Poconos 2017

[Maplewalnut]

I have about 1000 taps in and will finish tapping this weekend. Some were wet yesterday afternoon but extended forecast looks cold for a couple weeks still. In any case I will be ready. Missed the early run due to work travel but I know some made some good syrup. Looks like a marginal warm day or two next week to clean lines out find leaks. Squirrel population is well in check thanks to teenage boys so I am expecting little chew damage. Mix of clear cdl smart spouts and white opaque ones this year. Put the white in shady areas to see if they in fact do thaw faster than clear. The trade off is off course you cant find tap hole leaks or hollow trees as well with the white

Good luck to all

Mike

[Z/MAN]

Good luck Mike. With my gravity I will wait about two more weeks. That is unless we were to get a prolong warm up.

[Maplewalnut]

All tapped and had small run yesterday to clean out lines and collect a little in tanks. Slow start today but only suppose to get warmer through the night before turning cold again tomorrow. Quite a few bear chews again this year when vacuum got turned on.

Paul- good luck to you, hopefully a better maple season than our snowmobiling this year

[carpenter#ryan]

Hi I'm new here and hoping not to be too late on starting my first tapping season. My first real question is when do we tap with this crazy winter we have had. I'm in lower bucks county pa

[psparr]

Next week looks as good as it's gonna get.

[shess6]

carpenter ryan
I'm in upper bucks county and sap flow is good. I already have boiled 500 gallons, so i would say to tap being the weather has been so up and down.

[carpenter#ryan]

shess6
thanks for the reply , was hoping to get started late this weekend . I plan on only making a gallon or so , i really just want to give it a try the whole process. Any tips on how to store it until time to boil. From what i read i will need about 40 gallons of sap. I work full time so weekend is my best time to boil.

[Cabin]

shess6
thanks for the reply , was hoping to get started late this weekend . I plan on only making a gallon or so , i really just want to give it a try the whole process. Any tips on how to store it until time to boil. From what i read i will need about 40 gallons of sap. I work full time so weekend is my best time to boil.

Storing the sap in the shade where it can freeze at night helps. I use large(30 gallon) plastic containers and garbage cans(new of course). As to how much you will need it depends on the type of tree you are tapping. Around here I have only 3 small sugar maples and the rest are red maples all in a wooded area. I need about 100 gallons of sap to make a gallon syrup.

[Maplewalnut]

Making syrup from a few small runs, it looks to open up in the next week. Will put out a few buckets this weekend. What can I say, I like popping the lid to find it full from time to time.

[carpenter#ryan]

wow did not know about the 100 gallons for 1 gallon ratio. that is a lot. I tapped one sugar which is flowing about 1 gallon a day and one red which is flowing about two gallon yesterday. My neighbor my bee mentor, let me tap his one tree he said that he made syrup from it years ago and it is flowing about half gallon a day. my last two i tapped pretty sure are red as well but they haven't even dripped. they are huge trees about two ft diameter i still drilled south side same as other trees i did , do large trees flow later then small? i am a bit confused as to what would cause that there big healthy trees and getting sun.

[Cabin]

wow did not know about the 100 gallons for 1 gallon ratio. that is a lot. I tapped one sugar which is flowing about 1 gallon a day and one red which is flowing about two gallon yesterday. My neighbor my bee mentor, let me tap his one tree he said that he made syrup from it years ago and it is flowing about half gallon a day. my last two i tapped pretty sure are red as well but they haven't even dripped. they are huge trees about two ft diameter i still drilled south side same as other trees i did , do large trees flow later then small? i am a bit confused as to what would cause that there big healthy trees and getting sun.

My trees are 'wood lot' trees with long trunks and compact tops, sort of lollypop shape. So the sugar content is not real high but they do produce a lot of sap. I am still cleaning up blown down pines so I need to burn up the wood anyway. Larger trees take a little bit longer to thaw out IMO. When they start running so will you. I have a few that fill 5 gallon buckets in one day!

Starting beekeeping? I am on my second winter. Lost 2 of my four hives to starvation. I have mixed emotions, I want the trees to bud out for the bees but not to bud out because of maple sugaring!

[Maplewalnut]

Been a rough start to the season. Have had releaser problems, pump problems and now my RO has developed a leak at base of one canister. Evidently there is a ceramic seal down there that is suspect. Have to take the post apart and remove pump and bottom of tower to run back to Swanton for rebuild. Easier said then done when your 7+ hours away. Have been trying to get through this run and hopefully find a window if low sap to take it apart.

[carpenter#ryan]

yeah this will be my second year beekeeping, were going to split a couple hives this year of my neighbors so i can have more hives. gotta love all that honey. I guess thats why i wanted to try the maple syrup something new and interesting. I think i should have started a lot sooner this year with the tapping trees are budding down here.

[Maplewalnut]

With all due respect can you guys take your bee conversation to another thread.

[Cabin]

With all due respect can you guys take your bee conversation to another thread.

Just outsourcing part of the sugar production. ;)

I hope this years syrup run doesn't end like last years! Trees that gave nothing last year are turning out 2 to 3 gallons a day this year, so far.

My son just made a small batch of beer using maple sap. Has one batch working that he use maple syrup in place of the usual honey.

[Maplewalnut]

Sap is still running but slowed down greatly overnight. Now the trick will be to keep pumps running and tap holes clean through this 3 day warm stretch. After that weather looks good for a few days but then cold again first week or March. Running RO pump to Swanton tomorrow for rebuild, hopefully that goes smoothly since they committed to doing it while I wait
Somehow barrels are being filled, not sure how but we stay the course!

[Cabin]

Sap is still running but slowed down greatly overnight. Now the trick will be to keep pumps running and tap holes clean through this 3 day warm stretch. After that weather looks good for a few days but then cold again first week or March. Running RO pump to Swanton tomorrow for rebuild, hopefully that goes smoothly since they committed to doing it while I wait
Somehow barrels are being filled, not sure how but we stay the course!

I don't know how long things will keep running here in Saylorsburg. Buds are already enlarging but we are still getting most nights in the upper 20s.

[Maplewalnut]

Got recirc pump fixed after a trip to VT and RO back and running only to now have releaser troubles. Both pumps sucked up sap on the same night. Got both back up and running after changing oil only to have the wind storm from hell wreak havoc on the sugarbush. What a trying season this has been. one equipment failure after another. Weather looks good for next ten days at least. hoping for a normal year crop wise when all is said and done. I earned it this year!

[Cabin]

Got recirc pump fixed after a trip to VT and RO back and running only to now have releaser troubles. Both pumps sucked up sap on the same night. Got both back up and running after changing oil only to have the wind storm from hell wreak havoc on the sugarbush. What a trying season this has been. one equipment failure after another. Weather looks good for next ten days at least. hoping for a normal year crop wise when all is said and done. I earned it this year!

I lucked out Saturday with no damage of any type but the sap is starting to change already. This looks to be a shorter season than last year for me. I hope the cold nights coming up will but the brakes on the budding out.

[Maplewalnut]

Still going but sugar is very low on average this year. We dipped below 1% twice this year already. Processing that is not possible without an RO. Couple good runs the last few days and now it looks like a stretch of below freezing days and No sap for a while. Interested to see if sugar rebounds after a longer span of freezing temps. Buds are not real swollen here yet and certainly not develop over the next week with temps projected. Sap is clear and baby 30 gallon barrels are being filled

[Z/MAN]

Mike I hear everyone talking about low sugar but today was my lowest and it was still 2.0. I am having a good and lucky season.

[Maplewalnut]

Still making syrup. good run yesterday and hopefully today after a week long cold snap. 30" of snow in the woods is making leak patrol challenging but we forge ahead on snowshoes. Sap is still clear, syrup tastes good but buds are a swellin....what a strange year again

[Maplewalnut]

The good news...Over 2% sap for first time this year!! The bad news... trees all but stopped over night even with no freeze. Looks like the end is in sight, sap is still clear just not much of it. Thinking there are some holes beginning to dry up

[Walling's Maple Syrup]

The good news...Over 2% sap for first time this year!! The bad news... trees all but stopped over night even with no freeze. Looks like the end is in sight, sap is still clear just not much of it. Thinking there are some holes beginning to dry up Trees just froze still with all the snowpack. Same deal here.
Neil

[Z/MAN]

Don't give up yet. I had a great run yesterday and today. I had a couple of buckets with almost nothing and others overflowing but even the six aluminum buckets with the old 7/16 taps flowed very well and they would be the first to dry up. I was worried when the same thing happened to me 2 weeks ago but they came back beautiful. Remember this just a VERY SCREWED UP SEASON!!! And like I told you earlier Mike, the new 3/16 lines are flowing like crazy.

[doocat]

We are back to light syrup here in N.E. Pa. But those warm nights coming up don't look real appealing!!

[Maplewalnut]

We went very dark last night. Not sure if it warrants a cleanup of pans and tanks or we just finish the season out as is. Will make decision today depending on how much sap we got yesterday afternoon til freeze-up last night.

Paul- the more you talk about that 3/16ths on marginal drop the more appealing it looks.

When all is said and done, I think the low sugar all year will put us under 'normal crop' for the year.

[Maplewalnut]

Just back from weekend trip to VT to tour some sugar houses. Have to say the most state of the art impressive was Coreys Maple Orchard in Fairfield. Great people and awesome facility.
On the home front, we left a 17 yr old and 15 yr old in charge of the sugaring. They did a great job, processed about 4000 gallon of sap in two days and made some syrup. We joked with people in VT when we told them who was running the show that if we get home and RO is not clogged and front pan not burned....every else is gravy!

The sap is still clear, sugar is decent (1.75) and running well. Have had slight freezes the last few nights which has really helped keep the trees going.

[Maplewalnut]

Snow pack is all but gone from woods except for shaded areas. Cleaned all tanks yesterday, sap was at 1% but still flowing. Good hard freeze overnight but minimal freezing (30/31 degrees) forecasted the next few nights. The syrup is dark with fantastic taste. Red maples look like buds are going to explode any day, sugars are swellin but look OK. In hind sight the blizzard two weeks ago definitely extended my season. Even with painfully low sugar content most of the year, we are approaching a normal crop year.

[doocat]

Ditto in Susquehanna County!

[Maplewalnut]

Even with a decent freeze, the sap has turned ropey. We will turn off the pumps tomorrow and call it a year. Very happy with cdl smart spouts, with all the ups and downs temperature wise this year the sap is still flowing. Another strange year as we had 70 degree days in February and March following by a blizzard and 30 inches of snow. Early equipment problems and low sugar kept us from reaching our goal but tomorrow we go look at a new property to tap for next year!!

[Brian Ryther]

congrats mike.