sap flow after budding out trees

[Tickle]

was wondering what peoples opinions were ,most of my trees have budded out but not all, with the upcoming forecast of 3-4 nights of 20 degree temps any thought on what might happen with tree sap quality and tree sap flow ,thanks

[Cedar Eater]

At some point, the sap flow will either shut off or turn buddy. This supposedly happens with silvers before reds and reds before sugars or blacks. From what I've heard, you can only really tell whether sap is buddy by boiling it and smelling the steam or by tasting the nearup and detecting a "woody" taste. You can't tell when this will happen by looking at the trees. I have been getting clear sap that doesn't smell bad and has been making good syrup despite the fact that many of my reds are showing signs of being ready to pop. They are so tall that I can't get a good look at the buds. Some of my reds still have tight buds. I am hoping to get at least another 100 gallons of good sap out of this cold snap.

[Tickle]

that sounds like a similar situation that i have , all reds and silvers and the buds are up high and hard to see , well i will just hope for one more good run this weekend thanks good luck

[Stewart McCallister]

I've never really had to pay attention to this before. I've just stopped when the sap stops and the nights aren't cold any more but the weather has been weird lately. Looks like a good week coming up but I'm not sure if it's too late for my trees. What am I looking for?13871

[GramaCindy]

That is a nice tight bud Stewart. No worries for you there.

[Wanabe1972]

Pull a bud off and roll it between your fingers. If it stays tight and mostly intact your good to go. If it opens up and falls apart your close to being done and will need to test your sap with a test boil.

[GeneralStark]

Don't over think it. Just go until the boil smells bad. If you don't want to contaminate the sweet in your rig you can test sap by boiling a small quantity in a pan.

While it may seem that looking at the buds of the trees, or feeling the buds could provide some context on whether the sap is "buddy" or not, it really can't provide an accurate measure. The change in the sap that occurs as the tree begins to bud does not necessarily directly correlate with bud swell.

[Tickle]

good to know thanks, will go until sap boils bad thanks for advice

[mspina14]

Sap started getting yucky in southern Connecticut about a week ago (70 degree temps on consecutive days will do that!).

But the trees are just starting to bud now.

Mark

[Cedar Eater]

Sap started getting yucky in southern Connecticut about a week ago (70 degree temps on consecutive days will do that!).

But the trees are just starting to bud now.

Mark

Maybe the yucky was from metabolism and not from buddy sap. Warm weather can do that and it can clear up if the weather gets cold again.

[mspina14]

I didn't know that.

I thought once the weather got warm and the sap in the buckets became cloudy and smelly, it was no longer good to use for making syrup.

I didn't know a return to cold weather would clear up the sap.

Good to know for next year.


Mark

[Cedar Eater]

I didn't know that.

I thought once the weather got warm and the sap in the buckets became cloudy and smelly, it was no longer good to use for making syrup.

I didn't know a return to cold weather would clear up the sap.

Good to know for next year.


Mark

My understanding is that metabolism happens more outside the tree than inside, so as long as the plumbing gets cleaned, cold weather will stop it.