How does our mild winter impact when the trees will run?

[JEHardy01-Ohio]

I am in central Ohio and drove by the local boy scout camp this morning and noticed they have tapped all of their maple trees. I am wondering how our mild winter is impacting the timing for tapping? Should I be getting out there and tapping trees or are we still too early? If the trees run early in Feb and we get more cold weather and then a normal march, will we still have a significant run in March?

[RC Maple]

If the trees run early in Feb and we get more cold weather and then a normal march, will we still have a significant run in March?

If there is good syrup weather in March then there will be significant runs. Hopefully we will have weather at the end of March like we had Saturday and are going to have today - high 20's at night and 50's in the day. Should you be tapping?...Now there's the question. Good luck.

[Bentley Wood Maple]

Maybe at your house?? My perfect day I sugarhouse is high 20s for a low, high 30s lo40s for a high. Bright sun, no wind. Get into 50s we get a ton of sap with low sugar content

[RC Maple]

Maybe at your house?? My perfect day I sugarhouse is high 20s for a low, high 30s lo40s for a high. Bright sun, no wind. Get into 50s we get a ton of sap with low sugar content

True - when temps hit the 50's after a night in the 20's I do get a ton of sap - usually. The only difference with your post is that my sugar content, from all sugar maples, is almost always at 2%. Very seldom lower and never higher - unless I am throwing ice out of the buckets. I would love to see what boiling 3% sap is like. This is only my fifth year doing this but with few exceptions I haven't seen sap with higher sugar contents than 2% coming out of the trees.

[sr73087]

What I found based off of the last few years. The colder the winter, the longer before the trees run even with good temperatures. Last season it took probably close to 2 weeks of temps in the 40s for the trees to begin to run. I guess it took that long for everything to thaw.

[Cedar Eater]

What I found based off of the last few years. The colder the winter, the longer before the trees run even with good temperatures. Last season it took probably close to 2 weeks of temps in the 40s for the trees to begin to run. I guess it took that long for everything to thaw.

Last winter was exceptionally cold and in my area, the ground froze very deep before being covered with insulating snow. That's exactly the opposite of what I've got this year. I can walk around on the snow in the cedars and sink right into liquid muck. I'm thinking of tapping by mid-February and I'm in northern lower Michigan.

[blissville maples]

the trees, after last thaw, are ready anytime above 32 degrees. im in Poultney VT and it hit 32-34 and sun for an hour today, test tree had 1/4 gal. I will certainly be tapping out starting Monday, as temps return to 30's next week.

[Snappyssweets]

I have half a gallon finished now. Pulled about 34 gallons so far total. Locked up and frozen last two days will be by forecast until likely Sunday or Monday now.

[Hannah]

I have half a gallon finished now. Pulled about 34 gallons so far total. Locked up and frozen last two days will be by forecast until likely Sunday or Monday now.

Hey Snappy, I'm just up the rd from ya, good to hear your doing well already. Looking at the temps for the next two weeks and I think I'm going to hold off till end of month unless the forecast changes. Would hate for my holes to close up on me mid stream. Keep me informed on how your doing.

[Eds Constructors]

Hey Snappy, I'm just up the rd from ya, good to hear your doing well already. Looking at the temps for the next two weeks and I think I'm going to hold off till end of month unless the forecast changes. Would hate for my holes to close up on me mid stream. Keep me informed on how your doing. new to the game, what happens if they " close up ", won't it start running again, I got about 23 gal of sap and got 1 quart and 2 pints, stuff was oozing out a week ago, then we got 36 inches of snow and the coldest weather snap in years -23f

[Michigan Maples]

new to the game, what happens if they " close up ", won't it start running again, I got about 23 gal of sap and got 1 quart and 2 pints, stuff was oozing out a week ago, then we got 36 inches of snow and the coldest weather snap in years -23f

I'm only on my third year tapping, but I'm fairly certain they will begin to flow again once they thaw out. I saw a lot of people here in Michigan that tapped weeks ago when we had really mild temps and got tons of sap, and consequently have already finished a bunch of syrup. I'm thinking I missed out on an opportunity then, but I'll be tapping in a couple of days.

[Gissert]

Last year in west central MN, the winter was low snow but normal temps. The frost went really deep, and the trees were slow to respond. One they started, the run was good, but VERY short in my woods. Trees were done well before I heard the first peepers.

It will be interesting to see what this year brings - we don't have a lot of snow, but it has also been very mild. This time last year a lot of septic systems were frozen or very slow, and I have not heard reports of that this winter.