Southwestern Ontario

[cat tech]

I'm lucky my wife talked me into making maple syrup and now it's turned into a entire family deal , even my brother in law and his kids get right into with me as well. What a sweat hobby hahaha.

[Fireguy124]

Sweet Fireguy where you from...? Firefighter?

Yes I am, I'm just outside of Fergus Ontario



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[canadian_diesel1964]

That's a great area...London FF here 26 yrs now.

[MarkReynolds]

My wife loves it and helps out so much with everything. But my addiction is pretty far gone compared to her.

[MarkReynolds]

That's a great area...London FF here 26 yrs now.
How many taps you put in?

[canadian_diesel1964]

By the time I'm done will be approx 40 maple and 30 or so black walnut

[MarkReynolds]

By the time I'm done will be approx 40 maple and 30 or so black walnut what you boiling on?

[canadian_diesel1964]

Just a 16x32 hobby pan heated by 2 natural gas jet burners....

[canadian_diesel1964]

Holy Crap! 13 here Saturday and -1 at night....watch out !

[MarkReynolds]

Hey better then a Turkey fryer, ya I put in 54 taps today and another 20 tomorrow morning. It was -2 when tapping today and trees started to drip soon after holes were drilled.

[canadian_diesel1964]

That's awesome...I wish it were that easy for me...the cliffs and ridges and steep hills and only few trees don't make er easy...but I love the work out!

[MarkReynolds]

With your cliffs and ridges would you ever consider or would it work to set up gravity lines? I'm on level ground so it's not going to work for me :(

[canadian_diesel1964]

I did set up 2 gravity 3/16 set ups this year...next year i will add more for sure

[MarkReynolds]

Got all 70 taps in and they are running pretty good today half buckets ( 3 gal ) and over all sugar content 2.5% and had a few road side at 3-4.5%!

[cat tech]

100 taps in and lots of plunk plunk plunks into the buckets. I'll get another 50 taps put in tomorrow and hope to fire up the stove tomorrow night. We'll out to sharpen a few chain saws chains and get some dead elm trees cut up and piled beside the evaporator. Even if it does turn cold again I'll take this early start to the season with a big smile on my face.

[MarkReynolds]

Collected 30ish galleons of sap my one container smelled off so I'm not dumping the sap boiling it tonight then cleaning everything again before the next collection.

[canadian_diesel1964]

Nice haul! I was at about 125 litres this morn, had to adjust a few leakers...the evap is goin now ...not sure on these really warm days AND nights coming...my shifts are 24 hours so I didn't see it all shake down. Walnuts are giving but not much yet.

[MarkReynolds]

First draw with about 40 gallons ruin through my evaporator. Collected 145gal since yesterday and the temp is back at 217 again! Syrup tastes amazing!

[canadian_diesel1964]

awesome!... I have some trees giving and some not...i think they are waking up or in shock?

[MarkReynolds]

Ya so far trees in the bush are just rocking but they are smaller and protected from the wind unlike my sap cows on the road side.

[Galena]

awesome!... I have some trees giving and some not...i think they are waking up or in shock?

It's amazing how trees can vary greatly in the amounts of sap they produce and when. Traditionally my two best trees are slow to start but two weeks later are kicking everyone else to the curb, then towards the end drop off very sharply. Another really good tree starts strong and just keeps chugging along all season. Couple others don't do much til the last two weeks or so then kick into gear. And all this on a property of only 1/2 acre, so the terrain/precip etc are consistent for all trees. Go figure!

[MarkReynolds]

I have 45 taps in a virgin bush never been tapped all sugar maples. So far they give good and avg sugar %

[canadian_diesel1964]

It's amazing how trees can vary greatly in the amounts of sap they produce and when. Traditionally my two best trees are slow to start but two weeks later are kicking everyone else to the curb, then towards the end drop off very sharply. Another really good tree starts strong and just keeps chugging along all season. Couple others don't do much til the last two weeks or so then kick into gear. And all this on a property of only 1/2 acre, so the terrain/precip etc are consistent for all trees. Go figure!
Yup I'm scratching my head here but it's all good...I am worried about the warm temps coming this week though ....

[STP92x]

Despite all the warm weather this week my trees haven't been flowing that we'll. I put 3 taps in on the 14th and only have 14L of sap. Anyone else noticed the sap not flowing too well?

[c0ps]

Despite all the warm weather this week my trees haven't been flowing that we'll. I put 3 taps in on the 14th and only have 14L of sap. Anyone else noticed the sap not flowing too well?

Saturday I had good flow, Sunday it started dripping late afternoon but didnt last long. Today My taps were pretty much silent.

[Millsy]

Sunday was the best day of the long weekend for us. Not great flow but still ended up with 430 L of sap for the long weekend. Looks like we are done for another week.

[canadian_diesel1964]

at what point do we need to worry about these trees budding on us?

[cat tech]

What a great weekend, got my 150 taps in and have started into boiling down. 900 l of sap to deal with this will keep me busy hahaha. Many of the road side giants haven't started running, but the smaller one tap trees have figured out its time to get moving.

[cat tech]

I don't know why today but the trees pumped out alot of sap . I didn't get 1 gallon per tap but not far from it . 150 taps net 110 -120 gallons. How are the rest of you making out ???

[c0ps]

35 taps and 20 gallons of sap since saturday morning. Its been very slow

[canadian_diesel1964]

I think were in for a stop....warm warm....2 gallons of syrup so far...boiled up some black walnut today...truly awesome

[robinson lane]

We tapped 100 taps Saturday feb 11 and made 12.5 gallon over the weekend but have not had to collect the last two days they have pretty much stopped.

[cat tech]

I'd be ok with the flow if sap letting up for a few days ,it would give me a chance to get caught up, I haven't finished anything yet,boil re fill boil re fill. Ohhhhhhhh what a great problem to have . Now if I could just figure out how to not go to work all day long and make syrup I'd be laughing.

[Galena]

Welcome to the sugaring world! Last year I collected 101l in the course of one day, already had like 150l to boil, and more on the way. Had to stay up til 2:30 just to get caught up, then crash out and wake up at 7, go to work, come home, fire up the burners first thing, and just keep going. Did this about 4 nights running. Get some nice sharp toothpicks to help keep eyes open!

[canadian_diesel1964]

15601I love this hobby...I'm glad kinda that I only have so many trees...taps etc until I retire. This was today's finish.

[MarkReynolds]

8L of finished syrup! And my pans are still sweet have 20gal to finish up tomorrow. That 20gal is 4% too :D15602

[RyanB]

I don't know why today but the trees pumped out alot of sap . I didn't get 1 gallon per tap but not far from it . 150 taps net 110 -120 gallons. How are the rest of you making out ???

Tapped my 80 here by Arthur yesterday just after lunch and collected 75 gallons at noon today. Actually figured I would have got more as a bunch of the 3 gallon buckets were 2/3rds full by dark.

[thebbqden]

Wow. I wish I was higher north in Ontario. Down here near Windsor all my maples have started to bud. Have to wait till next year now

[canadian_diesel1964]

yeah i think i might be toast also. I hate being in the armpit of Ont...i don't think the "old Rules" of tapping too early will ever apply again

[cat tech]

Finished off my first batch of syurp last night, ended up with 42 l , not bad think in total there was 1600 l of sap ( kinda lose track ) noticed for a early run my syrup was darker than expected ( possible due to the hight record Temps for Feb? ? Anyone eles see the same results? ??

[canadian_diesel1964]

Yep same here...darker but nice....the weather is all over the place. Thought my trees had budded and was done but only a couple small ones have. I may still be in the game after last nights freeze up.

[Hayes]

Tapping just outside of Ingersoll ON. Pretty sure my season is done before it really got started. Most large roadside maples have budded and dried up. Made approx 8gal of finished product, pretty disappointing considering I invested in a new SmokyLake 2x6 Corsair.

[canadian_diesel1964]

Is it possible they just needed another freeze? Or done? I should know if mine are done tomm. I'm hoping there's a few more days yet as all are well below road grade .

[cat tech]

Where r u from diesel???

[canadian_diesel1964]

Just south and east of London ON

[MarkReynolds]

Tapping just outside of Ingersoll ON. Pretty sure my season is done before it really got started. Most large roadside maples have budded and dried up. Made approx 8gal of finished product, pretty disappointing considering I invested in a new SmokyLake 2x6 Corsair.
Where close to ingersoll? I'm just north of Woodstock. My road sides haven't haven't quiet budded but they haven't been giving much to begin with yet.

[drpud]

:DI'm located just west of Woodstock and trees here aren't budded yet.....flow is slow on the buckets (100 tapped) and I still see the one commercial guy nearby is still hauling. May be able to squeeze a little more out.
Good luck
Paul

[MarkReynolds]

Maybe today we'll see some running!

[MarkReynolds]

Collected 65 gal so just under 1 gal per tap some of my big road sides haven't given hardly anything yet and only have one tree that has signs of budding. Forest is still good and sap is sweet and clear.

[canadian_diesel1964]

15786Trees have no idea what's up....weather be whacked! Here's one of today's finishes...darker

[Hayes]

10 min away. Between Putnam and Avon, we own Flagswipe and tap trees around the farm where the outdoor is. We had a small run today, will know more tomorrow when I dump everything, but it makes me hopeful again !


Where close to ingersoll? I'm just north of Woodstock. My road sides haven't haven't quiet budded but they haven't been giving much to begin with yet.

[MarkReynolds]

10 min away. Between Putnam and Avon, we own Flagswipe and tap trees around the farm where the outdoor is. We had a small run today, will know more tomorrow when I dump everything, but it makes me hopeful again ! oh OK ya I know where your at been there a couple times :)

[canadian_diesel1964]

Finished a little more today.....everything is clean, bracing for rain...hoping for a serious reset after the heatwave tomm. And I live on what becomes Avon road but West.

[c0ps]

Finished a little more today.....everything is clean, bracing for rain...hoping for a serious reset after the heatwave tomm. And I live on what becomes Avon road but West.

Wow is that ever light. I can never get it that light

[Run Forest Run!]

Those round bottles with the leaf motif look like giant pennies. Lovely syrup photo.

[canadian_diesel1964]

...it tastes great...I had too much today....:(...once we get that reset it should lighten up even more.

[Hayes]

Collected over 200gal today, boiling Wed. I don't know how you guys make that light syrup, mine is dark. Tastes great but not fancy looking like that. The good news is 90% of the people I sell it to want the darkest coloured I have, perception thing I guess. My first batch off the evaporator on the 17th was a nice light amber but since then its pretty dark.

[MarkReynolds]

I got little yesterday and I'm pretty sure after that storm last night my buckets are full of rain water now :(

[canadian_diesel1964]

I hear you ...I near swamped my atv getting small amounts of sap this morning...I'm ready to throw in the towel.

[c0ps]

I hear you ...I near swamped my atv getting small amounts of sap this morning...I'm ready to throw in the towel.

Dont throw in the towel yet, next week looks good

[Hayes]

Finished with 18L from approx 200gal sap collected Tuesday. Nice Medium Id say, tastes amazing. Really loving my decision to buy the SMokyLake deluxe bottling kit with filters. Clearest syrup I have ever made. No sugar sand yet but the earliest bottles are only a week old, not sure if it will develop in the glass jars after time if I didn't get it all out or not. Time will tell I suppose.
Looks like more good weather headed our way for another sap run over the nest 10 days if the sun decides to poke out

[MarkReynolds]

I'm liking this freeze up give us a restart and the sweet in my pan will be ok til I start running again. Collected about 50-60gal yesterday of partly rain water sap tested 1-1.5% my wife thinks it was stupid but I'm letting it freeze then chucking ice for a couple days then testing again.

[canadian_diesel1964]

all froze up here....would love another 3-4 day run...straightened all the walnut buckets and ready for sat mornin or sun morning when she comes

[MarkReynolds]

Well the 60gal I collected in the rain I just emptied out 33gal at 3% can't complain about that!!!

[canadian_diesel1964]

That's pretty good!

[MarkReynolds]

Well collected 90 gal of 2-4% sap avg'd out at 2.1% so now I'm trying to get tomorrow off to boil it all.

[canadian_diesel1964]

thats a good haul...I collected this morn...saps still good...120 Litres this morn and drip drip drip again now

[MarkReynolds]

thats a good haul...I collected this morn...saps still good...120 Litres this morn and drip drip drip again now
Yup same here still clear!! I'm happy about that!

[MarkReynolds]

Boiled 70 gallons last night and collect 55 gallons of 3% Rossi so still have over 100 to boil :)

[wmick]

Boiled 70 gallons last night and collect 55 gallons of 3% Rossi so still have over 100 to boil :)

Nice to run across someone on here from my neck of the woods.... I'm from the Listowel area... I missed the early run and only got tapping on Sunday.... Not a lot in my buckets yet... and it looks like we're in for a 1 week freeze again..... When did you collect the 90 Gallons? Was that all this week?

[MarkReynolds]

Nice to run across someone on here from my neck of the woods.... I'm from the Listowel area... I missed the early run and only got tapping on Sunday.... Not a lot in my buckets yet... and it looks like we're in for a 1 week freeze again..... When did you collect the 90 Gallons? Was that all this week?
Ya 90 gals was on Monday and another 55 today. Just in time for the freeze up to help me catch up.

[Hkb82]

Ya 90 gals was on Monday and another 55 today. Just in time for the freeze up to help me catch up.

That's a good haul from 70 taps

[MarkReynolds]

That's a good haul from 70 taps
Ya it's honestly more like 55 producing taps I have about 15 road side that don't really give much and the wind keeps blowing the pails off the trees :(

[Galena]

Posting this here, hoping none of us Canucks is so stupid and desperate as to try it...http://mapletrader.com/community/showthread.php?30203-Heating-trees-through-a-cold-snap...

[MarkReynolds]

Lmao that's crazy

[Hayes]

Tuesday was a busy day for me, pulled over 200g of sap and another 80 today. Some trees are starting to drip ugly off colour but most are still clear. Boiled it all and drew off 33 litres, finished and in the jars. Slowly creeping up on my target but will need a good week or two if I have any hope to hit the 40g I had hoped to make this season.
Guess we will wait and see

[canadian_diesel1964]

Posting this here, hoping none of us Canucks is so stupid and desperate as to try it...http://mapletrader.com/community/showthread.php?30203-Heating-trees-through-a-cold-snap...

Very interesting Indeed. I hope he contacts the local fire authorities so they can prepare the equipment manpower etc.

[Galena]

Very interesting Indeed. I hope he contacts the local fire authorities so they can prepare the equipment manpower etc.

Exactly why I also posted this thread to the Upper NY crowd so maybe they will keep an eye out or take matters into their own hands. I personally suggest a lynching, using the biggest tree left standing.

[canadian_diesel1964]

Exactly why I also posted this thread to the Upper NY crowd so maybe they will keep an eye out or take matters into their own hands. I personally suggest a lynching, using the biggest tree left standing.

SNAP! get a glass of syrup...add ever clear(180 proof) and cinnamon...warm it....take a sit in your most comfortable chair....breathe in breathe out.....all good.

[wmick]

Forecast not looking great....
I missed the early season..... and just got taps out on March 4th... Sap ran for a couple days last week, and back to this freeze.... Forecast in my area shows nothing above freezing until the weekend and then nothing above 2C for the following several days.... Hope the sun comes out strong and does her thing.... I'm afraid I may have missed it this year.

[Galena]

Forecast not looking great....
I missed the early season..... and just got taps out on March 4th... Sap ran for a couple days last week, and back to this freeze.... Forecast in my area shows nothing above freezing until the weekend and then nothing above 2C for the following several days.... Hope the sun comes out strong and does her thing.... I'm afraid I may have missed it this year.

Just sit tight and relax. The same thing has been happening here, not supposed to be close to ideal weather til next weekend. Yes, this erratic season is annoying. But I know my trees well enough that come early April the spiles will probably be blowing out. So until you start seeing buds popping on the trees, leave the spiles in or you may end up kicking yourself for pulling them early.

[Galena]

SNAP! get a glass of syrup...add ever clear(180 proof) and cinnamon...warm it....take a sit in your most comfortable chair....breathe in breathe out.....all good.

Yes, I know I snapped and went haywire on that guy. I am not trying to justify it. And notice that I have since backed off on that post? There's an excellent reason why.

[canadian_diesel1964]

16081We can not change the ways of others or what they do no more than we can change the weather day to day to get more sap...all is well..looks like it's warming up in southwestern Ontario. I hope your harvest is grand.

[Run Forest Run!]

Wow, nothing spells 'yum' like a fridge full of syrup and butter. The possibilities......

[wmick]

Forecast for my neck of the woods is looking promising... Hung a few extra buckets last night.... Trees were froze solid... to the point that the spiles didn't seem to seat well... will need to go snug them up in a day or 2.
Going to set up some 3/16" tubing, maybe tomorrow..
16083

Good luck everyone.

[canadian_diesel1964]

Wow, nothing spells 'yum' like a fridge full of syrup and butter. The possibilities......
You've got that right! I may need another fridge as a last ditch run be coming starting tomm and last 10 days or so.

[wmick]

Anyone taps dripping yet? :cool:
16088

[thebbqden]

Hers a newbie question. The buds came out on my tress 3 weeks ago and some have broken open. Now with all this extra cold snap, should I chance it ? or not worry till next year.

[Run Forest Run!]

Hey BBQ. Collect a cup of the sap and boil it down on the stove. If your trees are done the smell as it cooks down will leave no doubt. If you don't stink up the kitchen you'll be boiling at least one more time! Repeat this process as your season winds down.

[canadian_diesel1964]

Anyone taps dripping yet? :cool:
16088

They are warming as I write....drip drip drip....

[canadian_diesel1964]

Rather disappointing 2 days so far...its not warming enough or the trees have had enough

[MarkReynolds]

Collected 95gal today hope for more tomorrow!

[canadian_diesel1964]

Gotta be the fact that my trees are all below grade ....:mad:

[MarkReynolds]

Tomorrow and Tuesday is suppose to be good they will run again! Fingers crossed

[wmick]

How Cold does it need to get?
Forecast here is showing 6C today, only 0C tonight and up to 6C again tomorrow...
Is zero degrees cold enough to make things work?

[Hkb82]

I think they will likely drip with those temps. I have had some drip with daytime high around zero this season. Not very strong drip but If the sun pops out it seems to get them going. We have had a good drip going on in the Bruce for 3 days now. At least I have as I haven't herd about others close to me in the bruce peninsula. Was supposed to be cloudy today but so far sun is out. Fingers crossed

[wmick]

Hope So - Crossing my fingers for a great week.

[MarkReynolds]

Boiling at the moment! Collected 165 gal in two days and still need to collect again this evening. At 10gph I have a long night ahead.

[wmick]

Boiling at the moment! Collected 165 gal in two days and still need to collect again this evening. At 10gph I have a long night ahead.

How are your taps producing today?

[MarkReynolds]

When I collected this morning they were dripping pretty good I haven't gotten away from the shack for a bit but I'll update when I go back to the bush.

[Hkb82]

Well collected today for the first time since the 21st. A total of 70g plus what the kids spilled lol was what I got. That's not bad I think with this crummy weather we are having.

[Brookmaple]

Hello all,

How is your season going? Please record # taps and syrup produced to date:

[argohauler]

Nice sweaty weather to gather in today. Ran pretty good. Never froze last night. They started running mid afternoon Thursday.

I HEAR PEEPERS....

[Bruce L]

Nice sweaty weather to gather in today. Ran pretty good. Never froze last night. They started running mid afternoon Thursday.

I HEAR PEEPERS....

My Dad saw on the news last night that Windsor was at +23 degrees Celsius,that's insane!!! Sounds like what ended our season exactly 5 years ago right now,hit plus 30 here,everyone was loving it except for sugar makers,then I reminded them that meant bug season would begin that much sooner.

[BCPP]

We collected about 30g yesterday at 2pm from 46 taps and another 15g this morning. From the looks of the few buckets I checked late afternoon I expect another 30 tomorrow morning.

However, looks like no more freezing in site so that may be the end of it.

[Maple4444]

Hello all,

How is your season going? Please record # taps and syrup produced to date:
Finished for the year today. 850 lts from 620 taps.

[MarkReynolds]

I have about 40gal of sap left to boil today and then that's it. Once that done and I finish off what's in the pan I guestimate around 50L finished from 50 taps I have 20 taps on road side trees that gave jack all season so next season it will be bush trees only.

[drpud]

Just finished collecting 100 gal and pulled 99 taps/buckets in Embro area. Noticed that some of the trees on edge of the bush are beginning to bud. My son is finishing boiling down about 450 gal collected from Tues and Fri. Good luck to all.
Paul

[canadian_diesel1964]

I HEAR PEEEPERS, last boil today...about 35 litres from 38 taps. Not bad considering we thought it was over 3 weeks ago. OH and a gallon of walnut from 20 taps.

[ennismaple]

Wow - what a difference across the province! You have peepers and are shutting down. We have 18" of snow in the woods and have only boiled 3 times! I'm still taking the skidoo to check on tanks. Glad you've had a good season in the southwest.

[northwood]

I'm located in North Bay (3.5 north of Toronto) and we've had one good weekend run so far. This week looks like good weather to get things runing again. Between the deep freeze last week and the remaining 12-16 inches of snow, it's been a slow start this year.

[MarkReynolds]

Anyone else getting the itch to tap? Forecast looks promising but i don't want to jump the gun either.

[canadian_diesel1964]

sure looking like it...man I'm not ready! Could be a pre tap of 10 days coming up....wouldnt want to miss a free bee like that

[argohauler]

Starting tomorrow.

[JDP]

Time to start Tapping?? Temps all next week look real good. Best of luck to all this season.
Let the sap start flowing at 3% and run til May! lol
Better call the Brewers Retail and send out the truck!

[MarkReynolds]

Well im all tapped. Only 50 my work schedules this year is very heavy. I wish i could have more! They were dripping pretty good too. Tested about 10 trees and they ranged from 3-4% sugar which seems high for this early but hey ill take it!!

[wobbletop]

I tapped this afternoon. 20 bags. About half of them were flowing well.

[wmick]

Hi Folks - So there is some boiling going on in my area.. Elmira, KW, Guelph vicinity... Abnormally early for this area... I'm sure there's more winter to come but having a little thaw right now. Forecast looks good for sap temps for the next week or 2... Talked to a fella at the supply shop yesterday and he said the sap is running at only about 2%... I normally do some buckets and some 3/16" Going to throw the buckets up this week.... not sure about the tubing... Any thoughts on having trees tapped before a 2 or 3 week freeze? any detriment to having them tapped too early?
17758

[argohauler]

Looked at the weather Network forecast this morning. Depressing. No freeze for nearly a week. Thought last night would freeze, but the blasted clouds kept it from doing that.

[wobbletop]

Finished 6L on the stove Friday night after 11 hours on the barrel evaporator on Wednesday from 300L of sap. Used the RO Tuesday to prepare for boiling. Reduced the sap by 50-70%. Using bottles this year instead of mason jars. I tapped twice as many this year, so I expect to run out of bottles and go back to mason jars later in the year. The bottles are a little more finicky to fill, but should be easier to pour out of when we use the syrup.
1797417975

[canadian_diesel1964]

Looks great wobble top! what did you boil to temp wise if you don't mind me asking?

[wobbletop]

I went to 219. I use the maple sap app to let me know how high I should go.

https://www.saptapapps.com/boiltemp/

[Brookmaple]

• 60 taps Feb. 25
• 200 gallons sap Mar. 1
• sugar content very low

[MarkReynolds]

I've gotten around 800L so far wish there was more im tapping new trees this year that seem to give less sap but im avg 3% with some just over 4%. So maybe less sap night sugar content. 18L finished gotta empty and clean my pan tomorrow.

[argohauler]

Too hot, now too cold. No happy medium. No sun either. You think you'll get a good day coming up, then they change the forecast. Maybe Thursday it will run decently, but it will likely turn colder. Good weather for making ice as it just dribbles. Yesterday most taps were frozen.

However it's good weather for getting next year's syrup firewood ready. It's the 2nd year for the ash borer in our area. Cutting infected trees made noticeable by the woodpeckers. Trouble is I have a lot where there's sap lines, unsafe ice in swamps, or the risk of damaging tapped maples in my way.

[argohauler]

Too hot, now too cold. No sun either. Good for making ice. Yesterday most taps were frozen. Lines dripped. They forecast decent highs, then when that day arrives, it's cold. Maybe Thursday will run decently, but it will likely change as the forecast changed over night.

However it's good weather for making next year's syrup firewood. It's the 3rd year for the ash borer in our area. I'm cutting the infected trees made noticeable by the woodpeckers, but there's a lot that I can't cut because of sap lines, unsafe ice in the swamps, or the risk of damaging tapped maples.

[Run Forest Run!]

Weather has been exactly the same for me. Day nine of no sap and don't expect to see any start until the weekend - providing that it's sunny. Lot's of time to clean equipment this year. I've only boiled twice.

[wobbletop]

ALL of the ashes are dead around here.

[argohauler]

Well it just gets better and better. The warmer forecast has evaporated and the good ole weatherman says we'll get minus highs now. No sap for the kids to gather while they're on March break.

Who wants to bet that when this breaks, it will go hot and stay hot?

[canadian_diesel1964]

yep thats my thoughts as well.

[argohauler]

Is there hope in the near future? Depends which weatherman you listen to. Grumpy old Weather Network man is cold and miserable for Saturday and Sunday. +2 for both days. While tired of winter Environment Canada man is +6 for Saturday and +8 for Sunday. What will happen???

[Run Forest Run!]

I don't understand it either. How can the different forecasts be so far apart in their opinions of this weekend? It's bizarre at best.

[MarkReynolds]

I tapped on feb 18 got minimal sap but very high sugar content over all avg'd at 3.5 and some trees getting up to 5 but now everything has dropped down to 2-2.5. Havent had a tsunami of sap this year. Im sad but at the same time work has been crazy busy.... im at around 30L finished from 58taps

[argohauler]

I've been hit by the tsunami. Now it's catch up time. Yesterday was brutal boiling. It just didn't want to, with the low pressure and rain.

[Run Forest Run!]

I know what you mean argohauler. The pans were very reluctant to get a good boil going yesterday with weather the way it was. Miserable drizzle and a low pressure system hanging over us. Looking at the upcoming forecast it looks almost too good to be true! Can't wait! We definitely need to catch up with all of those lucky sugarers in Eastern Ontario. They are waaaay ahead of us.

[Mitchman]

Hi Karen!! Looks like a good year for you. We did very well as did everyone else i talk to, Mitchman

[argohauler]

Well I'm still going. Trees ran half decent this week, but some have seriously slowed down or dried up. Cooler sides of the trees are definitely picking up now. The North side of the bush and a lot of the soft maples decided to start running around Easter.

I've been making VDS since Easter Saturday and yesterday afternoon I'm still making strong tasting, very yummy syrup. I've gathered 10575 Imperial gallons of sap and made 184 Imperial gallons of syrup or 837 litres, for an average of 57.5 Imperial gallons of sap per gallon of syrup off of around 2200 taps.

I think I will hit 200 gallons. It's supposed to freeze tonight. No ice storm for us or even rain here as of yet. Never made syrup this late into April before.

[Run Forest Run!]

Gee Argohauler, we've been getting ice and sleet since early this morning. It's a mess up here.

Nice syrup totals for you this year!

[Brookmaple]

Looks like early next week, we'll get a fair indication whether to begin tapping here in southern Grey County.

[Trapper2]

Where's Karen? Haven't seen her post anywhere yet this Spring.

[Smokeshow]

Any update from you southerners? I plan on tapping 57 trees tomorrow. Thinking its going to be ideal.

[BCPP]

We put 62 taps in at Bronte Creek on Friday. Som sap but not a lot on Saturday, collected about 1/2 gal per tap on Sunday. Expecting lots this afternoon!

[Smokeshow]

I tapped my 57 as planned and all but 5 trees showed signs of life. I’m in Halton as well and couldn’t believe how much snow was still in the bush. It’s still **** cold! By the time I finished (4ish) all the sap that had dropped into the buckets was already frozen

[Smokeshow]

Let my spiles soak for exactly 24 hours. There were maybe 10 pails that had absolutely nothing and on my larger trees one side would have sap and the other bone dry.

Exactly 20 litres harvested at an average of 2.5% sugar! I’ve been reading some big numbers on here this year and at 2.5% that’s huge for me! My running average is 1.6% with last year being 1.3%.

[Run Forest Run!]

Where's Karen? Haven't seen her post anywhere yet this Spring.

Hey Trapper. So look what the cat dragged in, I'm finally here. I've told everyone that I am off the clock and don't ask me to do anything until May. It's sugaring time and I am off the hamster wheel until the sap dries up. Bring on the 2019 sugaring season!

[Hkb82]

Glad to see you have your priorities in order Karen.

I’ve got around the 60 taps in so far. Some pretty good running today but slowed as dark hit so am sure to see the water gates open with tomorrow’s high temps. I have run 40 of the taps directly to the shack and had some pretty good natural gravity going on today I think. Looking forward to not having to collect from that part of my bush as it’s not an easy job. All this snow makes it even harder. I can see myself one day running everything back to the shack.

[wobbletop]

Tapped 20 trees on Friday afternoon. Just a couple were actually dripping. A few bags blew off the trees during Sunday winds. Today I see some of the bags have a few litres in them but hasn't really started to flow yet. Expecting the next few days to be good. Still a lot of snow on the ground.

[BCPP]

Well appears I was a little overly optimistic! Sap ran today but was not great, collected maybe 30 gal. On the positive side it's supposed to be warmer tomorrow and I should get up over the 100gal mark so should finally be able to start the evaporator either Friday or Saturday. On the negative side they have appeared to lower the temp forecasts for the weekend!

[Hkb82]

Why not start a boil. First of 2019. Lots more to come I hope. 19691

[Hkb82]

19692 I have always had trouble sending pics.?????

[Smokeshow]

57 taps after 5 days have produced 77 gallons of syrup. Was able to run my 2’x4’ for 3 hours today.

A bit disappointing

[FanshaweGirl]

I have 20 taps in.
Boiled down 38 gallons from the last couple of days, working on 15 from today.
A friend in town has a couple of taps in and I give him 5-10 gallons at a time.

I boil on two turkey fryers, he boils over a campfire.

My first nearly done batch is super dark, like all of mine was last year. Every year turns out differently, but last year everything was as dark as molasses, looks like this year will be too.

[BCPP]

Finally got to about 115gal off our 62 taps so started the process up yesterday. Today was able to draw off about 3.5l of syrop. Weather not living up to forecast so still low sap flow. Will likely be able to run tomorrow but have to stop after that for at least a day or two. At one point during our "mostly sunny " day we had a white out blizzard with 40kph winds! Thankfully the snow only lasted 10 minutes but wind was strong all day.

[Smokeshow]

210 Litres / 55 gallons in less than 24 hours. Now we’re talking!

[Hkb82]

Things ran pretty good in my area today. Will collect tomorrow am to get a total of sap for today. This week is looking not bad weather wise for us on the Bruce.

[Smokeshow]

Today was absolutely mad! Collected 125 Gallons off sap for the day, took the afternoon off and in 4.75 hours evaporated 150 gallons of sap all measuring over 2%!!

[FanshaweGirl]

Today was a slow running day, thankfully!

I have two trees in my front yard, 5 taps, with hanging buckets. I emptied them late this morning, getting about 5 gallons. I didn't touch the other drop line buckets as they only got half full.
I have been boiling all day to catch up with everything I had left over from yesterday. I intend to get all of the sap to a boil as some was starting to get cloudy. I'd be ok if tomorrow was a slow running day too, so I can get everything finished and bottled.

I don't have anything for measuring sugar content, but I am definitely getting better than 40:1 I'll know better when I finish off what I have so far. I'll keep anything I collect tomorrow separate. I have tapped only sugar maples.

[Run Forest Run!]

Hi FanshaweGirl. Funny how here in Caledon the sap was running hard. Either feast or famine isn't it?

[MarkReynolds]

Collected 115 gallons from 58 taps today. Been boiling since 6ish down 60gallons still like 120 to go. Drew off around 10L so far tonight. Sap so far has been averaging 3-4%!

[FanshaweGirl]

Hi FanshaweGirl. Funny how here in Caledon the sap was running hard. Either feast or famine isn't it?

It sure is! Today was overcast all day, with light rain that started in the afternoon. We hit a high of 9C. We're not going below freezing tonight, so tomorrow may be a slow day again. But the next several days after that are back to prime running temps!

I may just have to start selling "organic maple water", available in 5 gallon buckets! :D

[Smokeshow]

Collected 115 gallons from 58 taps today. Been boiling since 6ish down 60gallons still like 120 to go. Drew off around 10L so far tonight. Sap so far has been averaging 3-4%!

Mark that 3-4% is nuts! I’m just happy I’m getting over 2% this year

[Brookmaple]

Slow and steady here.

• 80 taps with approx. 160 gallons sap this past week.

Nice start to the season!

[Smokeshow]

Curious to know how everyone’s day went sap wise. Mine all but dried up with this excessive warmth. It’s always so confusing.

[Run Forest Run!]

Curious to know how everyone’s day went sap wise. Mine all but dried up with this excessive warmth. It’s always so confusing.

I got 117L on Wednesday, diddly on Thursday and squat today. Good thing I saved some of my sap from Wednesday for my demo tomorrow. Hopefully the hurricane winds will have calmed down a bit by then! :o

[FanshaweGirl]

Day three of cold temps and very slow running. I'm finally getting caught up!

I'm leaving the sap in the buckets today just to keep them weighed down in this wind. Final bucket of sap is boiling away, probably be late tonight before it's all ready to bottle. Will probably wait till tomorrow to finish it all. I've got half a batch of nearly finished syrup waiting in pickle jars.
Saturday is supposed to be +5 and sunny, -1 overnight, +7 on Sunday. Should start up the run again.

[canadian_diesel1964]

I am just south of you Fanshawe Girl in Belmont. a nice day off as its been busy.. looks like tomorrow might start up again.

[FanshaweGirl]

I am just south of you Fanshawe Girl in Belmont. a nice day off as its been busy.. looks like tomorrow might start up again.

Actually, I live in Lambton County. Went to Fanshawe College.

It does look like tomorrow will get busy again. At least I'll have had a chance to catch up and start fresh again.

[Galena]

...I may just have to start selling "organic maple water", available in 5 gallon buckets! :D

You never know, buyers do sometimes turn up on threads looking to purchase sap!

[FanshaweGirl]

It's +4C and sunny here. I just went and emptied my buckets, most of the sap was from yesterday that I had left to weigh the buckets down. But, the trees are starting to drip pretty consistently now. Round two has started!

I have about 7L of syrup on the stove just about ready for bottling.

[FanshaweGirl]

Another 5.5L in bottles.

By my numbers, it looks like I'm getting 28:1

Maybe one of these years I'll have the $$ to spend on a refractometer and be able to check actual sugar content.

[BCPP]

Boiled today and made about 10l but sap is not running, very little over past three days. Will use up the rest of our stored sap tomorrow but does not look like we will get sap tomorrow either! Not sure how this season is going to play out!!

[Smokeshow]

I collected 74 Litres at 6pm off of my 58 taps today. It was all from today because yesterday things were pretty dry. Tomorrow looks promising!

Anyone producing any amber syrup? I have about 15 litres of golden to finish off.

[FanshaweGirl]

Grabbed another 27 gallons of sap this afternoon. Buckets were half full again this evening, but I have nowhere to put anything more, so it's staying in the buckets till tomorrow. Maybe the freezing temps overnight will leave some ice in the buckets to help reduce.

[Page Meadow Maple]

Do you toss all the ice?

[FanshaweGirl]

I toss the big chunks that are in the sap buckets.

[Smokeshow]

I got lucky today. Trees provided exactly 100 gallons of syrup between last night and this evening. Boiled it down and now time for bed.

[wobbletop]

19837

6.5L bottled on Sunday. A little darker since I overboiled the evaporator once.

[Run Forest Run!]

That's fabulous wobbletop.

[FanshaweGirl]

+3 and sunny here today. Still finishing yesterdays sap, have just a bit more to get into a pot. The sap has been going back and forth between clear and cloudy, right out of the trees, so I'm trying to keep the batches separate just in case some tastes off a bit. Anything that's cloudier or maybe tastes off a bit, will go to sugar.

[Smokeshow]

This sun is glorious! Has me thinking I’m in for a heavy load when I get home.

[FanshaweGirl]

The sun is glorious today! But I've got a cold wind coming in off Lake Huron, so it's still super chilly out there.

[BCPP]

Dont get too excited! We just collected about 40gal from our 62 trees so ok but nothing to write home about! Tomorrow is looking to be very good.

[Hkb82]

Not much going on in my bush today I got the cold Huron winds also. Lines to shack started a drip around 2ish. Not much in the buckets. To date around 250g from 60 trees. Will bottle my 2nd batch tomorrow. Putting the last of the sap through the arch as I am writing this. Might have to put more taps out. Was hoping for a good year so I am 40 taps shy of last year. I am starting to feel the lack of sap

[FanshaweGirl]

I just went and collected. 20 gallons today, with a couple left in buckets because I ran out of space. I need to grab a couple more buckets.

Sitting around 245 gallons of sap from 20 taps.

[Smokeshow]

Well I didn’t do too shabby. Just got back from collecting 300 litres / 80ish gallons. My property is sheltered somewhat from the winds and the sun definitely helped out.

To date I’ve collected 1910 Litres / 500 gallons and I suspect between tomorrow and Thursday my trees will provide at least another 6-700 litres. I’ve started to drop in sugar to 2% average which tells me that I will start to produce amber instead of golden. At least that’s how it’s been in the past for me.

Hoping to reach my goal of 3000 Litres by weeks end and pull my taps. Not living where we harvest begins to take a toll on the body.

Hope everyone has a great season!

[Smokeshow]

Eternally perplexed! Yesterday expected very little and was surprised. Today I expected a lot and was surprised!

Here’s to wondering what tomorrow will be like.

[wmick]

Should be a good run today... in Wellington County... and forecast looks decent for the next 6 days straight.

[BCPP]

Today went fairly well, made about 14l of syrop, collected about 200l of sap from 62 taps. Only downer was after my last draw off I was trying to decide if I should shut down for the night or keep on going as everything had just been ticking along all day. Emptied some buckets into the collection tank and when I returned to the evaporator discovered that the finishing pan float valve had stuck open and pan was flooded to about 3" depth! There goes the sugar gradient! On the bright side the machine made the decision for me as to whether to shut down! So far this year we've collected 2200l of sap compared to 3200 last year. Does not look like we will exceed last year. Calling for sap flow on Monday but after that temps are shooting up and I fear that might be the end.

[Hkb82]

Very slow drip today but collected 110 gal today around noon from yesterday. Still only 60 taps so far. It’s kinda nice being able to keep up. I will prob put another 15-20 for a last big run at the end of my season.

[Smokeshow]

That’s a pretty sweet haul HK!

It’s been slow for me the last 3 days. Just enough to have to boil because I’m out of storage space / weather is to mild but not enough to really crank the ole evap up! Only got 160 litres off of 58 taps in 24 hours.

I’ve harvested 2,600 litres of sap to date. I have an extremely sweet pan that is probably holding 20L of finish and I bottled 31 litres today of batch one and two. 13 for batch one and and 18 for batch 2.

Will probably pull my taps tomorrow. Sugar has dropped off and I’m tired. On the plus side, I’ve shed 5 pounds in 2 weeks!!!

My pre season goal was 50 litres of finished and I think I’ll get there.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190329/57280605a8da7bb00405a1fab1ffba32.jpg

It looks a lot darker than it is. I’ll snap a pic when they’re so natural light around.

[FanshaweGirl]

I collected 35 gallons today and it was running quite well.

I figure I'll pull the taps this weekend. I'm tired of watching pots boil all day. I have way more syrup than I'll use in a year. My friend wants to do more, but he's having a really hard go at getting free time to boil. I'll see how it goes in the next few days, it's been getting really warm here, so the trees are going to bud any minute.

[BCPP]

Went in yesterday to finish off what was in the finishing pan and then clean it so I'd be ready to start final boils for the season as it looks like it's going to get warm by Tuesday and stay warm! My holding tank is at 185 gal (250 gal tank). Decided I'd check the buckets and they were the fullest they've been this year! Sap was not supposed to run much!! So added sap collection to the list. Collected 80 gal from 62 taps. Now the holding tank is full and I've got 15gal sitting in pails! This season I've been getting little sap on days when I expect lots and lots of sap on days when I expect little! Still dont think I'll get to last years total unless the weather forecast changes - need about another 220 gal.

[Smokeshow]

Based on what Ive read, what I’ve experienced and sugaring in general, this is my strangest year yet! Thought I tapped at the perfect time (March 11) and as of today I’m sitting completely dry. Evaporated the piddly 65 gallons I had and now I wait for what I hope will be one final run.

I’m sitting at an average of 9.2 gallons per tap and that works out to 0.54 gallons per tap per day. Here’s to hoping!

On the bright side, the 31 litres I have finished is divine!

Hope all y’all end off on a high note.

[FanshaweGirl]

Every year when people hear/see that I'm doing syrup they start commenting about how much they love syrup, how they wish they had trees to tap, that they'll buy syrup from me (or drop hints about getting it for free), and how much fun it looks like. But people have no clue how much time and work it takes.

I just finished boiling down 5 gallons of sap. I just decided to keep a bucket separate this round. I poured it into a pyrex measuring cup, took a picture, and posted it on Facebook. That 5 gallons turned into 400 mL of syrup. First comment: "No way!!"

Yup. It takes a lot to make that heavenly sweetness. Please stop assuming I'll give it away for free, or that $5/L is a good price.


Note: I do give syrup away for free, but that's to family or really good friends. Or I'll donate it for a fundraiser.

[Brookmaple]

Anyone experiencing cloudy sap yet? Despite cold nights and days, sap doesn't seem to be keeping well?

[FanshaweGirl]

Mine was back and forth. Some days would run and stay completely clear, other days it would run cloudy. For the most part I was able to boil sap by the next day, so it didn't get too bad.

[wobbletop]

Took Friday off to boil down my sap storage since the weekend is gonna suck.

Beauty day but took 12 hours to boil down. 270L sap -> about 6.5L syrup.

I'm a little worried about the sap sitting on the trees in 10C weather.

19892

[BCPP]

Sap was running today, collected about 35gal from 62 taps which seems to be about the norm this year! Poured rain all day so some of that was rain water. Tested at about 2.8% sugar and heretofore we've been pretty consistent at 3.4%.

Have about 200gal left to boil. Was worried with how warm it got yesterday but sap is only a little cloudy so should hold until I get it all boiled tomorrow. Looks like we'll get a modest run tomorrow and possibly a good run on Monday. Need about 120 gal to reach last years. Going to be close because looks like season will be done by Tuesday if the forecast holds!

[Smokeshow]

BCPP what is your location? I thought we were close and I haven’t seen a drop since Thursday.

[BCPP]

BCPP what is your location? I thought we were close and I haven’t seen a drop since Thursday.

We're inside Bronte Creek Provincial Park at Spruce Lane Farm which is about 0.5km North of QEW and 0.5km West of the creek. Last day of maple festival tomorrow so will be there all day and then probably finishing off Monday and maybe Wednesday. Stop by if you have time but if you dont have a park pass its $17/car to get in!

[Smokeshow]

We're inside Bronte Creek Provincial Park at Spruce Lane Farm which is about 0.5km North of QEW and 0.5km West of the creek. Last day of maple festival tomorrow so will be there all day and then probably finishing off Monday and maybe Wednesday. Stop by if you have time but if you dont have a park pass its $17/car to get in!

Thant’s incredible! 13km apart and a huge difference in sap production.

[BCPP]

It's been a strange season, getting lots of flow on days there should be none and vice versa. Maybe being so close to the lake affects the climate enough?

[Smokeshow]

Headed to the woods to perform a bucket check. Dumped all the tree pee and cleared off snow and was shocked that almost all of the taps were running!

Looks like my season will get extended to at least Wednesday.

[BCPP]

Little flow today, just too cold! With the freezing temps tonight and forecast warm tomorrow I'm hoping for a good run tomorrow. But then it gets warm so might get a little on Tuesday but then I think the season will be done (forecasting
+15c) and my last boil will be Wednesday .

[FanshaweGirl]

Went out to pull the taps this afternoon. Some of the buckets had quite a bit in them, thought maybe I had some last sap to boil down. Went to dump out the first bucket and EWW!!! that stuff stunk! Dumped all the buckets. I'm done.

Next year, I'm getting one of those RO Bucket setups. The cost of the little one will quickly be offset by the savings in propane, electricity, and my sanity.

[Smokeshow]

30 litres on Saturday, 80 litres Sunday and 30 today. Sap is still clear, tasty, smells fine and my trees are nowhere near budding. Just not getting the juice!

Thursday is my spile pule day. Hoping for a serious run to the finish line or I’m not meeting my goal of 50 litres of finished.

[Smokeshow]

Just collected sap in one hour intervals and my trees are dripping at a rate of 25-30 litres per hour for the 58 taps.

Shows promise for a good end to the season....

[wmick]

I hope mine are flowing... Wont know till tonight.
Halton forecast looks about the same as mine.... No freeze tonight... but freezing the Wed and Thurs nights. Might get a couple decent sap days??
Hoping so... Id like to give the evaporator one more try this year.

[Smokeshow]

I hope mine are flowing... Wont know till tonight.
Halton forecast looks about the same as mine.... No freeze tonight... but freezing the Wed and Thurs nights. Might get a couple decent sap days??
Hoping so... Id like to give the evaporator one more try this year.

I wish you well!

I went back after 4 hours and getting exactly 27 litre per hour at 1.85% Brix. I’ll take it!

[BCPP]

No sap running on Sunday, very little yesterday (~22L from 62 taps!) when it was supposed to be warm! Today was another story 295l collected from the 62 taps. Not calling for freezing temps tonight and it's going to start getting warm. I'm thinking whatever we collect tomorrow will be the end. We are almost at the 3200l of last year (only need another 300)! Will be close!

[Smokeshow]

No sap running on Sunday, very little yesterday (~22L from 62 taps!) when it was supposed to be warm! Today was another story 295l collected from the 62 taps. Not calling for freezing temps tonight and it's going to start getting warm. I'm thinking whatever we collect tomorrow will be the end. We are almost at the 3200l of last year (only need another 300)! Will be close!

Hope you make it! My goal was 3000L and I’m oddly close as well.

[wmick]

Pretty sure the past 24 hours has been the heaviest since I tapped this year. I'm not keeping good records like you guys... (I should) but 90ish taps produced about 700L (185Gal) in the past 24 hours... (1000L (264Gal since Sunday)
Just a FYI - These 90 are on 6 strands of 3/16" tubing... with very little slope,... but a couple cheap diaphragm pumps to keep things moving with a little vacuum... I have these pumps on temperature controllers that turn on at 2C (35.6F) and off at -2C (28.4F). It didn't freeze last night so they would have run all night. I'm pleasantly amazed that a decent truck battery will keep two of these pumps working for at least 24 hours, when I swap it out. (but I did add a couple small solar chargers... just for fun). The 3/16 system has easily outperformed the buckets this year... I included a link to the pump and temp controllers that I've used, in case anyone wants to play around... No regrets here.

https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B00WYMC492/ref=pe_386430_121528420_TE_dp_3
https://www.amazon.ca/Temperature-Controller-Thermostat-Electronic-One-Channel/dp/B07L3D1ZH4/ref=pd_ys_c_rfy_11076213011_0?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B07L3D1ZH4&pd_rd_r=FMNSTM9YK4KXD98MPSTG&pd_rd_w=1bmPg&pd_rd_wg=RkuoK&psc=1&refRID=35DC4XMM04XHCHS9RTFD

[Smokeshow]

Pulled my taps today because I had to. 300 litres of sap off of 58 taps in less than 24 hours! Bueno.

Collected a total of 3075 litres and will hopefully finish tomorrow before I head out of town.

[BCPP]

Pulled our taps today after collecting about 15 gal from the 62 taps. Almost identical amount of sap to last year (~3200l from the 62 taps). A little more syrop, probably due to more consistent sugar levels. Started at 3.4% on Mar11 and finished today at 3.2%. Getting warm all next week so no point in fighting mother nature! Season was several weeks shorter than last year but production was about the same!

Now we just have to clean everything and put it away!

[Smokeshow]

Finished bottling tonight. 3075 litres of sap equates to just shy of 61 litres of syrup. 50:1 ratio. Not bad for me!

Cleaning and planning is on the docket.

[wobbletop]

Might be it for me. I don't see any favourable weather in the forecast.

Not bad, I produced more syrup from less sap than last year. 21L syrup, 910L sap this year vs 17.5L syrup, 1050L sap last year.

And it was a shorter season.

[SuzukiSapper]

First year with pipeline. Approx 220 taps last boil tonight and made 265 litres of syrup. Second year with home built RO which after 2 passes averaged 18 to 23 gallons of concentrated sap to draw off of 2 gallons at a time. Cut the boil in half. Might need to improve my stack temp, what do you think? See below
19992

1400 degrees!!

[Hkb82]

Well last boil for me in redbay today. Started pulling taps as I collected. Should be a little over the 60L of syrup mark so a not bad season for me. Was around the same last year with 25-30 more taps. Going bigger next year with new arch bigger pans and an addition to the sugar shack I’ve been putting off for a bit.

[wobbletop]

I'm done for the year too.

Collected a little over 60L on saturday morning from 20 taps. Sap has started to get slightly cloudy and sugar content is down to 2.0% from 2.6% That 60L only made 1L of syrup (some lost in filter etc).

So overall I did more syrup from less sap over a shorter period of time. I'm happy, but it was a strange season.

[wmick]

Thought I should maybe wake up this thread before the trees start budding... :)
Strange winter... Seems like it really never got started.... Snowmobile still sitting where I parked it a year ago.
Personally I'm hoping for a few more weeks.... as I'm really not ready for sap season yet... :emb:
Good Luck to you all for the upcoming season.

[cat tech]

The sun is getting stronger and even on cold days there are bare spots on hillsides showing up, time to find the cordless drill batteries and get them charged. Just think of all the savings of not having any snowmobile repairs this season 😃. Good luck with your season.

[MarkReynolds]

Yup it has been a weird winter.. no tapping in the 2 week forecastwhich gives me time to prep. Hopefully I avg same sugar as last two years! Good luck with your up coming season!

[cat tech]

Agree, last season the sugar % was fantastic we were running in the high 2% most days , well until the sap hydrometer fell and exploded into a handful of pieces 😂. With these extra few week I’m hoping to put together all my amazon parts and build my small ro unit, what could go wrong bahahah

[MarkReynolds]

What do you figure your small RO build will cost? I'd like to implement one at some point to increase my taps without increasing much time.

[cat tech]

I’ve got just shy of $500 in parts all ordered off amazon the membranes are the largest expense of the build.
I sat down today and got the ro unit all built , I ended up with a bunch of extra unneeded fittings and tubing.
Basic parts list
High pressure pump ( I used a 12 dc diaphragm pump rated for 5 l per minute 130 psi
3 - 400 gpd membranes with housing
1 - 1/4 line kit with push lock fittings
1- 3/8 line kit with push lock fittings
1 - pressure gauge ( push lock fittings)
1- brass needle valve

[MarkReynolds]

Cool I've been looking around trying to find the parts for a decent price. I'd be interested to hear how yours works and what your concentrate rate and % will be.

[cat tech]

I’ll let you know the outcome good bad or ugly, just need some warmer temps to get are season underway

[MarkReynolds]

The last term forecast looks promising but I don't know I'll check weather on Saturday again I'm getting itchy to tap.

[argohauler]

Heard today that a guy in the Cambridge area with 50,000 taps is all done tapping.

Got my supplies today. Got a few more trees to cut and a couple mainlines to repair and then I'll start tapping next week. Swamps and waterholes in the trails are still not safe to walk on yet. They may never be this winter. Friday is going to be real winter, but only for 1 day. The 2 week forecast is all just above freezing temperatures. Usually when you look at that, it just gives you I figured, the average highs and lows for that time of year. Now it's changed and making me wonder.

Had some branches break off a 3" Maple tree from dropping a big ash tree on Saturday. The buds on it were huge.

[MarkReynolds]

This "winter" has been so weird. I'm think I'll probably tap next week. I've heard of ppl already making syrup in areas around London. I'm just afraid of tapping and everything freezing up hard, but with this winter I doubt it.

[wmick]

No Sap running around here this morning.... -30C deg this morning... (that's -22 F) :o
Bit of a shock after this mild winter.

[cat tech]

With 5-6 degrees and lot of sun , we got all are 250 ish taps in place and all the lines tighten up . By mid afternoon the trees were running well and did a good job of flushing out all the sap lines. Probably a short lived start of the season but it’s finally starting to look more like syrup season every day . Good luck to everyone this spring!!!

[MarkReynolds]

Yup I also got my 60 taps in Saturday afternoon and boiled down over 60 gallons last night just enough to sweeten my pans. Hopefully it runs well today and I'll get syrup off.

[wmick]

We went through a 3-4 day stint of favourable temperatures here... Sap was running for those that have their taps in... I'm not one of them.. and I haven't seen much activity from the local guys, yet... I didn't see any smoke in the Elmira area yesterday either... Turning cold again for a few days, now... I will get tapping this weekend... Not sure how many... Thinking about 150ish to start.

I did, however, start a little experiment that I've been thinking about for some time, now.. I tapped 8 large old maples on my road.. They sit at the top of a decent hill with maybe 20-30 ft of fall...
I set up a 3/16" gravity line from 25 taps, to a barrel at the bottom of the hill... I'm really excited to see how the combination of full-sun roadside trees and gravity work out.

The trees along my road are typically tapped with buckets by other neighbourhood folk... (first come, first served).... I finally beat them to it this year... I only took 8 trees though.... Lots more to go around, if they tap this year.

[MarkReynolds]

Well I have collected 180 gallons from 60 taps. Boiled enough to sweeten my pans but still have another 110 gallons to boil down. So far sugar is at 2%. That's a 1.5% drop from last year :(

[wmick]

Bit of a late winter storm going on here... Blew snow last night and had to do it again this morning. A couple more cold days to come, but looks like things are going to start to swing on Sunday...
It doesn't look like ideal conditions by any means, but the forecast is calling for 9 days out of the next 14 that will have positive daytime temps, after freezing nights... I guess I better get tapping.
21064

[cat tech]

You will have a hard going back to Pails after you see just how well 3/16 line going into drum works. Sure doesn’t look like syrup season this morning with all this snow blowing around.

[Someclown]

The trees along my road are typically tapped with buckets by other neighbourhood folk... (first come, first served).... I finally beat them to it this year... I only took 8 trees though.... Lots more to go around, if they tap this year.

FYI, if that's Crown land be careful, I had tapped trees on the side of a road before and a conservation officer came along and said I need an L.U.P.(Land Use Permit) to tap trees on Crown land.
What a tax grab that is. Had to pull my taps right then. 10 taps
this is Northern Ontario though:mad::mad:

[wmick]

FYI, if that's Crown land be careful, I had tapped trees on the side of a road before and a conservation officer came along and said I need an L.U.P.(Land Use Permit) to tap trees on Crown land.
What a tax grab that is. Had to pull my taps right then. 10 taps
this is Northern Ontario though:mad::mad:

Hmm??... That sucks... I never really gave that much thought as the trees down my road have been tapped by someone or other for years... They are on what I would consider the Road Allowance... between the ditch and the farmers fence.. I've never heard of problems arising, but you never know? We dont really have "crown" land around here, but these particular 8 trees that I tapped happen to be adjacent to Grand River Conservation land and not a farm. I put my name and phone number on the barrel... I guess we'll see what happens... fingers crossed.
Thanks for the heads up..

[wmick]

It's comin.... As usual, I'm not quite ready for it... but the forecast is looking like syrup...
21093
Took Friday off work to tap trees, but spent most of the day blowing snow, instead.... Same on Saturday... Bad timing for a blizzard... Managed to get out Sunday and get taps in.. Very deep fresh snow in the bush.. My old joints and muscles are not happy... The younger trees were bleeding sap pretty good, while I was tapping at +1degC. Still a few odds and ends to finish it up... Sap will be running today. It's +4 this morning.
I will try to remember this next year, and get things done earlier, when weather permits.

[whatever]

(I will try to remember this next year, and get things done earlier, ) That's funny right there! this is maple syrup. it seems that it doesnt matter how prepared you think you are, usually you aren't. lol

[wmick]

(I will try to remember this next year, and get things done earlier, ) That's funny right there! this is maple syrup. it seems that it doesnt matter how prepared you think you are, usually you aren't. lol

Right you are.... You caught me believing my own BS again...
. Thought I had got a jump on things this year... but you are correct. I will never be "ready"

[ennismaple]

FYI, if that's Crown land be careful, I had tapped trees on the side of a road before and a conservation officer came along and said I need an L.U.P.(Land Use Permit) to tap trees on Crown land.
What a tax grab that is. Had to pull my taps right then. 10 taps
this is Northern Ontario though:mad::mad: A public ROW is not the same as Crown Land. Only the township/county that owns from fence to fence could demand a permit to tap roadside trees. The CO who told you that was overstepping - I'd have politely told him to go away and check the laws again.

[wmick]

Got my collection system in place last night... I lost out on a good day's run yesterday... but the tote should be filling today.
Next 14 days are still looking promising... but those "perfect" swings are forecasted for late next week...

21114

[Smokeshow]

What’s up peeps?

Tapped 80 trees on Sunday. All on buckets and they produced 150 litres in a little over 36 hours. Haven’t checked brix yet. Fingers crossed it’s close to 2%

[Hkb82]

I got 67 on lines put in on Monday up on the Bruce peninsula. Was slowly dripping the past few days. Going to be tapping more this am and looking forward to my first boil of 2020. Got a new 4x2 pan and 1x2 preheating pan on a new arch. Should speed my rates up over previous years. Bring it on 2020. Anybody else on the peninsula getting good runs yet?

[wmick]

Ughh :(- Just looked at the 14 day forecast again and the night time temperatures have all jumped up by 2 or 3 degrees.... Those perfect -5s are now at -1 and -2... In my experience that is not really cold enough... Fingers crossed that things change back.

I missed Monday's run... Tuesday netted about 250L now, from 165 taps.... Didn't check the sugar level yet.

21120

[Hkb82]

Well let’s just hope this maple season is better then my snowmobile season was this year. Mother Nature is really making it hard on us this winter to have fun outside.

[MarkReynolds]

Well I'm swamped just collected 160 gals from 60taps 100 tested at 1.5% I think some rain got in it... And the other 60 at 2.2% so hoping it freezes a bit tonight so I can Chuck ice.

[Smokeshow]

Well I'm swamped just collected 160 gals from 60taps 100 tested at 1.5% I think some rain got in it... And the other 60 at 2.2% so hoping it freezes a bit tonight so I can Chuck ice.

Mark. Where are you located and how much time between collecting?