting much of anything for today.

[Gissert]

Had some signs of life yesterday. Pulled 80 gallons of 130 taps. THought it might run all night with the temps, but there was only 6 gallons this morning. Looks like this weather is going to shut it down, again.

Almost done boiling down now, will probably finish off tomorrow morning

[RileySugarbush]

Finally under way! We sweetened the pan and drew off a bit less than a gallon yesterday. Very flavorful medium A.

[SDdave]

Already?!?? Calendar-wise it ain't early, but given the temps so far that seems early...

I am afraid so. I was out working today and noticed a lot of trees have actually started to flower. I quickly checked my trees that I tap and some at the crown are popping flowers. I will check more in depth tomorrow as the wind today could blow over a house. I might be pulling some taps here and there.

SDdave

[SZimm]

Not sure if you can really consider it a "Boil" - I accumulated a total of seven gallons (over the past week) so I just used the stove. End result was just over a pint of syrup!! Either way, it tastes good. :) I think it is now safe to say I now have another Hobby to cover the gap between ice fishing and boat fishing! Now if the weather would just cooperate…

[morley]

It is still ice fishing season, well for panfish anyway. Was out last weekend, had the auger buried to the clutch before getting through. Pulled in some nice crappies!

[Birddog]

Sap is running near Barnum today - yippee


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[dufftj]

Yesterday around 4 pm I collected 30 gallons off of about thirty taps. Some were only putting out a little but about 4 taps had overflowing sacks! Lets see what this snow storm brings, looks to be about 7-9 inches of heavy wet snow so far.....If the trees keep on putting out I'll have to boil for the first time this season on Saturday:D.

Good Luck!
Tim

[Birddog]

Got over a gallon per tap today in Ham Lake - still dripping fast. The 15 day forecast after tomorrow looks like it's about to end here at least for a while. About Time to go up North.


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[SDdave]

Looking at the local, national, short & long range forecasts, it's going to be the last weekend for me?! With the temps that they're calling for it won't take much for the already super swollen buds to break. Hopefully I get a couple of good gushers before the end.

SDdave

[Sugar Bush INC]

Well last week we got all of our buckets out and some have started to drip but slowly....we still have about 2-3 feet of snow in the woods north of Mille Lacs Lake. We are very happy to have a neighbor friend loan us his yamaha grizzly 700 with trac system. its the only way we would be able to break trails. The tractors with chains only get about 60 yards into the woods and ususally get stuck on a hill....... And when you walk to the trees its on top of the snow for about two steps then crash through and then you are knee to thigh deep. So when you are all done you are wet, cold, tired and hungry. And Of course I have to work this week so I will not be there for when it gets sloppy and hopefully the sap runs and we can begin to cook. Our group also ordered another 100 taps.....so I get out of setting them up to.:lol: I hope we are still collecting in mid April for when im off from work and able to help. Hope everyone else is having fun!

[Leo]

I collected 70 gallons today from about 70 of my 200 taps. It looks like 90% of them are dripping pretty good. Should be a crazy week.
Good sappin'
Leo

[warners point]

We collected 150 gallons today. Thank goodness we spent the last couple weekends making trails with snow shoes. I only broke through a few times

[SilverLeaf]

My trees are dripping good this weekend as well (first decent run of the year). A couple trees showing signs of bud break, however. I'm not feeling too good about those warm temps a'comin.

[chad]

The trees here just south of mille lacs finally opened up collected 35 gallons off of 50 taps, but the snow is still deep and I agree with sugar bush inc with the walk two steps and break through and almost spill the sap. At the end of the day we are wet, cold ,tired, and hungry, but we are also very happy we are out in the woods cooking or at least gathering

[SDdave]

Good luck to you all with the rest your seasons. Mine has officially ended, the buds have popped overnight. Got the major clean up done, only a dozen or so buckets left to wash. Already thinking on adding more taps for next year, and making improvements!! It never ends does it? :lol:

Have a great season,

SDdave

[craig101]

i pulled my last taps today. i got 70 gallons of sap off 9 taps. last year I boiled 30, so a big jump. i boiled the final 37 gallons yesterday/today down to sweet sap. i'll finish it tomorrow or so...i had boiled 33 gallons last weekend and ended up with 7.3 pints out of that batch.

[morley]

We have only got 18 gallons of sap off of our 27 taps. I see the next four days the temps won't be dropping below freezing at night and one day is suppose to hit almost 70. If the buds don't pop and it goes back below freezing can you keep collecting? This is only my second year, so I'm not sure. What about any sap over the next 4 days or so?
9592

[SDdave]

Morley,

Yes you can. If the trees don't break bud and the temps go back to freezing at night, it "restarts" them. It happens to me all the time. I would boil what you have if you can. If you can't put some in a small container in the freezer, then take that/those containers to cool the rest of the sap. It's a quick fix but won't win the battle of 70 degree weather. Hope that helps.

SDdave

[Sugar Bush INC]

Working this week and not being able to help is killing me! On top of seeing the weather for this week I can only hope with the amount of snow in the woods in Aitkin County will keep the trees from budding. Sap did not flow on Sunday so they cooked what we had. Perhaps 4 gallons of syrup. Thats a big drop from last years total of 55 gallons. If we make it through this week perhaps the weather will stabilize for a few weeks. On Sunday they were still getting the tractors stuck on the logging trails due to all the snow so I can only hope the snow keeps the trees from budding. I have next week off so I might be on cleanup duty or cooking 24/7! I cant wait until next week when I will be sleep deprived.....Hopefully!
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10203650227843076 This video was taken 2 1/2 weeks ago as we plowed through the snow.....since then they have added over a foot of snow. Most of the time the front tires of the tractor were on top of the snow. Could not have done this without a track system on the 4-wheeler.

[Birddog]

I got 20 gallons of about 3percent sap from 73 taps near Barnum today. Was a challenge on snowshoes. The snow is still pretty deep and soft.


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[warners point]

Driving through Chanhassen tonight I heard the dreaded sound of the spring peepers. I can't believe the trees are that close to budding. Hopefully we still have a couple of weeks up north.

[jeepv8pwr]

I only got about 1/2 gallon from 20 taps thus far. Mostly off of 3 trees only. There is still a lot of snow in the woods around here but am getting nervous that it will never happen for me. Many of my buckets are completely empty. The ones that are dripping a little have melted a little around the bases and the ones that are not producing still have snow right up the base of tree. Its been averaging 40 degrees during the day for the last 5 days at least and drops well below freezing at night, even had a few days in the mid 50s. 35 miles North of Duluth.

Is it possible that some trees will not produce any?


Thanks

[chad]

Is it possible that some trees will not produce any?


it is possible to get a dry hole but it sounds to me that they are still frozen, ideal temps for good sap runs are 25 at night and 45 during the day time best of luck to ya

[Birddog]

Is it possible that some trees will not produce any?


I can tell you in my woods I have several trees that haven't given up a drop yet. I'm guessing they are still frozen. Others are producing well. It seems like the trees that get more sun or have a little less snow are doing better.

None of the trees are showing any signs of budding so there is still time.

[RileySugarbush]

Driving through Chanhassen tonight I heard the dreaded sound of the spring peepers. I can't believe the trees are that close to budding. Hopefully we still have a couple of weeks up north.

I heard them last night too! Hard to believe. We are hoping for a freeze next weekend to get a couple more days run, but the long term forecast is drifting higher.

So last night we trapped what was in the bags to keep it off the trees these warm days. Everything is in the pans we are bringing it to a boil every few days to preserve it.

[SilverLeaf]

I haven't heard any peepers, but I definitely have flowers coming out of my buds (not all trees but many). I'm done.

Quality-wise this year's batch was excellent. Quantity-wise, however, I don't think we even hit the 1/2-way mark for "normal".

Can't wait 'til next year already!

[lastwoodsman]

Still 30 in of snow by us. Hoping next week is cold enough to produce. Putting out bags this Thursday.

[dufftj]

Well I think it might be done around here. There is always hope for that last hard freeze. Not a bad year just shorter then last season. I only have done 2 boils compared to 10 last year. The syrup is a very dark red from the get go and even with 6 pre filters and a new orlon filter there is still a bit of suspended niter left in my syrup. Oh well it still tastes great! I've made almost 6 gallons off of about 190 gallons of sap.

Tim

[lastwoodsman]

Not looking promising by the weather reports for Sandstone for next week. It has ran a little but we have not boiled. Snow finally should be down enough to get into the woods but now not freezing at night. We were hoping to put out bags Thursday or Friday but it may be in vain.

[lastwoodsman]

What's the snow depth now in the sandstone/finlayson area??
Terry

[SZimm]

I am keeping my taps out for a few more days to see if I can get anything off the forecasted freeze early next week. Otherwise I got about 35 gallons of Sap (Box Elder trees) which equated to 10 pints of Syrup. At least now I have something to reference for next year. I think the season went well. Need to work on the final filtering. I obviously did not buy the right kind of filter since I still have a white film on the bottom of each jar.

[chad]

I would recommend an orlan filter Anderson's maple syrup in wi has them relatively cheep and they will ship I like the cone shaped one but they also have sheets you can buy

[lastwoodsman]

Sounds like I can get through with the tractor this afternoon so we can put out 400 or so bags. Snow is finally down to knee deep or there about. Maybe less I hope by this afternoon.Weather looks promising for Sunday night through wed of next week. Who knows! **** I want to use the new ro.

[RileySugarbush]

We had a little bonus run of 40 gallons or so in the 70° temps yesterday! We collected and ran through that and the over loaded pans from the previous night. Initially thinking of just bringing it to a boil and waiting for the weekend to finish, but instead we chased it all through with condensate and ended up with over three gallons of nice medium. All the while listening to the peepers! Freezing nights are a couple of days away. I hope the trees can hod out without budding.

[Birddog]

I have to go out of town for work Sunday and Monday. Will my sap spoil in the bags if I can't collect from Saturday till Tue?


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[SZimm]

I would recommend an orlan filter Anderson's maple syrup in wi has them relatively cheep and they will ship I like the cone shaped one but they also have sheets you can buy

Thank you - I will have to look into that!

[SZimm]

We had a little bonus run of 40 gallons or so in the 70° temps yesterday.

I got about 5 gallons yesterday as well. Completely unexpected.

[Leo]

So far i have collected 250 gallons from 200 taps . just checked and only a couple out there with more than a quart. Keep the faith, its gotta bust loose soon.
Leo

[mnguy]

Just finished up our last boil today. We have 12 gallons of real nice light syrup from the first few boils. The last boil from yesterday and today we got 5 gallons of real dark syrup. We are done for the year. Our taps have not run since Monday by Braham.

[MN_Maple]

We Just finished collecting 125 gallons off 500 taps that had been left since Sunday. Not big numbers, but not bad considering it hasn't froze in 3 days. that brings total for year to 500 gallons. So far the buds are still holding tight where we tap up near McGregor and the snow is finally manageable with the Gator as well which makes life much easier.

Forecast looks like things should pick up here over the weekend and through next Wednesday.

[chad]

mn maple and leo sounds like you guys are having the same thoughts, issues as I am down on the south side of mille lacs 75 gallons off of 50 taps total so far lets hope it turns around real soon

[Shorty]

We are done, I finished cooking at 11:30 a.m. Monday, boiled off 1300 gallons. Still have to bottle about 8 gallons though. Total of 26 gallons; last year we made 46 gallons. Now the work begins to clean them 300 five gallon buckets and taps.

[lastwoodsman]

Collected 80 gallons yesterday of good sap, had about 30 gallons of cloudy sap I dumped from the vacuum tank. Getting ready for Sunday and early week as it looks like it could go.

[TooManyIrons...]

Finished processing last night. Did six long processing days staggered over an 11 day period - weather and sporadic sap run dictated the processing schedule. New home-made arch worked fine but a few design flaws that need to be addressed by next season. As is typical, towards the end of the processing I had developed a good system and was working much more efficiently than in the beginning.

Syrup turned out darker than last year and has good flavor. Ended up with approximately 12-14 gallons of syrup, will know exact total when canning is completed.

Collected 350 gallons of sap from the 13 trees I tapped. Removed taps last Monday. Tree buds are swelling, bloom is not far off.

Hope to finish canning today, will post more details in a separate thread when project is completed.

Am glad it is over but I had a lot of fun, even started getting a "farmer" tan from being outside so much. :-)

Had a lot of time during processing to think about expansion plans... I think this is a common thread amongst us Maple syrup addicts.

Have a good day!

[craig101]

i finished the season with 70 gallons of sap boiled down to 17 pints of syrup. not too bad. the final boil and finish was a bit different. way more nitre. my syrup ended up cloudy. i filtered at 215 when i pulled off my big pan and then filtered when i hit 59 brix. the final filter was with 2 prefilters and an orlon filter. i'll have to change it up next year to make it more clear. i'll see if that final batch settles any, if it does maybe i will let the sweet sap settle for a few days between the 215 degree filter and the final syrup filter so the filters don't so much nitre. the syrup tastes great, i just have higher standards for my syrup.

i also helped my brother finish his box elder syrup. he ended up with about 3 gallons of box syrup. I like the different flavor profile. i can't wait to see his final canned product. we used triple pre filters and an orlon and it filtered nicely. it should be pretty dang clear in the bottles.

[Birddog]

Craig101, try filtering below 195 degrees. Above that temp you can be creating more nitre. I hope that helps.


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[SZimm]

Looks like this cold snap is going to be productive after all! 9 gallons sap collected and still running.

[maplemichael]

i'm glad i waited to pull my taps trees are running 40 gals sap today with 40 taps could be a good boil on saturday

[jeffeich]

I am in NE Iowa and was just a little lazy pulling my taps, so I still have 100 or so out, looks like we will get some flow here on Wednesday, has been in 20's last couple nights, so we dumped all sap in buckets and hope to pick up 100 gallons or so. Hope it works out, it will be over after that. Good luck!!

[supersapper]

Today I got 115 gals off 75 taps. Three trips with the wheeler with the 35 gal tank. On the third trip the previous sacks had 2" already. Big day tomorrow and nonstop boil Saturday. Finishing off 2 gallons near syrup tonite. Two more gallons still in the refridge. About time!!!!

[Sugar Bush INC]

Due to unforeseen medical issues that I needed to take care of my season has ended. But our group is going strong with over 200 gallons collected today. They will start cooking 24/7 to keep up with the sap run. We are anticipating the sap to really start to flow since the heavy snow fall. We were lucky to only get 4-5 inches. Unlike our neighbors to the south who are digging out of 12-20 inches. Perhaps we will have a good year after all!

[SZimm]

Yesterday, after the storm cleared...I pulled out almost 20 gallons!! Even though the weather is looking good for another run today I am keeping my expectations low. Seems every time I thought I would have a good sap run, I got nothing - and when I thought there was no way possible the buckets would be overflowing. Anyway, I collected about 70 gallons total - which gave me slightly less than two gallons syrup. My goal was 1 gallon and to figure out what I am doing - so I am happy. I still need to work on my final filtering process. I invested in the wrong type of filter. Otherwise I am extremely happy and will be doing some off season prep (IE: build an evaporator) for next year!

[Sugar Bush INC]

Well the sap is running in Aitkin!!! Our group has collected well over 300 gallons today and will cooking 24/7. They are scrambling to find storage for the sap and are collecting both morning and evening. Which makes it difficult to find time for canning. Every year we add just a few more taps......I think next year we will have to look hard at moving from our 70 gallon flat pan outdoor cooking to an evaporator and perhaps a sugar shack!

[warners point]

There running wide open in Mcgregor. 600 gallons in the last 24 hours. We did have an incident this morning when the pup got ran over by a full sap trailer. A quick run to Grand Rapids and all she got was bruised up. If it freezes tonight I don't know what I'll do with all the sap.

[Leinie]

Well the sap in running in Aitkin!!! Our group has collected well over 300 gallons today and will cooking 24/7. They are scrambling to find storage for the sap and are collecting both morning and evening. Which makes it difficult to find time for canning. Every year we add just a few more taps......I think next year we will have to look hard at moving from our 70 gallon flat pan outdoor cooking to an evaporator and perhaps a sugar shack!


Nice problem to have ! Glad things are finally running for you up there.

[Sugar Bush INC]

I hope all is well with your pup. It seems like we were due for this heavy sap run. I was able to meet with Leo last week at the Aitkin Beanery and talk shop. It would be fun to get other Aitkin county maple syrup collectors together.

[Gissert]

What an interesting season - during the hard freeze earlier this week - I could see the trees had run some in the afternoons. Yesterday, I collected 200 gallons (130 taps) with a lot of ice I could not get out of my buckets. Today, about 24 hrs later, another 210. Boiling like mad on out 2 x 4 oil tank evap. We will collect tomorrow and then finish what we got. Got a shot at 30 gallons this year.

[chad]

interesting season to say the least Friday went out and gathered 65 gallons off of 50 taps went out Saturday evening to check and figured I would be pulling taps got out there and holy buckets did I have sap over 75 gallons so I figured might as well cook got 2 gallons finished and bottled and still have some sweet and almost syrup out in the shack hopefully I can get out there after the Easter dinner in the twin cities later today

[Leo]

Happy Easter. We finally had a good run this weekend, collected 234 gallons Friday and 120 on Saturday. Not spectacular, but best this year. So far I have collected about 650 gallons from 200 taps; pretty poor. We got down to 30 last night so I am hopeful for another small run today.
Leo

[warners point]

We ended up collecting 850 gallons Friday and Saturday. I'll finish boiling today and start putting things away tomorrow. Even though I was hoping for more syrup this year, this last couple of days has satisfied my desire to keep going.

[lastwoodsman]

We picked up 500 gallons Friday. RO,ed Friday evening 259 gallons and the other 250 Sat morning. Sap was 3.5% on 250 gallons and 2.8 on the other 250. After Ro,ing we were at 6% Boiled it off yesterday. Done for the season now.

[RileySugarbush]

The peepers have been peeping for over a week and we have hit the 70s last week.
I was sure this weeks sap would be buddy but we boiled all day yesterday and made over thirteen gallons of dark amber. Strong but good flavor and no off taste. Almost out of wood and definitely out of energy Done for the season with over 34 gallons of good syrup.

[buck3m]

Glad to hear so many people had fun during a challenging season.

[SZimm]

From what I have been reading this season was challenging for most. Being my first season I have nothing to compare to.
I began tapping on 1 March and ran a total of 27 taps. Total for the season I got about 100 gallons of sap - which boiled to about 2.5 gallons of syrup. My goal was 1 gallon so I am happy. My daughter made this venture her science project - so I have plenty of data to reference next year.

Here are my lessons learned:
1) Be patient.
2) Have a better boiling / evaporating system. Not knowing what to expect I used propane and a 60 qt pot for boiling...
3) Learn how to complete the final filtering...which really means "buy the right filter"
4) Convince the Mrs. to buy me a four wheeler - or something to haul buckets around. Walking and carrying by hand sucked!
and 5) know your friends. Now that my season is over, and I have 24 pints - suddenly everyone “that supported me with love and kind words” thinks I can spare a jar or two.

Thanks to everyone that offered advice throghout the season! looking forward to next year!!

[SilverLeaf]

Happy to hear things are running good for the folks up north!

I was really surprised - this weekend my fully-flowered trees were running really good, dripping from the tapholes. I was kinda sad I had pulled my taps, although of course the syrup quality might have been risky.

What a wierd year! although, aren't they all? ;)

[dufftj]

I did my final boil last Saturday...The sap I had ran after Thursdays snowstorm. I collected about 80 gallons and 30 of it had a bitter taste after test boiling it, what a pia that is ! The trees that I collected from were flowered silvers and starting to bud reds. After cooking down the 50 gallons that was good I wound up with 1 1/2 gallons of nice syrup! This was my third batch of the season and by far the lightest color. The first two batches were very dark and I'm guessing due to the longer time it was on the fire made the syrup darker. Anyone else from MN have heavy niter this year? It seems it doesn't matter how many pre filters I use the orlon filter still lets through enough niter that it builds up on the bottom of the jars. Not a big deal but I've yet to have clear syrup in my jars after filtering. I've tried 2 different orlon filters and had the same results. Next year I'll probably just use pre filters and let it settle for a week or two and then process it and jar it up. Not a bad season but it sure was not like last year, which is ok because work got in the way this year.

Tim

[tonka]

So I am looking at the extended forecast and Friday-Tuesday all below freezing at night (NE Ottertail County) anyone else have taps still in?

[Birddog]

Im still tapped I n Carlton County. I'm going to dump my sap saks on Friday and see what I get for the weekend.


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[jeepv8pwr]

After a very slow start I am now having a hard time keeping up with the boiling. I decided to buy a 35 gallon garbage can to stockpile in. I have produced approximately 1 gallon of syrup so far, very nice looking stuff, light amber color and everyone loves it. I don't think friends and family realize the work that goes into making the stuff. I see left over syrup left on the plate after pancakes and say "you better not waste that" ! I have used approximately 40 gallons of propane to boil so far and am looking at another 2-3 20 gallon tanks to finish what I got stored up and the trees are all putting out over a gallon of sap a day, some are putting out a gallon in 6 hours. Long Story Short- NEED EVAPORATOR and big pile of firewood, going broke on propane costs.
Very enjoyable experience and will continue to do it in coming years, with some additional improvements on operation. Feeling of accomplishment is great. 9690

[jeepv8pwr]

Still have 35 taps in, producing more sap now than ever, crystal clear too. NE MN St. Louis County. Is it my understanding that we stop collecting sap when it turns cloudy?

[tonka]

As long as the sap taste good and smells good, its good to boil, from what I understand, later in the season the sap tends to get cloudy but is still good to cook, if the sap gets a sour smell/taste then it is time to dump the sap.

[lpakiz]

Well, I am almost ashamed to say I cooked some sap that I thought should be dumped. Very cloudy, green, foamy, fermented-smelling stuff. Made the best tasting syrup this season, and I thought we were making pretty good stuff all along. Long story short, cook it and see, you might be surprised.

[Sugar Bush INC]

Pulling the taps Wednesday, the last week we have been going nonstop. Canned 10 gallons today and still have to cook down 400+ gallons so our total may eclipse our high from last year of 56 gallons! When I left on 16th our total was only at 15 gallons or so. We always ask how many taps did we put out.....but nobody actually knows. (every year someone in our group of 5 families adds more taps...) Well I think we either have to get a bigger system or cap out taps. So SZimm it doesn't matter how much syrup you make your friends, family and neighbors who don't put the time in making the syrup will always ask you got any extra? Year in and Year out it happens! Glad this season is done now its cleanup time!

[Gissert]

Pulled everything on Sunday, finished off with 26 gallons for the season. Buckets sanitized, cleaned and stored for the year. After a sporadic start we really got some heavy flow last Friday and Saturday. I probably still had about 80 gallons of sap left over. I used about have of that to soak my pans in, the rest was getting pretty cloudy.

[SZimm]

So as people may know from previous posts, this was my first season - I've been reading posts about how challenging this season was. I ran 30 taps for about 50 days - Most days things were slow and I was able to keep up with no issues. There were a handful of days where things really let loose, but for the most part was still manageable. I collected a total of 100 gallons sap and boiled it down to about 2.5 gallons syrup. My goal was 1 gallon so I am satisfied but it also would have been nice to produce more...

This might be a stupid question, but what is a "normal" expectation? (if there is such a thing) Also, I heard of people tapping in the fall. Has anyone tried that? Is it worth trying?

Thanks!

[Tapping Gold]

Collected 30 gallons on the 21st. Just a touch cloudy, no smell. 34 taps remain. Will see how Friday/Saturday freeze goes. Syrup taste much better this year than last.

[chad]

"This might be a stupid question, but what is a "normal" expectation? (if there is such a thing) "

From my understanding on a average year you should get a quart of syrup per tap, so 30 taps equals 30 quarts of syrup

[markcasper]

Acceptable average is 1 quart per tap natural and 2 quarts per tap with good vacuum all season.