New Brusnwick

[Big Daddy's Sugar Shack]

I am reasonably new to maple syrup production, got my first real evaporator from CDL this year. I will have approximately 90 taps in 2017.

A couple questions.

I am looking for a hint as to when some other folks will begin tapping this year? All taps on 3g buckets.

I am also looking for a good water tank to transport sap in if anyone has one at a reasonable price with about 200g. capacity.



Big Daddy's Sugar Shack
2015 - 6 taps homemade backyard evaporator - 3L
2016 - 12 taps propane burner - 6L
2017 - 90 Taps CDL Evaporator (1.5x6) - Time will tell...

[murferd]

We are in Hartland area, usually tap first week of March. Where are you ? Not sure where to tell you to find a tank, just to think outside the box, you can improvise with a lot of things .

[Big Daddy's Sugar Shack]

Hi Murray,

Thank you for your reply.

I will be tapping a woodlot on the Kingston Peninsula and a few trees at my house in Fredericton.

Geoff

Big Daddy's Sugar Shack
2015 - 6 taps homemade backyard evaporator - 3L
2016 - 12 taps propane burner - 6L
2017 - 90 Taps CDL Evaporator (1.5x6)

[dscanuck]

Hey Big Daddy,

Ive been tapping in Fredericton for the last four years. Usually, between end of Feb - mid March. I usually wait for a favorable weather outlook. I've tapped as early as middle of February and as late as end of March.

[Big Daddy's Sugar Shack]

That makes sense. I tried to do the same thing the last couple of years, but felt like last year I tapped way to early. Looks to be cold the next 2 weeks at least, so I am aiming for March 1st. Just always nice to know when other people are going to bite the bullet and start tapping.

[Marvel26]

I'm with Dscanuck, last weekend of Feb to 1st of March.

My first year had the classic January thaw we saw this year...I nearly lost my mind trying to tap fast enough as I thought it would be early and I'd miss it. I didn't, and ended up with some dry holes by the time it started to flow. I tapped on the last weekend in Feb last year and had my barrels full in just a few days. Then it slowed till after March break.

The full moon in March, third full moon of the year, is the Sugar Moon...and last year that was when I had the most sap. I don't have enough experience to definitively say there is a correlation but it worked last year!

Good luck and be patient....the sunami will come.

[Big Daddy's Sugar Shack]

The next week and the long range forecast is starting to look good? Any thoughts?

[dscanuck]

The next week and the long range forecast is starting to look good? Any thoughts?

Unfortunately, as a small hobbyist, I'll be skipping this year as the big snowfall really made it impossible for me to tap my trees as a reasonable height.

But if I were partaking this year, I'd be tapping now as all next week looks like a killer good run week.

[Run Forest Run!]

Unfortunately, as a small hobbyist, I'll be skipping this year as the big snowfall really made it impossible for me to tap my trees as a reasonable height.

But if I were partaking this year, I'd be tapping now as all next week looks like a killer good run week.

What a shame. You guys out east really got hammered with the last storm. I'll cross my fingers for you that your season will be a long one and that you might see an opening for tapping in a couple of weeks. Hang in there!

[Marvel26]

I have about 20 taps left for my regular runs and I have two more neighbours asking if I'd tap their trees....my trees are mostly Reds and they were just seeping a little when I poked a hole in them. I have one run of sugars on a steep hill and they were flowing nicely. I'd say we are off to the races...fingers crossed for a good year!

DSCanuck I'm in Fredericton from time to time if you need a hit to satisfy the addiction let me know ;-) I know it won't be the same as your own though.....never is.

[Big Daddy's Sugar Shack]

After looking at our schedules over the next couple weeks and the forecast we decided to tap on Sunday. We put in almost 90 taps and a lot of them started running instantly. I am hoping to get enough sap over the next couple of days before it gets cold again to give my new evaporator a test run before we get into the full swing of things.

[Marvel26]

Thought I would throw an update in from the SW corner of NB.

We just came back from a week long Disney Cruise....we had not contact with the outside world, which was weird but nice at the same time. I guess the temps here were frigid all week, only one day of dripping according to the neighbours. Cumulative total of one full barrel from the taps I can see quickly but I still have 2 more barrels in the woods so fingers crossed for another 1/2 barrel.

[Big Daddy's Sugar Shack]

Thought I would throw an update in from the SW corner of NB.

We just came back from a week long Disney Cruise....we had not contact with the outside world, which was weird but nice at the same time. I guess the temps here were frigid all week, only one day of dripping according to the neighbours. Cumulative total of one full barrel from the taps I can see quickly but I still have 2 more barrels in the woods so fingers crossed for another 1/2 barrel.


We had 3 days worth of flow south of your guys in both Fredericton and Kingston area. I ended up with 50g of sap and a bunch of ice. I boiled Friday March 10th and came out with about 5.5L of finished syrup. Hopefully today was the last big snow fall and we can get back to business!

Geoff

[murferd]

Started storing sap this afternoon, tomorrow looks good, then too cold until Friday. Hopefully opens up after that!

[Marvel26]

Fingers crossed for a good week. I don't have anything even close to what I had this time last year....maybe 3 barrels so far vs 6 last year.

[Big Daddy's Sugar Shack]

Fingers crossed for a good week. I don't have anything even close to what I had this time last year....maybe 3 barrels so far vs 6 last year.

Yeah, I am not getting near as much as I was hoping for. Looks like we could have a strong week coming but not very cold over night. I have 10x the trees compared to last year and have barely doubled production season over season. So, although I am a small hobby with 100 taps I hope we still have 3-4 weeks left...

[Hkb82]

Yeah, I am not getting near as much as I was hoping for. Looks like we could have a strong week coming but not very cold over night. I have 10x the trees compared to last year and have barely doubled production season over season. So, although I am a small hobby with 100 taps I hope we still have 3-4 weeks left...very nice upgrades from 2016-2017. I hope you guys on the east get a couple more weeks also so you can really test it out.

[Marvel26]

Checked the runs last night....cumulative amount is exactly 3 barrels (55 gal). I have 27 more taps than last year and less than half the volume I had this time last year.....the weather has not bee helpful but atleast the ice in the barrels will hinder souring.

[Nemo5]

Started putting my taps in yesterday. I was away working so I'm a little behind the game. Last year along with my buckets I tried a test with 26 taps on 5/16 tubing and a shurflo for vaccine. It worked great. Yesterday I ran about 1600 feet of 5/16 and when done should have about 75 taps on it with the shurflo for vaccum.


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[murferd]

Bottled our first 2 batches yesterday! Got 15 1/2. Had 5 or 6 gallons in drawoff tank for more than a week, because of cold weather. Hopefully it has finally turned for us.
We keep track of when we bottle, April 2 was that latest ever, so this was quite close. It was also our worse production, let's hope that's not the case this year.

[Big Daddy's Sugar Shack]

Bottled our first 2 batches yesterday! Got 15 1/2. Had 5 or 6 gallons in drawoff tank for more than a week, because of cold weather. Hopefully it has finally turned for us.
We keep track of when we bottle, April 2 was that latest ever, so this was quite close. It was also our worse production, let's hope that's not the case this year.

Hey Murray,

We have gone back and forth a few times now on this thread but i didn't realize it until just now when I saw you were from Hartland and then saw you sugar shack picture that I think I have been to your place before. We went to a spot in Hartland with Brandon and Natalie Thompson, years ago. You made snow candy for my little girls and they still talk about it. Likely one of the reasons we tapped the trees at our house 3 to 4 years ago and got me started down this path. That is if you are the same Dickinson's Maple that sells their syrup in Crown Royal bottles?

I might be way off here, but I don't think so.

[Big Daddy's Sugar Shack]

We have now made our 3rd batch, have produced almost 16L of syrup. Hoping for a large load on Saturday.

[Marvel26]

Temps have been nearly perfect since Saturday...-5 then +5 ....but absolutely nothing until today when there was maybe 2 " in each barrel....very disheartening

[murferd]

Hey Murray,

We have gone back and forth a few times now on this thread but i didn't realize it until just now when I saw you were from Hartland and then saw you sugar shack picture that I think I have been to your place before. We went to a spot in Hartland with Brandon and Natalie Thompson, years ago. You made snow candy for my little girls and they still talk about it. Likely one of the reasons we tapped the trees at our house 3 to 4 years ago and got me started down this path. That is if you are the same Dickinson's Maple that sells their syrup in Crown Royal bottles?

I might be way off here, but I don't think so.

You are correct! I remember you now, glad to hear you're in the "business". We just did taffy on the snow for a bunch last Saturday again. Love to have company, especially kids!
Good luck, our weather forecast doesn't look that great, hopefully yours is better. Where are you located?

[Big Daddy's Sugar Shack]

You are correct! I remember you now, glad to hear you're in the "business". We just did taffy on the snow for a bunch last Saturday again. Love to have company, especially kids!
Good luck, our weather forecast doesn't look that great, hopefully yours is better. Where are you located?

Very cool. Our woodlot is about 10 minutes from Hampton on the Hampton end of the Kingston Peninsula. I have not been down to check them this week, will go Saturday and hope for the best. Currently I haul the sap back to my place in Hanwell but someday we will move down there and set up on site. Likely only to ever have a maximum of 200 trees unless we buy more land around us.

It's a fun hobby and am happy to have this site to get help when needed. Sounds like it's been a tough season all around the province. I have a friend in Hillsborough reporting much less than I have gotten so far, with twice the tapped. Good luck on the remainder of the week, I have big hopes for Saturday's haul :)

[Big Daddy's Sugar Shack]

Temps have been nearly perfect since Saturday...-5 then +5 ....but absolutely nothing until today when there was maybe 2 " in each barrel....very disheartening

Sounds like it has been a tough season all over Maine and NB when skimming through this site. Even warmer weather coming and trees starting to bloom I am concerned this weekend will be my last boil.

[Nemo5]

Hey guys I'm wondering if there is a maple supply store in the Fredericton area where I can buy some bottles. I usually buy my supplies from CDL in paquetville but the wife is going to Fredericton tomorrow so it would save me a couple hours of driving.


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[murferd]

Might be something at the Country Store on the Northside, it's near Jim Gilbert's used car lot. There are a couple in Florenceville & Centerville.

[murferd]

Friday was probably our best day for sap, yesterday started off good but petered out some. We are at half of last years production, this week doesn't look good for awhile.
Might be ok by Thursday, maybe Friday, then Sunday mostly likely done.

[Nemo5]

Thanks murferd the country store had some


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[Big Daddy's Sugar Shack]

Friday was probably our best day for sap, yesterday started off good but petered out some. We are at half of last years production, this week doesn't look good for awhile.
Might be ok by Thursday, maybe Friday, then Sunday mostly likely done.

We had an average haul on the weekend boiled another 70g of sap or so. Made just over 6L Syrup.

[murferd]

Our woods have turned on! The storage tanks are full, boiling 12 hours a day. Sap quality hasn't been as good, no frost at night for a few days. Hopefully will get
some frost Thursday night & have some good sap to finish the season next weekend.

[Big Daddy's Sugar Shack]

Our woods have turned on! The storage tanks are full, boiling 12 hours a day. Sap quality hasn't been as good, no frost at night for a few days. Hopefully will get
some frost Thursday night & have some good sap to finish the season next weekend.

Excellent News, I hope I am not done and can go collect Saturday and boil some more.

[Big Daddy's Sugar Shack]

We are done. Last bit of sap collected, taps pulled, buckets rinsed and sanitized, and last batch of very dark syrup on the stove.

I have definitely found my least favorite part of the season... cleaning 87 buckets.

[pete]

Is anyone still collecting sap

[Nemo5]

I'm still collecting here in Halcomb. My 60 buckets haven't run in a few days and my 75 taps on a shurflo are only getting 20-25 gallons a day. I'm really happy I put that tubing up or it would have been a terrible year. With the forecast for this week I'm hoping to see a good run but you never know.


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[Nemo5]

First attempt at maple cream tonight with the home made cream machine. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170416/b86c8554598354cefad27599d0ad01fc.jpg


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[Nemo5]

I used 1 gallon of syrup and made 9 and 1/2 250 gram tubs. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170416/5d55a6f224178d7253b6743c73400484.jpg


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[Marvel26]

Nice colour! My first year I had lighter syrup and it gave a great colour like yours. The last couple have been darker giving a more Tim Horton's Ice Capp colour.

[Marvel26]

I finished my first and only batch of syrup this evening. Grand total is 225gal of sap giving 5.55 gal (21L) of syrup. It was a poor year but this will keep me going till next spring. It will settle for about a week and then bottling time!

[Big Daddy's Sugar Shack]

I used 1 gallon of syrup and made 9 and 1/2 250 gram tubs. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170416/5d55a6f224178d7253b6743c73400484.jpg


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Man I love that stuff. We made our first batch this year. 1L made 3 small mason jars, mixing it by hand was a lot of work. That homemade rig looks interesting.

[Nemo5]

Sap ran very well today. Boiling 100 gallons tonight.


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[murferd]

Finished off our last batch Saturday. Sap never cleared up like we thought it should after the frosty nights. Made enough dark syrup & trees are starting to bud. Finished up
with 114 imp gal, filled our orders & paid the bills. Washed lines last night, always a wet job, but necessary. Had a good crew, got cool but gotter done.

[Marvel26]

Just bottled my one and only batch, total for the year once filtered was 5.35gal. not what I was hoping but hey it will keep me in syrup until next season!

16451

[Big Daddy's Sugar Shack]

Just bottled my one and only batch, total for the year once filtered was 5.35gal. not what I was hoping but hey it will keep me in syrup until next season!

16451

Looks like good stuff. I really like your labels and bottles. Where did you get them and what size are the bottles?

[Marvel26]

Looks like good stuff. I really like your labels and bottles. Where did you get them and what size are the bottles?

It's a 375ml Nordic Liquor bottle. The cheapest I found was WP Bottle Supply in Ontario. Labels are custom from a local sign shop and the tops took FOREVER to figure out then find something aesthetically pleasing. Unfortunately, they have been discontinued in that configuration, the band clip I mean. Fyi. Cork T-Bar with wooden tops stoppers look amazing but are functionally useless as the get sugar welded in after the first use.

[Run Forest Run!]

Marvel26, your bottles look fantastic. Great job with the labels too!

[Marvel26]

Marvel26, your bottles look fantastic. Great job with the labels too!

Thanks Karen! ;-)

[Big Daddy's Sugar Shack]

Time to get this thread kicking again.

I will be tapping March 3rd, tapped early last year and everything froze up... plus its the only time family can get together to lend a hand. Almost going crazy sitting an waiting with the warm weather in the forecast but hopefully we will have a nice long season.