2017 Season

[Dennis H.]

I guess I am the 1st, Tapped the trees yesterday and collected and boiled the 1st syrup of the season.

Trees are running really nice down here. The sap tank was overflowing when I arrived this afternoon. Less than 24 hrs from when I tapped and turned the vac on.
Not too bad for the 1st day.

Weather is looking good for this coming week, may have a small freeze up come this weekend or beginning of next week.

Good luck to everyone. the season is upon us.

[spelunk68]

This post freaked me out as my name is Dennis Hudson and I did not remember posting to the PA board lol.

[spelunk68]

Tapped early here too, about 20 percent of my sugar maples. On my refractometer I am getting readings of 2.4 to 2.8 sugar content, not bad for an early run from what I understand (My first year). Getting around 15 gallons a day from 7 tree's.

Now with these tree's do I just leave them tapped and just discard slow flow sap if we start getting real weather here and resume at the end of winter? Or should I pull taps and then re-tap, or discard collection from these tree's now that I got impatient and tapped early?

I have a main line set up on the hill ready to tap around 30 tree's but I am saving that for the end of season tap so I do not contaminate the tubing. The ones I tapped are actually on a lake sure so ground water is never an issue for them. Or should I hit the main line now as this wacky weather is causing an early season?

Also I want to do one big initial boil (I have capacity for 20 gallons if all pans would be full to the top, not that i would do that but I should have decent boil space for a noobie and with my bad back I want to do as large batches as I can, I have cold storage for up to around 150 gallons), 7 to 8 days after first collection. The lake is semi frozen and I am moving the collected sap daily to 5 gallon water cooler jugs mostly submerged in the lake hung off the dock to act as a kind of refrigerator, water temp showed 35 degrees. Am I on the right track doing it this way? What is the longest you would recommend stock piling sap in this manner?

Am I doing this right? this is my first time ever tapping.

[Etown Maple Syrup]

I'm not ready. I still have Christmas lights to put away. Second Saturday in Feb is traditional tap date for NW Lancaster County. I go through this Jan thaw every year. Bye the way, I changed my name to Etown (Elizabethtown) Maple Syrup. I am getting away from the red maples at Cassell Farm and tapping more Sugar Maples at various locations in Elizabethtown. Gets me out and about and more people see the sap sacks hanging around and ask silly questions. I am working on profile updates. Facebook is done, Twitter is done. @Etownmaplesyrup Many more update to come. Glad to be back!
Ross

[KV Sappers]

Tapped the trees today. Yes Dennis the season is upon us. May the nectar God's smile on all of us this season.

[Dennis H.]

KVSappers, good to hear from you. It actually has been almost too warm this past week. My trees kept drop output everyday since Sunday when I tapped.
Last night was the 1st freeze since I tapped. Forecast looks good. Wishing you full buckets.

[Paddymountain]

We aren't tapped here in central Pa yet. But we have been busy, rebuilding lines ,and putting up new 3/16 where we had buckets before.
I have one more small line to put up along a road, and look over and repair my vacuum lines at the house.
Overall looking like we'll have a lot of new tubing up this year, and a lot less buckets.
Rebuilt the arch last summer with AOF/AUF, put a higher splash guard in steam hood, and a few other refinements.
Closed in the leanto on the sugarshack and put in a kitchen so we can bottle right there intead of hauling all the syrup to the house.
It looks like it will be fairly cold for 2 weeks, probably will tap close to Valentines day.

[KV Sappers]

Trees not running today. Tapped yesterday but not much happening yet. Some of the sap not looking to good right now. Some of the sap from the trees has that late season off color look to them. Guess it was good they did not run much yesterday because I ended up throwing the off color sap out. Hoping some cold nights will clear things up.

[Etown Maple Syrup]

Shout it LOUD when they start running, then I will frantically tap as usual. It was 23 here last night and right now is 43. Where's the sap? Anyway, I get a headache trying to micro manage the weather. If you all have a chance, follow Brantview Farms Maple, Inc. on Facebook from Berlin PA. https://www.facebook.com/brantmaple/
They might not admit it, but we are related! Thanks

[KV Sappers]

I'd hold off tapping Ross. I put 21 out on Saturday and I've gotten maybe 1 gal of sap.

[sbedilion]

Just checked a tree in my front yard...its been dripping slowly all afternoon. Still dripping but slowly. I have out 20ish taps now...hoping to put out another 20-30 this weekend. Forecast looks ok around Pittsburgh. Nothing great but ok. Made a gallon of syrup so far...but that was 2 weeks ago and Im itching to see some more action.

[KV Sappers]

Trees are starting to come alive. Collected little over 13 gal. of sap today with sugar content of 1.6. Collected this afternoon and trees were doing there drip, drip, drip dance. Hope they keep doing their drip, drip ,drip dance or the next couple of weeks.

[Dennis H.]

Great news KVSappers.

[helptheold]

I've got 8 taps out right now & got about 4 gal today. Makes me happy since I only had 4 taps last year for 17 gal total :)

[KV Sappers]

Great news KVSappers.
Yea I was pretty happy. When I tapped Saturday what little sap that was running was pretty nasty. Looked like end of season crap. Threw that out and when they started running yesterday and today the sap is clear. Maybe that little bit of snow and definitely the cold helped. How's the sap running for you?

[sbedilion]

Collected 40 gallons tonight...pretty happy. Hoping for a few more gallons this weekend before boiling.

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[unc23win]

I tapped a tree right by the house on the 21st and it ran some last week. This past weekend I decided to start tapping and fixing things up at the same time and I ended up with 700 in. Colder so far this week I am hoping to have everything tapped by the 7th or 8th, which is the earliest for me. We have a 4 day weekend scheduled for the 17th and I was really hoping to make sure everything was tight an add some on.

Others in the area made syrup from the early run, but I think they almost have to start tapping so early with so many taps.

[Manatawny]

Each of my taps (in Pottstown) gave me at least a gallon, this week (since last Saturday). Some of them closer to 1.5 gallons.

[Etown Maple Syrup]

I tapped today! It was 28 overnight and 55 in the shade today. I put taps in. It is nice to see them run even before you remove the drill bit. I use 7/16" bit at 2-1/4" deep (marked with tape).
Elizabethtown, Pa. Northwest Lancaster County

[Etown Maple Syrup]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wh7qd1NhSFY If it ran like this all the time I would get tubing and a quit my job!

[KV Sappers]

Etown glad to see your up and running. Trees ran good today for me. Collected 10 gal. this morning, added another 9 buckets and those trees were dripping like crazy. Good luck on your season. Tap em if you have em I think the season might be a short one.

[Sugarmaker]

Folks,
We finished tapping today. Visited several other sugarhouses and got the gathering tank on the truck. May get a run tomorrow?
Regards,
Chris

[Paddymountain]

I have about 220 taps in , 70 last night and 140 tonight, it was really running hard into the cage tank until I
was done tapping. Have everything about ready in the sugar shack, probably first boil will be Wednesday night.
Still have a piece of 3/16 to put up, 50 buckets to put out, and 90 on vacuum at the house to get up and running!!!!

[mapleack]

All tapped and mostly ready. Some sap ran today. Fixed vacuum leaks, washed the evaporator and got the RO ready. Hopefully we'll make some steam tomorrow.

[Sugarmaker]

Andy,
Good to hear from you have a great season!
Heading over to Keith's to help him tap a few this morning. We should have some sap this afternoon, Temp is heading into the 50's.
Regards,
Chris

[KV Sappers]

Good sap day today. Collected over 30 gal. this morning and trees were running like crazy. Boiled down over 40 gal. today. Pan is getting sweet. Should be pulling off syrup tomorrow.

[Dennis H.]

KVSappers,:o
Great to hear that sap is flowing.

[KV Sappers]

KVSappers,:o
Great to hear that sap is flowing.
How are you making out. Seen on your facebook page you were pretty frozen up. Has everything thawed out yet?

[Paddymountain]

gathered 375 gallons of 2.5% sap this afternoon. just got done boiling it. sweetened my pans and made
about 5 gallons of nice light syrup!

[Dennis H.]

Everything is going smoother now.
The sugar content is killing me, thank goodness for the RO.
I am really surprised with how low the sugar content is this early. I see these kind of numbers right at the end of the season.
Now our weather has been odd. 4 days with no freeze then 2-3 days of not going above freezing, then it repeats.

[HowardR]

We had an 8 inch "sugar snow" fall last night. In her book about her childhood as a pioneer in Wisconsin in the early 1800s ("Little House in the Big Woods"), Laura Ingalls Wilder told about how her family with their uncles' and aunts' families used to gather at their grandparents' house after a "sugar snow." There the men would help grandfather bring in the maple syrup by sled and helped him boil it up. The "sugar snow" was a good omen because it meant there would be a lot of maple syrup that year. Laura wrote:


"It's called a sugar snow because a snow this time of year means that men can make more sugar. You see, this little cold spell and the snow will hold back the leafing of the trees and that makes a longer run of sap.

"When there's a long run of sap, it means that Grandpa can make enough maple sugar to last all the year, for common every day. When he takes his furs in town, he will not need to trade for much store sugar. He will get only a little store sugar, to have on the table when company comes."

Last night's sugar snow was our first big snow of the winter. I'm expecting a nice run while it melts. Here's a link to somebody reading the relevant two chapters of that book aloud:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xPIJ3YfPNs

[Sugarmaker]

Folks,
Gathered sap Tuesday 480 gallons of 2.5% boiled it in and made 1.5 gallons of syrup. Pretty nice color.
Wed gathered 750+ gallons at 2.3% and made 20 gallons, Either Golden or real nice Amber. Good flavor.
Had minor problems in the sugar house. broken water lines, I ruined the sap pum by running it dry. Got a new smaller pump and a float switch to shut it off when the tank is near empty.
Hope things are good in sap land.
Regards,
Chris

[D and D Sugar Camp]

Folks,
Working on our 4th boil this weekend, we collected 136 gallons of sap this past week. I'm estimating that we will be boiling right around 100 gallons . Mother Nature's R.O. took care of the other 36. 60 degrees here today, and the sap is really flowing. Our sugar has been pretty good this year, close to 2.1%. Hope everyone has great season.

[KV Sappers]

Glad I had my buckets bungeed to the trees today. Strong winds ah howling. Collected 20 gals though. Sap is running real clean. Had my 4th boil yesterday and drew off some nice syrup. Will boil again tomorrow. Hope everyones season is going good.

[Paddymountain]

We made 5 1/2 gallons of golden last night and another 3 gallons tonight. At this time we are caught up. Had do do some line repair after the wind last night.
A dead tree that I used to tension a mainline fell down taking 2 laterals with it. it didn't take long to repair, and is ready for tomorrow.
Looks like big sap for this weekend!!!!
Hope everyone is having fun!!

[HowardR]

It's been weeks since the last time. I'd almost forgotten what blue skies looked like. It went down to 20 last night and the forecast today is for a high of 47. I'm expecting a huge run!

[16jharris]

We plan on tapping this week, and hopefully will be boiling by Saturday!

[Sugarmaker]

Today was warm enough to start a run. Gathered 220 gallons of 2.2% sap. I thought it would higher sugar due to some ice I dumped. I think it may run all night. Back to snow over night and colder for the next few days. Then warmer for several days through the weekend.
Picked up a 1/4 hp sump pump from Tractor Supply, to get sap upstairs to head tanks quicker.
Should work good if we get a big run.
At the 35 gallon mark for syrup and used the Hanna to check the grade. Its all nice Amber rich.
Will boil in the small amount of sap tonight and see what we push through.
Regards,
Chris

[sbedilion]

Ran out of storage. Boiling now to free up some space. Have 100+ gallons of sap...made it through 30 gallons in the past couple hrs. Boiling on two 2x3 flat pans. Letting the fire die down and will start back up tmw. I didnt collect all my bags (family duties). Im afraid to see it tomorrow! I have to collect before light to make it too work on time. Im assuming my bags are mostly full.

[sbedilion]

15453

made it thru 50 gallons tonight....letting the fire die out while i sip on some wine.

[KV Sappers]

Good sap run today. Collected over 31 gallons. Sap was real clean. Hope it continues this way but with temps going to 60 for almost 5 days straight not sure sap will stay this clear. Here come the ants.

[Sandersyrup]

Hoping to tap (finally) tomorrow. i feel like i have lots a good bit of syrup for being so late. I swore Feb would be colder but looks like spring is full steam ahead. THe Red maples have big swollen buds already!

[HowardR]

According to weather.com, it won't get below freezing again after tomorrow night, but according to accuweather.com, we'll have five warm nights and then almost every night will be freezing or below.

So this season could still go either way. If weather.com is right, this would be a very short season. If accuweather.com is right, this would be at least average.

[sbedilion]

HowardR....Im seeing the same a bit south of you. Its going to be warm. 15 day forecast could go either way. I am just a backyard hobiest. I tapped very early and have had a great season so far. I hit my goal 5 gallons...4 gallons after giving away some. A few boils avg'd 50-60 gallons for 1 gallon but its still enjoyable. Anything from this point forward is a bonus. Next yrs goal is 10 gallons and a better arch/setup. Im heading up to our camp in Tionesta this wkend so all my bags will be overflowing when I get backw this warm up. Im getting back Monday afternoon...hopefully they wont be too bad from the warm days...ill fire up the arch and boil monday night.

[Dennis H.]

I am so glad that I tapped back in Jan. The end of this week will make it 4 weeks.
I can tell that there is a change in the sap, I am starting to get foaming issues.

So far the season has been good, can not complain. funny thing is that I am already planning on what I need to do to get every thing cleaned up and put away.

[Maplewalnut]

Yikes, you guys have me worried already. Foaming issue the middle of FEB?

[Paddymountain]

We are putting our buckets out tonight. It will only be 50, put everything else on tubing. Fri/Sat/Sun looks like
it could be big, we'll see. Have boiled almost 1000 gallons of sap in 5 collections, starting to look like a good year.
Hope everyone is having fun!!!!!

[Sugarmaker]

Hoping the weather in the next week includes at least one night below 32 degrees!
Should be real nice comfortable weather starting tomorrow. Sure wasn't pleasant yesterday Raw cold and snowy. We gathered 560 gallons of 2% and the last 7 stops I had to bucket the sap to the truck due to a frozen pump!
We did boil the sap in, and made another 15 gallons of Amber Rich syrup. Puts us at about 1/3 of normal crop.
Regards,
Chris

[helptheold]

Today some of mine were really clear and some were darker. Most had tons of ice so I just dumped most of it and we'll see what tomorrow brings.

[HowardR]

Low Sunday 31. Then six days later, low Saturday 31. I started tapping on February 5, and I've already made as much maple syrup as last year. This is going to be a good year.

[sbedilion]

Had a mishap last night...fell asleep while boiling. I was winding down and flooded my pans. Fire was still going...but stopped adding wood. Sat my timer for 15 mins so I could make sure Everything was good for the night. Well...I woke up at 5am! One pan...I had plenty of sap in...the other boiled down to thick syrup and started scorching the bottom. It wasnt horrible...but bad enough. I salvaged a gallon of thick syrup w very strong flavor. I added some water to thin it out and marked the jars (scorched)...haha

The good pan...I continued today and made 1.5 gallons of nice syrup. Made some labels up w my wifes nutrition business on and some silly labels w my inlaws farm on them.

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[Run Forest Run!]

I love your labels.

Thank goodness the result from your incident last night was minimal!

[Dennis H.]

I have lucked out so far this season, I have not had too many issues to deal with.
Yesterday was one of them, a seal on the feed pump on the RO gave out. It did not leak much if the high pressure pump was running but if I shut that off it just gushed out of the feed pump.
I made it work till at least I got the RO rinsed and cleaned.
This morning I ran out in search for a new feed pump. I stopped at Lowe's, Home Depot and found that Harbor Freight had a really nice booster pump. And with a 20% coupon in hand the price was even better.
Cool thing is it almost fit back into the RO without any modification, I just had to drill 1 mounting hole.

So I am back in business for the coming sap run this week.


15477

[helptheold]

Had a mishap last night...fell asleep while boiling. I was winding down and flooded my pans. Fire was still going...but stopped adding wood. Sat my timer for 15 mins so I could make sure Everything was good for the night. Well...I woke up at 5am! One pan...I had plenty of sap in...the other boiled down to thick syrup and started scorching the bottom. It wasnt horrible...but bad enough. I salvaged a gallon of thick syrup w very strong flavor. I added some water to thin it out and marked the jars (scorched)...haha

The good pan...I continued today and made 1.5 gallons of nice syrup. Made some labels up w my wifes nutrition business on and some silly labels w my inlaws farm on them.


Eeks, not good! Love your labels.

[Paddymountain]

I'm sitting on 350 gallons of sap we collected today. Didn't boil tonight, thought I would start early
tomorrow and boil all day. In the afternoon I'll let my wife fire while we go get the days haul. Looking really good for the weekend,
28 right now and supposed to be high 50's Saturday, it should run well. Have my bottling caught up except for a 3 gallon batch which is going
into a bucket for bulk, still making Golden Delicate. Washed all my tanks out this afternoon. I'm thinking I'll need to drain my evaporator
on Sunday morning for its 800 gallon vinegar soak.

[KV Sappers]

I have lucked out so far this season, I have not had too many issues to deal with.
Yesterday was one of them, a seal on the feed pump on the RO gave out. It did not leak much if the high pressure pump was running but if I shut that off it just gushed out of the feed pump.
I made it work till at least I got the RO rinsed and cleaned.
This morning I ran out in search for a new feed pump. I stopped at Lowe's, Home Depot and found that Harbor Freight had a really nice booster pump. And with a 20% coupon in hand the price was even better.
Cool thing is it almost fit back into the RO without any modification, I just had to drill 1 mounting hole.

So I am back in business for the coming sap run this week.

15477
Glad you got your problem fixed. Looks like the sap dams are about to break wide open. Going to be a busy time. Based on the extended forecast not sure how much longer the season will be for me. Trees are really budding up. I'm thinking maybe one more week if temps stay as forecasted.

[HowardR]

I'm going to be hard pressed to keep up with it. I expect to be running my RO all day and all night tonight.

By the way, the forecast for last night (both weather.com and accuweather.com) was for a low of about 35, but when I woke up this morning, the actual temperature was 28. Note to myself: I must stop paying so much attention to weather forecasts.

[Hoppy]

I guess I was expecting a little more sap with this weather. I found two more smaller maples out back and tapped them so I have a total of seven taps. Yesterday I only collected one gallon. I collected again about 10 am and got almost two gallons. Is that about right or should I have more? I was kind of hoping to fill all of my containers (gallon) today.
I'm just south of pittsburgh in bethel park

[HowardR]

Hoppy,

I'm guessing that the taps that you had in your original trees were starting to heal over. The sap production starts to slow when that happens. The other possibility is that your season is coming to an end. You are south of Pittsburgh, which means that your season started in January.

[sbedilion]

Im in Peters. My tree didnt run great yesterday even w the warmth..but were dripping good today. You should get alot today. Im out of town up in Tionesta for the wkend. My bags have to be over flowing when I return on Monday. They were dripping every second this morning.

[helptheold]

In Peters as well. Yesterday wasn't much but I got 20ish gallons today, several of my buckets were overflowing.

[Dennis H.]

We have a sap tsunami down here.
Collected 100 gals this morning when I ran up to be sure everything was working. Then ran back up at 6pm and the tank was overflowing! So about 280 gals more.
The releaser was still dumping every 1 1/2 minutes so if it continues like that it will be overflowing by morning.

Sap cleared up a little with the few cold days that we just had, so that is a good sign. Just not sure how we are going to fare after the next few days. Monday night is the next chance for freezing weather and none in sight after that.

KVSappers, glad to hear that the sap is flowing nicely. Was up your way on a bike ride and noticed someone down the road from you has some blue lines up going into 55 barrels. Could not tell how many taps.
Cool to see others around here trying their hand at making maple syrup.

[Hoppy]

Sbedillion and Helptheold, I remember you were in Peters. Sounds like it was flowing well for you. In twenty four hours I got a little over 3 gallons from 7 taps (in 3 trees). I just wanted to see some overflowing too. Would you say you're getting more than a gallon from a tap?

[helptheold]

I'd say yes. One of my trees only has one tap but barely produces. Another with one tap had the 2 gal bucket overflowing!

[HowardR]

The 2014 maple syrup season ended just like this - a warm spell with a huge sap run. In 2014, I ran down to Trader Horn (now out of business) and bought enough 44 gallon (No. 2643) Brute garbage cans to store 500 gallons of sap. The polymer with which these cans are made (Linear Low Density Polyethylene (http://mapletrader.com/community/search.php?searchid=3313414)) is safe for food (http://mapletrader.com/community/showthread.php?21135-55-gallon-brute-trash-can-holding-tanks) including maple sap.

But I wasn't able to keep up. As new sap came in, the original sap sat around in the warm weather and went bad. I ended up pitching about 250 gallons. That's when I decided to build a Reverse Osmosis machine. It cost me a little over $1,000. You can build one just like mine if you wish. I published my parts list and design in this forum:

http://mapletrader.com/community/showthread.php?23321-Must-a-cheap-RO-be-5000

This season seems to be ending with a repeat of 2014 season. But instead of falling behind, my RO is allowing me to keep up. I started it up yesterday morning, kept it going all night, and I'll have boiled all the old sap by tomorrow morning. That could be just in time -- the weather.com forecast for tonight is for 32 degrees.

[D and D Sugar Camp]

Wrapping up our 5th weekend boil of the season, 137 gallons of sap, what a beautiful weekend. It's going to be to warm to hold our sap this week, might get next weekend off. The following weeks forecast looks favorable.

[KV Sappers]

My trees want some cold nights and cooler days. Collected 21 1/2 gal. sap today trees are screaming for cooler weather. Not only are the ants out but today I had moth in some of the buckets. Me seeing moths tells me my season may be coming to end sooner then later. Now having over 2 gals. of syrup made so that pleases me.

[D and D Sugar Camp]

Just finished up 2.75 gallons of medium amber, what a great flavor. Back to work tomorrow. Have great week everyone.

[Dennis H.]

Ant, ants and more ants.

Way to warm. If I do not see any cold temps in the next few days I am calling it quits. I do not need anymore dark syrup.

KVSappers, great job. Not too bad for the number of days that you have been boiling. I have collected sap just 17 days so far since I tapped on Jan 22.

Today I worked thru 575 gals of sap. Now I did run it thru the RO so that helped. Ended up boiling for 2 1/2 hours. Days like these make me give my RO a big hug, I love it.

[Hoppy]

So I think my season is over. No sap today except for one tap that gave about 2 cups. I ended up with a total of almost 16 gallons. So today I did a big all day boil in my water pan. I have boiled a couple of other times and basically condensed about 10 gallons down to 1. I added the other 5 or so gallons to the concentrate and eventually ended up with 58 ounces of syrup.

I filtered the boiled concentrate through an orlon ( I think) filter that came with my taps. I filtered after bringing it to temperature as well. There is still a little sediment. I boiled a small pot of water and noticed my digital thermometer read 212.0-212.5 at boil so I took the syrup to 220 - 220.5 and took it off the stove.

My wife bought me six 8oz. maple bottles and I was able to fill those plus a little.

For something that started on a whim, I'm happy with the results. My son had fun collecting the sap and taste testing through the process. As was stated earlier I started a little late (Feb 5th) and I'll watch that next season and maybe add some more taps if I can talk some neighbors into tapping their trees.

Anyway, the final result is incredible. Such a great taste. I can't wait to try on pancakes and in my coffee. Maybe even a snow cone.

Thanks to everyone for your help. Reading a lot here in a short time was very helpful.

[Run Forest Run!]

Congrats on a successful first year Hoppy! I'm sure you'll be joining in again next year with bigger plans and more empty bottles. Enjoy your syrup. :)

[HowardR]

The temperature was about 31 this morning. It is sunny and I'm expecting another big run today and tomorrow.

[KV Sappers]

Ant, ants and more ants.

Way to warm. If I do not see any cold temps in the next few days I am calling it quits. I do not need anymore dark syrup.
I hear ya Dennis. My syrup is dark too. This morning the tress aren't even running. I'll see what tomorrow brings and if they don't start running I'm quitting. Who would have thought the season would be over for us in February.

[Etown Maple Syrup]

Sugar content is still 2.2-2.7 here. It should flow again in a few days! I have 30 gallons of sap from yesterday to boil yet! Don't give up!

[HowardR]

Who would have thought the season would be over for us in February.

Just two years ago the winter was much colder than usual. The sap didn't start running until March. The weather was even -- below-freezing nights and highs during the day in the upper thirties or lower forties -- perfect for good sap flow. But the last two years, the weather has alternated between extremely cold and extremely warm.

[helptheold]

I only got about 3 gallons today of clear stuff, the rest was yellow-ish. Gonna leave the taps in until after this weekend just to see what the warm then cold snap does. For my second year I'm very happy with how things turned out & now that I've figured out how to do everything, next year should be easy to set up & get going :)

[Manatawny]

Today I had a bunch of hazy, slightly-yellowish sap. It was only one day old and I boiled it right away. It's concentrate now, not syrup, but it didn't smell bad at all. Seems ok. Am I missing something?

[psparr]

If it didn't smell and didn't get ropey then your good to go.

[Sandersyrup]

I tapped on Friday and boiled about 60 gallons of sap. Nothing flowing currently hoping my season didn't end with just 1 boil! I installed spiles that prevent reverses sap flow hoping to bridge the gap to a cold spell that may never come.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Dennis H.]

If the sap is a little hazy no need to fret over it, boil away.

I find the biggest indicator for me is how much foam it produces when boiling and how the steam smells.
The late season stuff can have a very odd smell to it, it tastes really good but hard to boil without foaming issues.

If tonight does not get below freezing I do not see and day or night in the foreseeable forecast that has anything below 40 degrees.
Not very optimal sugar'in weather.
I hope the season continues but these past few days in the mid 60's really has me interested in doing other things!

[KV Sappers]

I'm done. Pulled the taps this afternoon. Trees did not run hardly at all and what was in some of the buckets was nasty. Ended up throwing most of it out. Out of 31 buckets I kept 3 1/2 gallon that was still ok. Tomorrow I'll do the final boil. The forecast just did not look good the rest of the week and based on the previous couple of months I really don't see the weather pattern changing much. Hope everyone else's season continues good for them but fly fishing is looking great for me right now. Good luck to everyone.

[HowardR]

The weather.com and accuweather.com forecasts call for lows below freezing on Saturday, Sunday and Monday nights and warm weather between now and then.

I'm going to wait.

[rhallett]

Me, just small scale, but tapped 19 on Saturday. Good flow for the first two days pulling 40 gallons. Some good days and bad between now and next week... time will tell!

[helptheold]

The weather.com and accuweather.com forecasts call for lows below freezing on Saturday, Sunday and Monday nights and warm weather between now and then.

I'm going to wait.

I figure it doesn't hurt to wait either. But if I get nothing after the freeze then I'm done for the year.

[Sugarmaker]

We just topped the 100 gallon mark last night. Syrup is a little darker but still in the Amber Rich range. May not be much sap today as the weather is pretty warm. Will gather and boil this afternoon.
Regards,
Chris

[sbedilion]

I pulled most of my taps. Only 20 or so taps that are close to the house are still in. Boiled 60 gallons down to 6 gallons concentrate last night...finishing it up tonight. I'll probably pull the remaining taps this evening. There is a chance this weekend for more but with 20ish taps remaining its hardly worth it. I think I'll wrap things up and break out the mountain bike or "insert any other outdoor activity". SPRING IS HERE!

I should finish the season with 6 gallons of syrup. I was hoping to hit 10 gallons but with the weird weather...I'll take it. So 10 is next years goal. This was my 2nd season...last year I did 3 gallons.

I plan to expand my two 2x3 flat pans with maybe a tall 1x3 preheating pan....and also a 1x3 pan to take my concentrate to finish or close to finish over the fire and limit inside stove time. I hope to make a better arch...taking it from a cement block arch to something better but not over elaborate. I work at a metal fab shop and could build a real steel arch but I'm thinking about building a steel box that fits inside a nicer looking block arch. Something that can be converted to a cooking fire pit in the summer.

Its been fun

[Manatawny]

I'll collect sap after work today and then pull my taps. Looking at the 10 day forecast, I'm done after today's harvest. I'll probably get to my final boil tomorrow.

[HowardR]

I figure it doesn't hurt to wait either. But if I get nothing after the freeze then I'm done for the year.

Pre-RO, I wouldn't wait. The last run is usually about 1% sugar, and it makes Grade C syrup. Without my RO, it wouldn't be worth boiling. But with my RO, I'll be able to convert it to 4% before I start boiling.

[16jharris]

Collected around 1,200 gallons yesterday. Was expecting more but the weather is looking good for maple making!

[YoungFamilyFarm]

Chris,

Any idea what we can expect after this? Unfortunately I am tempted to begin the shut down and clean up process for the season. Maybe I am overly pessimistic, but my retail packaging is all filled and we are on to barrels after I finish my own bulk 5 gal containers tonight. If it's not worth waiting I will leave my barrels empty and move on with life. Just curious what you are thinking????

[helptheold]

Pre-RO, I wouldn't wait. The last run is usually about 1% sugar, and it makes Grade C syrup. Without my RO, it wouldn't be worth boiling. But with my RO, I'll be able to convert it to 4% before I start boiling.

Silly question, what does RO mean?

I'm more doing this as a curiosity, spotted some mold in a few buckets so I think I'll grab everything but the taps to start washing.

[psparr]

RO: redneck orangutan

[sbedilion]

reverse osmosis...its a way to extract some of the water out before you start to boil. We arent there yet :). Maybe next year if I decide to double my taps.

[helptheold]

RO: redneck orangutan

:lol: Love it!

[helptheold]

reverse osmosis...its a way to extract some of the water out before you start to boil. We arent there yet :). Maybe next year if I decide to double my taps.

And at that price I never will! Holy moly those are expensive.

[psparr]

:lol: Love it!

Couldn't resist.

[BAP]

RO: redneck orangutan
Actually some of the early ones were close to that.

[Manatawny]

Tapped on 1/28 and pulled on 2/21. In that time I collected 190 gallons from 33 taps (drop lines to buckets). Ratio averaged about 67:1; so, about 2 3/4 gallons finished. Meh.

I just need to inherit some money to go big. With buckets and steam pans on a block arch, it's a ton of time and work for what you get.

[psparr]

Tapped on 1/28 and pulled on 2/21. In that time I collected 190 gallons from 33 taps (drop lines to buckets). Ratio averaged about 67:1; so, about 2 3/4 gallons finished. Meh.

I just need to inherit some money to go big. With buckets and steam pans on a block arch, it's a ton of time and work for what you get.

I'm gonna have to sample some of that just to make sure it's legit.

[KV Sappers]

Finished my final boil today. My season, though short, was my best yet. Finished with 3 1/2 gal. of syrup giving me a 62 to 1 ratio. Average sugar content of 1.9% for the season.

[Manatawny]

I'm gonna have to sample some of that just to make sure it's legit.

Haha, sure thing, Pat. Let me know when you want to swing by.

[HowardR]

And at that price I never will! Holy moly those are expensive.

They don't have to be expensive. My RO (Reverse Osmosis) machine cost me just over a $1,000 to build. I published my parts list and design in this forum:

http://mapletrader.com/community/showthread.php?23321-Must-a-cheap-RO-be-5000

In 2014, the season ended just like this year with a huge run. I couldn't keep up with boiling it. I made about 9 gallons of syrup and the rest of the sap went bad in the warm weather and I ended up pitching it. But when the same thing happened earlier this week (Saturday, Sunday and Monday), I made 19 gallons of syrup.

[Paddymountain]

We went over 50 gallons tonight, going through about 2600 gallons of sap. I just realized today that it hasn't been 2 weeks from my first boil!!!
Anyway, we pulled the tubing from our collection drums and are going to bring them home for a pressure washing.
Then we are gonna lay back, lick our wounds and wait and see what next week brings.
I believe there is still some sugaring season left here in Central Pa. time will tell.

[helptheold]

They don't have to be expensive. My RO (Reverse Osmosis) machine cost me just over a $1,000 to build. I published my parts list and design in this forum:

http://mapletrader.com/community/showthread.php?23321-Must-a-cheap-RO-be-5000

In 2014, the season ended just like this year with a huge run. I couldn't keep up with boiling it. I made about 9 gallons of syrup and the rest of the sap went bad in the warm weather and I ended up pitching it. But when the same thing happened earlier this week (Saturday, Sunday and Monday), I made 19 gallons of syrup.

That's very interesting. I'm not handy but my husband is ( and a chemist to boot), if I find more trees to tap I could always give him that as a winter project.

I figure that since I'm not selling it, hanging on for a bit longer will be ok. I'm enjoying it too much and don't want it to stop but I do need to clean those buckets asap

[helptheold]

I'm thinking we're not quite done yet. Went out this morning to grab buckets to wash & found that one of my trees had tons of lovely clear sap that smelled & tasted fine. Gonna give everything a quick soap wash and put it back out on Saturday afternoon. Forecast is calling for freezing nights the next few weeks.

[Hoppy]

Hopefully this isn't in bad taste to ask this here... I do hope for a little more sap after this weekend, If I don't get any I won't get upset, I'll just look forward to next year. However, I could keep the collection buckets full right now by tapping my birches. I have two big birches each with three trunks. I had tapped one several weeks ago and it was dry for quite a while. In the last couple of days it has started running quite a bit. I've been considering it just as a healthy drink, but I understand syrup can be made from it. Just curious if anyone does. Thanks.

[KV Sappers]

Hopefully this isn't in bad taste to ask this here... I do hope for a little more sap after this weekend, If I don't get any I won't get upset, I'll just look forward to next year. However, I could keep the collection buckets full right now by tapping my birches. I have two big birches each with three trunks. I had tapped one several weeks ago and it was dry for quite a while. In the last couple of days it has started running quite a bit. I've been considering it just as a healthy drink, but I understand syrup can be made from it. Just curious if anyone does. Thanks.
Syrup can be made from birch trees, however, my understanding is that birch sap has a much lower sugar content and the sap to syrup ratio for birch trees is 100 to 1.

[HowardR]

I've found this YouTube video about how to tell if it is too late to make good flavored syrup:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njYY2AOFIX8

[helptheold]

Good video thanks! I went out this morning and checked the trees, I really can't see the buds as the tops are too high and we don't have binoculars. Some were dripping & it tasted normal would there be a really bitter taste i.e. spit it out right away as it's bad? Or would going by color be best?

Really wish I could see if there are buds. I could get some of those tree climbing braces, I bet my younger twin would love to try to scale to the top of the trees ;)

I think I'll hang a bucket back up on one of my big producers, even if it's buddy I'd still like to know what the taste is like.

[HowardR]

After the trees have budded, the syrup will have a bad taste. I found a Maple Bud Field Guide (https://www.uvm.edu/~entlab/Publications/MapleBudFieldGuide.pdf) (pdf) online on the University of Vermont website. It includes the following photos of leaf buds. When you go out to examine your trees, take binoculars as you may need them. You should choose a healthy dominant tree or a co-dominant tree. The following are the relevant photos of leaf buds from the field guide. (The flower buds are rarer and mostly in the upper canopy; they look a bit different after the dormant stage.):

The V0 bud is dormant

15651

The V1 bud has some initial bud swell. Bud scales are beginning to shift giving a reddish tinge to the bud.

http://www.pahomeschoolers.com/v1leaf.jpg

The V2 bud shows some elongation making the top more pointed than round. A light yellowish color is visible between the bud scales.

http://www.pahomeschoolers.com/v2leaf.jpg

The V3 bud has a green tip and the scales are light green. There is still no opening at the tip.

http://www.pahomeschoolers.com/v3leaf.jpg

The V4 bud has bud break. Leaf tips are barely visible, expanding beyond the bud tip. The bud scales are loosened. I assume that at this point, the sap would have a "buddy" flavor and would no longer be good.

http://www.pahomeschoolers.com/v4leaf.jpg

I hope that these photos help you make the determination with your maple trees. I'm going to be examining mine closely this weekend. They may help me decide whether or not to boil the sap. If you examine yours and make a determination, please post here what you have found.

[HowardR]

I started a general thread on this topic:

http://mapletrader.com/community/showthread.php?29925-How-do-you-tell-when-your-trees-have-budded

I asked: "Am I correct that the V4 stage is the sign that it is time to pull the taps?" I got a great reply from a moderator of this website (Dr. Tim Perkins) who is actually a researcher at the Maple Research Center of the University of Vermont -- the very same university that published the field guide that I was citing. He wrote:


Bud stage is really only a secondary concern. The main thing is the flavor of the syrup. If you detect buddy off-smell or flavor in the sap or syrup, it is time (or past time) to stop. Typically by the time buds reach the V4 stage the sap has been buddy for some time. We normally detect buddy at the V1-V2 stage and try to catch it before it affects the syrup flavor. That way we can process the sweet still left in the evaporator. If you go too long, you might as well dump the whole thing.

[Paddymountain]

Just finished boiling out my evaporator. I'm not taking a chance on waiting for it to cool down some.
I'll finish it on the turkey fryer tomorrow. Forecast still shows a cool down after Saturday. A lot of my tubing is new this year,
and the balance was really clean when I started. If it don't cool down ,I'll have some of my stuff cleaned up. If it cools down
I'll be ready to go again!!!

[Dennis H.]

Taps are pulled, lines have been flushed out, vac is turned off.

At the sugarshack all the sweet has been removed from the evap and the evap is soaking with milk stone remover.
All syrup has been filtered and finished.
The RO has been put thru a soap and an acid wash and is waiting for me to pull the membranes tomorrow for storage.

I just need to make a trip back up to the woods to bring back the sap tank, releaser and vac.
Oh yeah and give the truck sap hauling tank a good scrubing.

My yearly total is 45 1/2 gals. not too bad seeing that I tapped Jan 22 and pulled them Feb 22.
I made all good sellable syrup, normally my end of the season syrup just is not good enough to feel comfortable to sell so that stuff is mine. Not this year.

Kind of bummed out that it is over but it sure feels good that in another day or two all pressing things that need to get done with maple will be done and I will be free to go onto other things I want to do.

Good luck everyone who is still making syrup.

[helptheold]

I put a bucket back out this afternoon & then had my husband try the sap to see what he could taste (after convincing him it was ok). He didn't taste anything bitter so I'm hopeful to get another run.

[KV Sappers]

Kind of bummed out that it is over but it sure feels good that in another day or two all pressing things that need to get done with maple will be done and I will be free to go onto other things I want to do.
I know how you feel. Sure was short but a good season all and all. Glad I tapped when I did. My trees have not run since I pulled the taps on Monday. It just got way to warm for us this season. Already planning ahead for next year. Have a great summer.

[sbedilion]

I put a bucket back out this afternoon & then had my husband try the sap to see what he could taste (after convincing him it was ok). He didn't taste anything bitter so I'm hopeful to get another run.

The forecast looks good here in Peters. I yanked my taps last wkend tho. Im glad to be done but my obsessive side is saying....just 1 more boil. ha. I went mountain biking w my son today...so Im kinda done but I do have a group of trees I didnt tap if I get the itch in a few days.

[Springfield Acer]

My evaporator is torn down and soaking. I have rinsed out my tote, tanks, and all my buckets to keep things clean just in case the weather comes around, I never did get my vacuum pump turned on for my red maples. We have made 25 gallons out of 1350. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that all the work to get ready will not for just ten days of activity.

[Dennis H.]

I too am looking forward too bike riding, but I prefer road riding.
That is cool that you have a few trees that you could tap if need be. A few years ago I had the mentality that I was going to make every last drop of syrup that I could. It was awesome in the end to say look at how much I made. But you know what, it almost turned me off from making syrup too. It just burnt me out, it was something like 6 weeks I did it that year. Way to long.
SO now I am taking the stance that I will make syrup until I feel it becomes work.

[helptheold]

The forecast looks good here in Peters. I yanked my taps last wkend tho. Im glad to be done but my obsessive side is saying....just 1 more boil. ha. I went mountain biking w my son today...so Im kinda done but I do have a group of trees I didnt tap if I get the itch in a few days.

LOL I'm trying to avoid stuff, need to do spring cleaning but if I'm busy with sap then I can't, oh darn :D

[HowardR]

I've been debating whether or not to leave my taps in until Sunday. After telling my wife that I was going to pull them, I looked at the forecasts again and changed my mind. The current forecasts are:

weather.com: high today 73, low Saturday night 26
accuweather.com: high today 72, low Saturday night 25

I thought that I could examine the buds and tell whether Sunday's sap would be good. I even started a new general maple syrup thread on this website entitled "How can you tell when your trees have budded? (http://mapletrader.com/community/showthread.php?29925-How-do-you-tell-when-your-trees-have-budded)" My conclusion after getting knowledgeable responses:


Before I posted this question to start this thread, I thought that you could look at the buds and tell if the sap would still be good. My conclusion, based upon this thread, is that the only way you can tell is by smelling, tasting, examining, and/or by boiling up the sap.

So, I'm going to collect the sap on Sunday. If it seems good, I'll boil it up. If it doesn't, I'll pitch it out.

If you collect sap on Sunday, please post here what you find when you smell, taste, examine and/or boil it up.

[Dennis H.]

HowardR, there really is nothing to loose leaving them in a few days to see what comes.

Now you may start to find that you will keep second guessing yourself when to call it quits.:evil: "Maybe I'll wait just a few more days"

Just messing with you. If you still have the energy and the taps are still in go for it you have nothing to loose. Good luck.

[helptheold]

So, I'm going to collect the sap on Sunday. If it seems good, I'll boil it up. If it doesn't, I'll pitch it out.

If you collect sap on Sunday, please post here what you find when you smell, taste, examine and/or boil it up.

I'll let you know, gonna put stuff back out tomorrow afternoon. After a high this afternoon, the temps are slowly going down and then it looks back to somewhat normal Feb/March weather.

I agree with DennisH that as soon as this starts to feel like work, I'm done for the year. But it hasn't been long enough to make me feel like that. We'll see what the next few days bring.

[Etown Maple Syrup]

Just an update, Sugar maples in shaded areas have been running the last two days despite low of 45, high of 75 today. Silver and Reds I tap had stopped days ago. Sugar content is 2.3% on the Sugars. Taps are staying in and I am looking at restarting next week. Have a good weekend!

[slammer3364]

Have about 100 taps out on jugs and buckets, noticed the one by the house was dripping a little it has a couple inches sap in it. Then I checked some back in the woods and they also had some in,it is 73 degrees here today and had a low of 50 last night. WEIRD!!!!

[Sandersyrup]

I tapped way too late but fortunately I am on 3/16 and I get about 1/2 a gallon per tap each day I see an atmospheric pressure drop. It may freeze tonight and next Friday so I'm hoping things don't turn buddy before then. I have a bloomed daffodil in the garden. Weird season.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Sugarmaker]

Ok Peeper Beaters,
I worked on value added maple all day yesterday and then decided it was time to go gather the sap that magically appeared out there in 70+ degree weather! Finished the route by 8:30 and had 250 gallons of 1.5% sugar content sap. Started boiling his morning. Made almost 9 gallon of Dark Robust syrup. That brings us to 120 gallons for the season. I did hear the peepers loud and clear last night. But we will see if the weather does turn the sap back on over the weekend!
Regards,
Chris

[D and D Sugar Camp]

We dumped everything from this past week, couldn't hold our sap from the 2 days above 70. Soft maples have budded, I think we will try it next week and see what happens. I have a couple of soft maples in my lines, will that hurt anything if I leave those taps in next week ? I'm glad we started early and hope it's not over already. No use worrying about the things you can't control.

[helptheold]

Put 6 buckets back out (while trying to not get blown over by the wind), fingers crossed. All of mine are sugar maples.

[helptheold]

Saturday none of the trees were running. Went out today, some running some not. Only one that was running looked cloudy but it was hard to tell. Didn't gather enough for a test and with this weather I can't taste or smell anything in the field. Hopefully tomorrow there will be enough to gather for a test.

[Gary R]

I'm done. I tapped on the 6th and first boil on the 7th. Last boil was the 21st. Collected 2461 gallons and made 26.5 gallons syrup. The last couple days the sap went to 1% and the syrup went to very dark. The trees here don't look that bad but I'm sure the sugars low and syrup dark. I also made all I needed. Evaporators already been acid cleaned and stacks down. Looking forward to turkey season.

[Paddymountain]

Well, After living in Bahama like weather for 4 or 5 days, I dumped my 50 buckets yesterday, and gave them a swish. Tress were dripping some.
This morning it was 21 degrees!!! I set my barrels back out to start collection again. The evaporator needs rinsed out, and then we are off to the races.
No sign of sugars budding, we just might pull this off!!!!

[helptheold]

Checked this morning, some of mine were buddy (know that taste now!), some weren't dripping and a few still seemed OK but not enough for me to tell. I'll check again tonight but I think that warm spell last week was the end.

[HowardR]

10am: Today's sap is 1% sugar, clear (not cloudy) and I couldn't taste any bad flavor. I did my taste test after boiling about a gallon for 15 minutes. I've got my RO turning it into 4% right now. I'll do a more accurate taste test after I turn it into syrup tomorrow.

Update at noon: After running about 25 gallons through my RO and starting to boil up the concentrate, I changed my mind. The smell of the boiling concentrate reminded me of dirty wash water. I'm done for the year.

[helptheold]

10am: Today's sap is 1% sugar, clear (not cloudy) and I couldn't taste any bad flavor. I did my taste test after boiling about a gallon for 15 minutes. I've got my RO turning it into 4% right now. I'll do a more accurate taste test after I turn it into syrup tomorrow.

Update at noon: After running about 25 gallons through my RO and starting to boil up the concentrate, I changed my mind. The smell of the boiling concentrate reminded me of dirty wash water. I'm done for the year.

Ick. I pulled everything yesterday, gotta finish up washing everything then figure out where to put it all until next year.

[Paddymountain]

Well, I collected 200 gallons of sap today. I was really surprised. 75 gallons of it came from my reds on vacuum,sugar content`1.3
I got it all boiled tonight. My evaporator was all cleaned and started from new, not sweetened. Amazingly, I made about 1 1/2 of syrup
til I had it all boiled down! I don't understand ,but I'll take it. After tomorrow the temps go back down tomorrow, hopefully we'll get a reset
and make a little more syrup. I'd like to make another 25 gallons. Ya gotta aim high if you are gonna hit your goal!!!!

[Dennis H.]

HowardR, I've made some late season syrup in the past. Funny thing that I found is that besides the odd smell while boiling and the almost uncontrollable foaming the syrup had a good taste. Really dark though.
I tried also to use it to make granulated sugar with late season syrup and I can say that it will make sugar but you will be stirring for a loooong time. And that odd smell while boiling will come back.

So you are probable wise to call it an end to the season.

[Dennis H.]

PaddyMtn, glad to hear you are sill plugging along.

My daughter tapped 2 trees here at the house this season, she pulled the buckets the day I pulled my taps. Yesterday I looked out back and noticed that the side of the trees where the buckets were hung was wet from the tap hole all the way to the ground.
In some weird way I wish I had still had the taps in but when I see almost everything cleaned and put away, I am happy with how the season went.

Are you trees budding? Almost every red maple that I see near me has popped buds with the red flowery thingies on it.

[Paddymountain]

DennisH; yeah we are still plugging along! After the warm spell I brought every drum home and pressure washed out, and then set them out Monday morning.
I have a cage tank that I wish I had flushed out with some water. Like HowardR said; I had about 40 gallons that looked a little murky.
I even boiled some and it tasted fine, but.....down the drain it went. I just can't see adding that to the mix when everything else was nice and clean.
The syrup I pulled off last night was fairly light, according to the bubbles. Not too scientific, but after awhile you get the feel of what colors look like in the syrup pan.
I only have 50 buckets and they haven't been out 2 weeks until tomorrow. Most of my tubing is new or really clean.
I gotta believe, there is still syrup to be made, at leadt the next week!!!

[helptheold]

Finally did a final boil on some of my frozen concentrate, I'm rather impressed at how off I was in my guess of how much I'd end up with. Right now I'm at 85 oz bottled, 60 oz finished & a 1/2 gallon still waiting to finish off. Most likely since I got a hydrometer and didn't have to guess :)

I was hoping to give some out as gifts but that's changed and only a select few are getting some! Did put a vanilla bean in one bottle & a cinnamon stick in another, hopefully it'll taste awesome.

[weaver]

Tapped in around February 5th and I think I'm pulling them this weekend. We've got 30 taps, collected about 90 gallons to make about 1 1/3 gallons of finish. Not a great season here this year with the weather.

[rhallett]

Weekend tapper here... We spend our week downstate, then head upstate for the weekend... difficult to produce under these conditions! I only tapped two weeks ago. In the first week, (19 taps) we pulled about 100 gallons of sap. Boiled it down to 2 gallons of very sweet syrup!! This week I believe I have about 60 gallons to cook off. Expect to pull taps at the end of the weekend. There is enough there for christmas gifts to all the kids/grandkids... All in all with the strange weather, nice results!!

[Etown Maple Syrup]

Untapped in NW Lancaster County. My season has drawn to a close with the removal of my 7 remaining sugar maple taps. Although the sugar % was 1.7-2.1 the sap was yellow and the ants were many. I should get 6-7 pints after boil down. I had a great season. No snow and many cold nights and sunny days. I'm happy! Have a great year. Good Bye!

[Paddymountain]

I pulled the plug today. We boiled out the evaporator and filtered and bottled everything that was left.
I came up with 58 gallons for the year. My goal was 75, but considering the season I'm satisfied. I boiled 2900
gallons of sap for a ratio of 50-1. Going from the Bahamas to Antarctica every 2 days was pretty much of a struggle.
Is anybody still hanging in there in Pa?

[Dennis H.]

Wow, PaddyMtn, I am amazed that you hung in there this long.
There were a few days that I could have kicked myself for pull the taps a few weeks ago.

[molineutu]

doing my last boil over this weekend. pulling taps next week when it warms up a little more than it will be this weekend.

[coyote]

We are in Northeast Pa. in Sullivan County. Sap is slightly cloudy but very good yet. Sugar is at 1.4. It has been low all year though. Making very good tasting dark right now. Tapping all hard maples so should have some time left in the season.

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

I'm a long ways south of you guys in PA and still cranking out a lot of syrup. 7 last night and teens tonight and tomorrow night. I think we have a lot more syrup yet to be made here and made first dark yesterday after making all light and medium since we started tapping February 2nd. Think it will go back to medium pretty quick as this freeze and quick run we got Monday scrubbed out most of the lines.

I shocked it seems everyone has thrown in the towel up there.

[doocat]

No towel throwing up here in the northeast part of the state. I too think there is alot more syrup to be made....

Craig

[helptheold]

I'm seriously ticked about having to pull when I did. For future reference, can a tree go from buddy to not buddy with a cold snap after a warm snap? It's 20 degrees here today after that 70 degree weather a few weeks ago.

[doocat]

I think once buddy your done. The tree has gone into spring mode!

[Dennis H.]

I am quite happy with how my season went even though I pulled taps back on Feb 23rd.

Could I still be making syrup, heck yeah. Would it be good syrup? Not so sure about that.

I have no means to off load a lot of dark or off flavor syrup so what is the sense of me sticking with it just to get bigger numbers?
So I took advantage of the warmer temps back in Feb and cleaned everything up and put everything away. I am now onto other things, things that on a normal year would still have to wait for a few more weeks.

What is a normal year anyway?

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

I'm not interested in making any off flavored stuff either. We made the first dark of the year our last boil over 5 weeks after we started. Lots of medium with cloudy sap and expect it to go back to medium tomorrow which will be the first boil since we last boiled on Monday the 13th. Been crazy cold here the last four days with temps in single digits and teens and sub zero wind chills. We got about 5" of snow this week and about 1" of rain coming tonight and tomorrow so lots of moisture will be in the ground.

Tomorrow is our WV Mountain State Maple Day so we hope to have sap to boil for it if trees can get thawed out today and tonight.

[unc23win]

I started getting little bit of sap on Saturday and more yesterday after a 9 day freeze. Sap looks pretty clear and was testing 2.1, which is up from the last I tested on March 9 which was 1.6. This week the weather looks to be good. Time will tell.

[Sugarmaker]

Folks,
I think we may be done! Tomorrow will tell the tale. Temps are good for sap flow, but its sure has not started yet!

Past news:
Maple Taste and Tour Weekend was busy with several hundred visitors stopping by. Weather was perfect!
We boiled water in the evaporator, had the wood stove going, a propane heater in the product display area, and a electric heater for the family members at the checkout table. I had a great time!
Regards,
Chris

[Hoppy]

So back in post #70 I said how my season was over and showed pictures of my syrup. That was Feb 20. My sugar maple has been dry since then through all of the freeze thaw cycles. I noticed one of the smaller maples, not sure species, had some sap, but I just left it. I actually left all of my taps in, mostly out of being too busy and laziness. So, yesterday I came home from work to 5 jugs on my sugar maple each having about 1/3 of a gallon in them. Today, they are at about 1/2 gallon. It does look a bit cloudy, doesn't smell funky.
I never expected it. Is it normal? Should I collect or just dump it? I'm thinking dump it as there is sediment in the jugs, etc..

[unc23win]

My season ended on the 26th a little earlier than expected, but my second baby girl was a week early. Now we have 2 little sap suckers a 22 month old and a new born. I would have liked to have made more Syrup but it sure was a crazy year weather wise. My last boil was 3-23 I ended up sending my last 1800 gallons of sap to another producer who processed it while I was at the hospital. I got all my tanks washed during nap time one day and finished off the evaporator and rinsed it the following day during nap time. I still have to finish cleaning the evaporator and I have some Syrup to can and spouts to pull. Would have liked to have had all the recent rain as snow a Month Ago!

[Maplewalnut]

My season ended on the 26th a little earlier than expected, but my second baby girl was a week early. Now we have 2 little sap suckers a 22 month old and a new born. I would have liked to have made more Syrup but it sure was a crazy year weather wise. My last boil was 3-23 I ended up sending my last 1800 gallons of sap to another producer who processed it while I was at the hospital. I got all my tanks washed during nap time one day and finished off the evaporator and rinsed it the following day during nap time. I still have to finish cleaning the evaporator and I have some Syrup to can and spouts to pull. Would have liked to have had all the recent rain as snow a Month Ago!

Congrats Jared

[doocat]

April 5th and we are throwing in the towel here in the northeast part of the state. Sap looks like milk and slowed to almost nothing. On the good side the syrup is still dark robust and good taste. Good luck to all that are still going.

Craig

[unc23win]

Congrats Jared

Thanks Mike I hope to someday to share my sugaring with my kids like you do. I hope your season went well.