Foothills of the Berkshires, thinking about tapping

[berkshires]

I'm not tapping yet, but the forecast is making me itchy. Next week looks like it should have good flows most of the week. I think if I were on vacuum and tubing, I'd consider tapping over the weekend. But I'm on buckets, so it still seems way too early.

That being said, considering how warm it has been, and the long-term forecast showing likely above average temps for Feb/Mar, I'm seriously considering tapping the first warm spell in late January or early February, as opposed to waiting it out until late Feb or early March. I'd hate to have my buckets drying up for a big run in late March/early April, but if early Feb is going to be big, maybe better not to wait.

Last year I was still building my arch in early March. So even though I had a pretty full season of sugaring last year, this is my first season of having to decide how early to hang the buckets.

I know it's still early to be deciding, but I have family that wants to plan travel stuff, and I'm wondering if planning anything for early Feb will be a big problem.

Anyone else on buckets in western MA - what kind of timing are you thinking about?

[BAP]

One thing to keep in mind is that even though we might get favorable weather, the days are still short and the sun is still low in the sky. Short days mean less sap because there is only a few hours that the temperature warms up enough to make it run before freezing back up. With the sun being low, thawing out is slower.

[berkshires]

That's a very interesting point I hadn't thought of. And all the trees I'm tapping are on an east-facing slope, so they're not getting a ton of sun in the first place.

[Biz]

I'm planning on tapping my south facing lines on Feb 18th, north facing lines Feb 25th, and buckets March 3rd, if the long term forecasts are anywhere close to right (about a 50/50 chance!). Subject to change but seems like a good bet. I can't do any earlier due to other plans.
Dave

[DrTimPerkins]

...., and the long-term forecast showing likely above average temps for Feb/Mar,...

These are basically as good as a WAG. The long-term average high/low temperature for your location is probably a better predictor, although with significant variation. In short....your guess is as good as that of anyone else.

[buckeye gold]

Long term averages are the best reference, but in my former career I learned to watch trends as well. If a seasonal trend was unfolding I would adjust my goals accordingly, but I found that even warm trends rarely changed my work more than two weeks and generally only a week to ten days. So to tap more than two weeks ahead of historic data would be a big gamble in my opinion. I do tap early, but those are taps I am willing to gamble with, my main woods I tap reliably within a week to ten days of the same date annually. To me, those early taps are like having a little extra cash in your pocket that your willing to lose for the chance of a big gain, so you buy a lottery ticket and hope. For your main production you may miss it a year here or there, but over the long haul your better off staying with the historic data, give or take a few days for that years trend.

[bigschuss]

I'm at 2,000 ft. elevation in Savoy....I normally tap the 1st week of March. Last year we tapped in mid February. I wouldn't consider tapping this early even with mld temps. There's just no telling what the next 6, 7, 8 weeks will do. If by mid Feb. the long range looks mild I will tap then.

[eustis22]

If I tapped NOW, I'd be out of firewood by the end of February.

[berkshires]

Thanks for all the input everyone - appreciate it. After looking over the last few years, it appears that if I don't count 2012 (a crazy warm year) the average best time to tap where my sugarbush is was the 24th of Feb. And factoring 2012 in only moves that average to Feb 19th. So I think the earliest I'd go this year, if the weather looks outstanding that early, would be the second week of Feb (1.5 weeks before the average). But of course those two weeks could be a deep freeze, in which case of course I'd tap later.

Just saying that if the end of Jan and first week of Feb wind up being warm, I'll try to be strong and give it a miss.

Cheers!

[IWDaddo]

Due to an unscheduled trip suddenly allowing me back to our farm in NY, I'm going to tap some of our trees starting next Friday - we're just over the border from Great Barrington, so probably very similar to your environment in Chester. Will report back if anything interesting happens!

[berkshires]

Yes, I imagine where you are is very similar. Hope your unscheduled trip isn't because of any bad family emergencies.

If you can get the taps in earlier, it looks like this week will be a good run. Personally, I'm committed to waiting, but if I were going early, I guess I'd want to make the most of it before we head back into a cold snap.

Good luck, and let me know how it goes!

GO

[Daveg]

Thankfully, the days are getting longer.

[WESTMAPLES]

im still waiting, before going full blown tapping it makes no sense to me starting before feb. i put a few test taps here and there just to get an idea of what happening in my woods . ive cleaned up and put out all my equipment except the vac pumps and RO , now comes a short time to go thru make improvements for this seasons. for me is mostly adding more tubing and taps to grab some of the farther trees ive left alone in years past. hope everyone else is gettin ready too

[Daveg]

Here, in the lee of Lake Ontario, we haven't had any sun since last year and none in the 10 day forecast. Today I collected 90 gallons of 2% from 104 jugs.

[Daveg]

The Climate Prediction Centers' 14 day outlook is for a 33-40% chance of above ave. temps for all of NE, NY, northern Ohio, southern Michigan, and Indiana. 40-50% chance of above ave. temps for the UP, Wisc., N. Ill.

[IWDaddo]

Tried a few sample taps last weekend, had a little flow that quickly ebbed. Now the temps are getting back into the teens here in the NY slice of the Berkshires, so back to waiting.

[berkshires]

Tried a few sample taps last weekend, had a little flow that quickly ebbed. Now the temps are getting back into the teens here in the NY slice of the Berkshires, so back to waiting.

Oh, too bad. I would've thought from the weather the last two weeks would've been great! Well, you only did a few taps, no big loss, right?

GO

[unclejohn]

were having crazy weather this month, nighttime lows are too low or high. but we've had a few good runs in the last 2 weeks. my question is - will sap flow at night? what conditions will facilitate that? maybe Dr Perkins can reply as well as you pros. check out our Missouri tapping log on MT - I'm trying to build a network of syrup producers in Mo, some have as many as 500 trees, there are a few with RO, but nothing on the scale of New England or Wisc/MI. Thanks to all. John in MO

[DrTimPerkins]

my question is - will sap flow at night? what conditions will facilitate that?

Sap flow has nothing to do with light or dark. It is driven almost exclusively by temperature, although it is temperature of the wood/branches, not air temperature (although the two are typically related). Sap will flow after dark if the temperature is above freezing and it will not flow in the light if the temperature is below freezing. Sap flows when the (wood) temperature rises from below to above freezing. Water is taken up from the soil during the time the wood goes from above freezing to below freezing. Once frozen, no more water is taken up. If you have several warm days in a row, once the stem water is depleted to where the capillary action in the wood vessels holding the sap in matches the head pressure at the taphole, sap flow stops. If the temperature warms up a little more during that time, you may see weeping flows due to gas bubble expansion in the wood pushing a little more sap out.

[unclejohn]

dr perkins thanks for the prompt reply. temp will get down to 50 deg f tonight- will it spoil?