Northern Wisconsin. 2017

[flying squirrel maple]

Hey ladies and gents in northern wi wondering if anyone has done any test taps? If weather stays like this I'll be tapping in two weekends. Not even close to being ready.


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[danielschauder]

Put in 12 test taps with bags yesterday. It did run a bit today but nothing to get excited about. It sure does look good for 4-5 days later this week but I hate to tap to early. What does a guy do??!

[markcasper]

flying squirrel maple, what a neat name! I think I'm going to start tapping my one bush by Friday and just not try to get worked up about it, not worth it. Really ticks me off that Leader advertised their new clear checkspouts and then am being told they don't know when or if they will be here for season. Well the season is now morons!! I'm a little hesitant to go with the black ones this early because they are black. And in my own studies the clears are mostly running when i pull, while the blacks are done. That says something about the poly carbonate.

[Super Sapper]

If you are looking for the one piece check valve spouts in clear try Bascoms. I just got 200 from them and leader shows they are out of stock.

[GramaCindy]

I did a test tap yesterday, one of my later flowing trees, it was dripping immediately. I'm putting up my tubing now, but waiting for the sap sacks.

[WI Sugarpop]

I tapped my 2 yard trees yesterday at 2;00 PM and collected 5 gal this morning. We will tap our 3/16 tubing woods Friday. Might be boiling Sunday afternoon.:lol:

[flying squirrel maple]

flying squirrel maple, what a neat name! I think I'm going to start tapping my one bush by Friday and just not try to get worked up about it, not worth it. Really ticks me off that Leader advertised their new clear checkspouts and then am being told they don't know when or if they will be here for season. Well the season is now morons!! I'm a little hesitant to go with the black ones this early because they are black. And in my own studies the clears are mostly running when i pull, while the blacks are done. That says something about the poly carbonate.

First year sugaring we had a surprise in one of our buckets. The little bugger had an addiction to sap and overdosed😵


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[norman]

I'm holding off on the temptation to tap for this first run. It's only the middle of February and I just feel it's too early. With tap viability of only 5 weeks or so, I don't want to have my taps close up too early in March. It's a gamble I know, but again....it's only the middle of Feb. Besides, I am not quite ready. Still some things to do in the sugar bush.

[wilfredjr]

Ten taps today, after noon on sunny SE slope above lake: 8 began to run right away. 5 big reds down slope right on lakeshore, 3 starters; 5 mid slope sugars, all began modest flow. Guess I'll be doing batches this year. Tally Ho!

[lostrock4]

Tapped my 3 trees that start the earliest every year and each had a few drops on friday noontime. Should be running soon enough. I'll update on Sunday cause we went skiing in the UP for the weekend. We must have some frost in the ground still. My trees always seem to start late. My cousin started tapping in rice lake earlier in the week and he's getting 1 gallon a tree already.

[wilfredjr]

48 hours: 2 bags half full on shore; most under 3 inches; all still dead @11 am; overnight low was 34, 54 now in shade

[Merklin Maples]

Put in 24 taps yesterday and collected 15 gals of sap today. Today put in 76 taps. We will see what we get tomorrow.

[Austin351]

Due to my work schedule, I can only boil on weekends this year. Ran 3/16" gravity lines last weekend, will dump into a 275 gal IBC tank. Looking like we may get a little run next week so will drill this weekend. Really looks good starting around Mar 17th.

[lostrock4]

My son and I gathered 10 gallons from 13 trees b4 the rain. 1 inch of rain on monday. Next weeks forecast looks promising. I will give an update for Hayward when the saps fires up again. :)

[wilfredjr]

four days in fifties; overnight lows above freezing; long rain knocked down snow in woods to less than 6 inches
5 gal gathered on 10 taps, 4 of which came on three bags
barely wet

[Brad W Wi]

Still wondering what to do. Snow coming on Friday. I've never set out much before 10 march. I've got 12 pails out around the sugarbush to get a feel for things. It ranges from 1 pail with over a gal to teaspoons in another. Sugar content ranged from .8 to 2.5. I always figured I wasn't the brightest bulb in the package, so now I need to find the brightest bulb to let me know what's happening.

[Rhino]

What I'm hearing from other producers are some are starting to tap just now.... some are waiting. I'm waiting to see what happens and what the forecast are next week. I got everything washed and ready. A good tree my uncle tapped dripped hard at first then pretty much slowed to almost nothing. With no freezing nights that was no shocker.

[mike z]

I'm waiting for a better sap flow forecast considering its still February.

[TwoSaps]

My brother and I are pretty new to this. We put out 34 taps last weekend (2/18) in the far north snow belt, near the UP. Most of the taps were immediately wet, and some were dripping pretty well by morning. However, after 5 days, we have a total of maybe 30 gallons. We're wondering if the sap will not flow much with the ground still mostly frozen, even though the temps up here have been warm by day, dropping to around freezing at night. Any wisdom/science the shed light on this? I guess we'll take our 3 quarts of February syrup, if we don't screw up the cooking.

[Rhino]

I would wait and see how your 34 taps do when/if we get back to a freeze thaw cycle as in a " normal " sap weather pattern. Take what you get this early tapping effort. If you guys have large trees and using smaller taps that you can retap those or more trees available to retap....you can always go that route later on. Your 3 quarts of syrup is alot more then most have that are rolling the dice by waiting. As in me....Good luck....

[markcasper]

Word on the street down around the Menomonie area is 3-4 gallons per tap have already ran with those on vacuum and that tapped on Valentines Day. I guess the sugar content is nothing to brag about. I have heard 1.9% to 2.1%. I have only tapped 3 test trees, one big boxelder by my shack has ran 2.5 gallons, huge silver maple in our yard ran the bag over Monday (thing runs all the time whether it freezes or not) the last tree in the woods, I have not been there since I tapped it. These were all on Valentines Day tapped. The silver maple sugar was 3.2%,, however. I'm thinking I'll hit tapping after this snowstorm.

I really didn't want to deal with this warm weather trying to keep sap b/c of off farm work yet.

[Joe Bob]

This year is my first attempt at sugaring. My location is a forested valley about 15 miles west of Shell Lake. I tapped 20 trees and set bags on 2/18. As of yesterday I have next to nothing, about 2 gallons of sap total. I got a quart out of a couple of trees, half of the rest are barely wet, the remainder totally dry. I plan to tap another 10-20 trees. Based on the weather forecast I will probably wait another 10 days or so to tap more trees.

[markcasper]

You are further north and if you are on open taps, another 10 days will be fine. I obviously have missed some sap and will be missing more Monday and Tuesday. I am going to start tapping tomorrow. This is 2 years in a row now that we should have been tapped by February 20th. It is a guessing game.

On Thursday night, I was able to drive back to my one tank in the woods with water for cleaning and you would have thought it was April 1. No mud, frost gone, unbelievable for 2-23.

The guys that tapped early probably did the right thing.....(those on vacuum). Am thinking maybe these equipment guys should rethink their open house plans and start having in the fall.

[motowbrowne]

I agree with you on the open houses. Waiting til early February to get a deal on tubing or applied at the open house doesn't fit into the schedule if we gotta be tapped by the 20th.

Mark, i hope our taps will just run extra hard and we can make up for the lost time last week. On the one hand, the sap woulda been nice, but on those 60 degree days, I was happy I didn't have holes drilled. Vacuum or not.

[markcasper]

I agree with you on the open houses. Waiting til early February to get a deal on tubing or applied at the open house doesn't fit into the schedule if we gotta be tapped by the 20th.

Mark, i hope our taps will just run extra hard and we can make up for the lost time last week. On the one hand, the sap woulda been nice, but on those 60 degree days, I was happy I didn't have holes drilled. Vacuum or not.I hope so and I guess there are worse things. Yeh, the sample tap boxelder I dumped out Thursday night resembled something of a few days before the end of the season.

[GramaCindy]

This year is my first attempt at sugaring. My location is a forested valley about 15 miles west of Shell Lake. I tapped 20 trees and set bags on 2/18. As of yesterday I have next to nothing, about 2 gallons of sap total. I got a quart out of a couple of trees, half of the rest are barely wet, the remainder totally dry. I plan to tap another 10-20 trees. Based on the weather forecast I will probably wait another 10 days or so to tap more trees.
I think that would be a very good idea Joe Bob. I plan on doing the same for my sap sacks. I did tap my 3/16th lines though. With it being a "closed system" the taps stay good until the tree buds.

[Rhino]

No regrets here on not tapping. Looks like I will just watch the long range forecast and hopefully start around March 7th tapping like normal. Ended up with 8" of snow but that will settle and melt fast the next warm days. Also glad I waited because I don't like concentrated sap sitting so long in the evaporator.. and to drain a big evaporator and finish it off on a flat pan is only fun at the end of the season.

[mike z]

I don't think I missed much so far. What I miss in the next few days, I hope to be able to make up for at the end of the season. Might tap at the end of the week???

[Brad W Wi]

I put out 125 taps today. Still not sure about when to put out the rest. The 12 test pails I have out vary from 1/4- full to 3/4+ full. But that took 4days to reach that. I hate to miss much and we sure don't know how long everything will last.

[flying squirrel maple]

This weekend might be go-time for us. Will watch the weather for next week before we completely commit. The itch to tap is almost unbearable.


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[markcasper]

I started tapping yesterday and everything was running. The ones on the south edge of an open field just poured. Got the vacuum going and fixed several leaks, the air was dead calm, perfect for leak checking in the dark. I talked to a friend last night who started pulling by 2/17 and he had already gotten 6 gallons per tap thus far on vac. Onto more tapping!

[motowbrowne]

I got about 225 taps put in on Sunday afternoon. Hooked them into my mainline yesterday morning and achieved sap collection by about 11:00. Sap was coming in pretty good by that time. By 8:30 this morning I had 200 gallons in the tank. That was just 3/16 natural vacuum. I just finished installing my Shurflo pump and fixing a few easy leaks. The rest of them I will have to wait until I have help to fix, because I'm still on crutches. The sap is coming in pretty good right now. I'm just sitting on the quad listening to that pump "chew" for a couple minutes.

A week ago there was a lot that needed to happen to get to this point, and I had needed a lot of help to make it happen. I've been so fortunate to get the help I need at a crucial time. A big thanks to Cody's dad, Todd for coming over yesterday and plugging in all those saddles. And another big thanks to all the folks who showed up on Sunday and helped me get tapped, get the stack up, and set my pans on the arch.

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[Rhino]

Going to start tapping tomorrow. Hopefully by Saturday afternoon I'm done. Temps look like no cool down after Thursday so here we go.

[Rhino]

Heard from a producer friend this afternoon that not much is happening up here yet. He's been tapping the last few days and said some holes got wet but not enough to get a stream out of the mainlines yet. He wants to be done by Thursday in hopes something starts by the weekend into next week. My woods is about 3 miles away so I doubt I missed to much hearing that report. I bet alot of taps get put in this weekend in northern Wisconsin!

[jbelany]

Hung 45 taps today with bags in northern Ashland county. For 18*F I couldn't believe the number of trees which were producing today.....some started running as soon as I pulled the drill bit! Sure seems like the trees are not very "sleepy" this winter.

Joe

[binski]

Going to tap today in Mosinee area. Hoping I didn't miss much :confused:

[Dave Evenson]

I put out 100 or so taps on March 1, 2, 3. Warm enough today, but awfully windy. Maybe a quart in some bags or pails, nothing to collect yet.

[Rhino]

Put 2 days in on tapping last week and after hearing a few local weathermen say a cool down for this week I stopped to see what was going to happen after the weekend forecast models... looks like cold temps the whole week up here by us so glad I stopped tapping on thursday. I have 2 days yet to finish so not as much pressure to finish when the temps seemed like I should be done already.

[18mile]

I also stopped today. About 400 left. Warm and windy today. Not much running

[markcasper]

I managed to get all my tubing tapped by late Friday night. I missed most all of last Monday and Tuesdays 2 gallon per tap. I managed to salvage 500 gallons though which turned to lots of ice. Tress didn't do much saturday, but apparently they started throught the night and are running good right now at midnight. I will have full tanks by morning at this rate. I'm not monkeying around and lose any more and am staying up all night to get the ro and evap. put together. I got most of the tubing vacuum checked today and am at good levels.

I ended up getting Monday off from work, so just have to work Tuesday and Saturday this week which is great. Planning on my first boil sometime Monday if things go right.

[binski]

Tapped 130 3/16 tubing and 160 bags on Saturday. Shurflo turned on around 11 on Sun. Not much moving until around 4. Then things broke loose.

[Diesel Pro]

I kind of hit the north central designation tapping near Merrill WI. I set up my 3/16 on a 25' elevation drop this weekend. Sunday saw light flow start shortly after noon then dropped off and finally around 4pm when we were about to leave things seemed to be starting to roll. I tend to be a bit behind the curve where many are getting big runs days if not weeks before I do. I'm kind of in a valley on a back slope so I'm sure that factors in.

[motowbrowne]

I managed to get all my tubing tapped by late Friday night. I missed most all of last Monday and Tuesdays 2 gallon per tap. I managed to salvage 500 gallons though which turned to lots of ice. Tress didn't do much saturday, but apparently they started throught the night and are running good right now at midnight. I will have full tanks by morning at this rate. I'm not monkeying around and lose any more and am staying up all night to get the ro and evap. put together. I got most of the tubing vacuum checked today and am at good levels.

I ended up getting Monday off from work, so just have to work Tuesday and Saturday this week which is great. Planning on my first boil sometime Monday if things go right.

Hey Mark, I'm glad to hear you got 'em tapped. It sure feels good to know there's sap filling those tanks. I hope you got everything else setup alright and that we get some more sap today and tomorrow.


My trees over here started running good Saturday mid day and have been running very well since then. I think I brought in over a gallon per tap in the last 12 hours alone. Got my new cooker fired up yesterday evening at about 5:00 and cooked 850 or 900 gallons before we shut it down at 10:30. This was my first time seeing it in action and I'm REALLY pleased with it. I love the cross flow pan setup and that 4x14 sure screams through sap compared to my 2x10. It makes a dent in the wood pile in short order too. :)

[Rhino]

Missed out on the thundertorm/low pressure sap run over the weekend. Will finish tapping tomorrow and be ready by next week. Hopefully the weather will hold out with at least a couple weeks or more of favorable temps. Alot of syrup can be made in 2 weeks. Hats off to all you producers who were ready. Always a guessing game.

[mike z]

I guessed wrong on that last big run too. I am happy to hear how others did, my neighbor was boiling away like mad. Time to clean the tree branches off sap trails and tap trees.

[Austin351]

Mike- I pass through Ladysmith a couple times a week and see lines just north of town on the west side of the road. Are those yours?

[mike z]

Nope, I'm about 10 miles northeast of Ladysmith, and have alum. buckets that are still sitting in the house. Curses anyway, I should have put them up last weekend.

[Rhino]

Not sure if it's our elevation or what?? but 2 producers close to me didn't fair well this past weekend they told us. One who is on high vacuum said I didnt miss much and one who is on bags wishes he would of waited. All of us are in price county. I finished tapping today with just low areas having patchy snow left. My priority now is to watch over my 165 month old laying chicks... below zero the next mornings so gotta monitor the heat lamps. Funny how us syrup makers are involved with chickens/ and or/ honey bees. Any way to grub out a living I suppose.

[Diesel Pro]

After over a week of dormancy with temps below freezing things got going late today. Neighbor says that my South line (most drop) had 18" of vacuum in it while the north line was 10". Previously 14" was max observed. Not much to show for volume yet, but should be rocking Friday and hopefully again Saturday.

[Rhino]

Slow yesterday by me. Thought it would be better hitting 41 degrees. Snow and sleet this morning so maybe better with low pressure??

[GramaCindy]

Slow start yesterday for me as well. I guess the ground was a tad frozen, trees too. It only got down to 32* last night, and 1" of new snow. I was hoping the low pressure yesterday would have really kick started the sap. I have two large storage tanks with overflowing frozen sap. I hope that I can pump something out of them today.

[Diesel Pro]

I am hopeful that things ran through much of the night with the mild temps and will open up well today and Saturday. If I didn't have a conflict I'd be cooking Sunday and possibly making it a one weekend cook and sell the rest of my sap.

[cedar syrups]

I,m new to the site but I,m interested in how everyone else are doing this season New to gravity tubing and my ro I welcome any comments or hints thanks

[Northwoodsforester]

Spring set in too early this year. Set taps on 25 Feb. Inconsistent runs so far. Sap sugar content early March only at 2.0%. Now, loss of snow (only 3-4" remaining in our woods) and deep cold in past ten days has driven frost deep into the ground. No run yesterday. May take several days in upper 40's and 50's to loosen things up again.

________
2017 is our 30th year producing in Land O Lakes, WI
1987-2001 - 1200 taps commercial, all 16 quart pail operation, single horse (Shires, Clydes, & Norwegian Fiords) sled & wagon, all hand collection woods operation.
2001-present - 250 taps, hobby only
Leader 4x16’ raised flue, wood fired
65 acres of healthy 125+ year old sugar maples and mixed northern hardwoods.
Come visit anytime (715-367-1814)
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[mike z]

I just checked the buckets. Most were near empty. Just a few trees starting to run, not many. Don't think Ill have a collection until late tomorrow. (...and that's a big maybe).

[mkoehler79]

Hi diesel. If you're located in Merrill area I'd be interested in buying your sap.

[jbelany]

Collected 40 gallons on 45 taps today south of Ashland. Sap tests at 3.2%!! Pretty good for red maple. Looks like first boil Sunday and Monday.

Joe

[markcasper]

Trees didn't do much on Thursday, but by mid afternoon Friday my south woods let loose and they were running almost as much as the "big run" (last run) 2 weeks ago this coming Sunday/Monday. The north woods today was running fair, but nothing to write home about. If it doesn't freeze tonight, I'll be collecting at daybreak. I got all the vacuum rechecked and the mishaps from the cold spell fixed.

I had my first delayed boil Wednesday night and it went well, made 120 gallons of syrup in 7 hours. I had RO'ed about 5500 gallons down to about 1000 over the course of several days. The cold delayed operations and even upon starting I had freeze up issues in the evaporator. The first drum was light, the 2nd was a little darker, medium probably. Some of the sap was 16 days old. All my tanks have about 20 gallons of ice in each one.

Am going to tap some bags tomorrow and into early next week, maybe some 3/16" in a pasture that I haven't tapped in awhile between gathering and cooking. Work 1 day in town the rest of the month. Forecast looks awesome!

[Zucker Lager]

Tapped the start of this week (12th)...........not a drop. We did have some above freezing days here in Sugar Camp WI since but I checked today and all buckets are dry. I'll bet in the next few days with temps trending up it will start here ????? I hope it will Sugar Camp is one of those areas in the "Cold Zone" in northern WI. sometimes that sucks. Jay

[Rhino]

Last 2 days nothing much. I do believe the frost drove in around the tree roots with no snow and so much moisture seeping in when we had no frost... and then the week or so of frigid nights which now is the reason for the slow restart up here... Just a hunch? No crazy hot temps. forecasted so still have alot of time to get our fill of syrup...

[markcasper]

My south hillsides just poured in the afternoon Saturday. They ran a gallon per tap between 2pm and 9pm when it froze up. The north slope didn't fare as well, maybe 2/3 of a gallon per tap. All in all, I hauled in 2600 gallons, some that ran Friday and a little from Thursday. Lots of ice in all the tanks. I roed it down to 1200 gallons and will boil later today.

[Austin351]

Last 2 days nothing much. I do believe the frost drove in around the tree roots with no snow and so much moisture seeping in when we had no frost... and then the week or so of frigid nights which now is the reason for the slow restart up here... Just a hunch? No crazy hot temps. forecasted so still have alot of time to get our fill of syrup...

I'm with ya, Rhino. Had one ok run a couple weeks ago but that is still frozen hard in storage tank. Thought it would run good yesterday but still needing more time to get past the hard freeze 7-10 days ago. Crazy weather for sure.

[wilfredjr]

Trickle trickle
Finally got going today, not what you would call running, yet.

[Rhino]

Agree..... trees finally are waking up a bit.... test bags at my house are dripping a drop every 2 seconds so nothing to speedy yet but the start for me it looks like. My neighbors who monitor my woods in Price county called and said about the same is happening there.

[Rhino]

My uncle decided to collect his bags before the single digits tonight.... his woods in Price county is only a half mile from where I tap. He ended up with a gallon a tap since sunday. (525 gallons). I decided to let my bags fill up more and freeze tonight. I only set out 1500 bags this year.... all my pipeline was ripped out because a select harvest was due last winter so im going back to old school... my goal is a few hundred gallons to bottle for our farm markets and no bulk sales. I will sell sap if needed after I hit that goal. My uncle as he collected said his taps started dripping at 11:00 and slowed at 3:00... cold wind and 32 degrees today.

[Zucker Lager]

Same thing here in Sugar Camp just a slow trickle the last few days and now with this latest cold blast who can tell? Only the trees in direct sun gave anything. Jay

[Diesel Pro]

On Thursday the 9th we pumped up 220 gallons from the 2 day run on the 6th and 7th before things fizzled. This was with 60 taps. Since that run things have been more or less froze tight until this past weekend when they just started to run. On Sunday the 19th I added another 20 tap string. Things were flowing good when we left, but we still only have 125-150 gallons according to my neighbor who checked in for me yesterday eve. Not much to show for almost 2 weeks, but its been cold.

I've always said I'm a bit behind the curve with the weather where I am and I think we are seeing more of this. I'm on a slope that falls to the north so my field edge trees tend to deliver before the rest that are deeper in the woods. Over the past few years I have scrapped and scraped to get enough sap to run and then when I'm at a point where I have had enough they let loose. This season is similar, but I've been more patient and with the 3/16 setup I can leave things run on auto pilot and sell some sap once I am done.

Looks like a potentially decent run into and through the weekend.

[markcasper]

An interesting fact for us guys. I tapped a large silver at the farm on Valentines Day, and I mean large! On the south side and the bag ran over 3 times, plus it had a pinhole 1/2 way up leaking sap the whole time. On Sunday, we tapped all the trees in the yard and we put 5 more bags on this tree and by Monday morning everyone was 1/2 to 3/4 and guess which one was running over? The one I tapped on Valentines. I used a new lapierre straight clear spout and work fairly well for bags. Just thought [I]'d share my belief in the use of new spouts for whatever method if you want to keep the holes going.

From Sunday noon until Monday noon I got 3 plus gallons per tap off my south woods, the bad part, Monday at 6pm the bulk tank temp said 62 degrees and this is with all white tubing except 1/4 of the taps are on 3/16 light blue. So I sucked it out again since I was going to be cooking. My north woods was about half that much, so I believe you northern guys what your talking about.

[Austin351]

Anyone north of Hwy 8 feel like the season hasn't even really started? Sounds like central WI has already peaked. My woods are still pretty frozen and although I do get some days with some drips, I wouldn't say I have seen a hard run yet... I have been messing with 3/16" this year so that has been a learning experience but my bags aren't doing anything great either. Been tapped since first of March.

[Rhino]

As of now between my uncles taps (500) and what I put out (1500).... we averaged a gallon a tap since tapping early to mid March. (Obviously missed early runs in Feb.) As I collected yesterday and this morning I can feel the frost under the leaves. Hard as a rock and on slopes I got to be careful not to slip when the leaves slide on the frost. Just a slow drip the last few days with my bags with the weather being rainy and cloudy. Without lines and vacuum this year is where I suffer on days like this. Getting in shape though collecting bags. Forecast looks good for up north here with at least close to freezing nights.

[Diesel Pro]

Anyone north of Hwy 8 feel like the season hasn't even really started? Sounds like central WI has already peaked. My woods are still pretty frozen and although I do get some days with some drips, I wouldn't say I have seen a hard run yet... I have been messing with 3/16" this year so that has been a learning experience but my bags aren't doing anything great either. Been tapped since first of March.

I am just south of 64 and things are just starting to get rolling for me so no you are not alone. I had a nice run a couple weeks back, but then it froze hard again and is just starting to thaw again.

[GramaCindy]

Anyone north of Hwy 8 feel like the season hasn't even really started? Sounds like central WI has already peaked. My woods are still pretty frozen and although I do get some days with some drips, I wouldn't say I have seen a hard run yet... I have been messing with 3/16" this year so that has been a learning experience but my bags aren't doing anything great either. Been tapped since first of March.
Austin, I have had the same experience so far as you. My sap sacks are taking a few days to fill 1/2 way, but my 3/16ths are doing better. I LOVE THAT STUFF! If only I could do all of my trees that way. I have 50 sacks and 50 on 3/16. With the weather taking until mid to late afternoon to get above freezing, it's frustrating. The weather forecasts are off quite a bit, and the cloudy skies sure don't help either.

[cedar syrups]

I,m way up north by lake superior , My sap sacks suck between no real run and squirrels/turkeys & ice suck but my3/16 has been awesome considering the weather. I have put 2 shurflos on some of my 3/16 and it really has made a difference. Just yesterday I got 135gals off 85 taps on my shurflo and the 5 bag in the yard had almost nothing I,m a believer as this is my first year using tubing & I,m adding more tubing on my other shurflo any comments form others

[jbelany]

Things have really picked up the pace in Ashland County; we collected 62 gallons on 45 taps yesterday and the trees were dripping hard! Working today, so can't wait until tomorrow to see what I find.

Joe

[Zucker Lager]

Anyone north of Hwy 8 feel like the season hasn't even really started? Sounds like central WI has already peaked. My woods are still pretty frozen and although I do get some days with some drips, I wouldn't say I have seen a hard run yet... I have been messing with 3/16" this year so that has been a learning experience but my bags aren't doing anything great either. Been tapped since first of March.

YEP! I'm about 30 miles north of 8 been tapped in for some time and almost nothing here. Jay

[Diesel Pro]

Finally filled my tote yesterday. Neighbor pumped it for me last night about 8pm. Today by 2 pm there was another 80+ gallons from my 80 taps. Once again the southernmost string was running steady the next one in was so-so and the 3rd was pretty lazy. Things are just starting to roll, but sugar content is quite low this year. Started at 2.0 and already dropping the way it seems.

[TwoSaps]

We are near the UP, and things seem to be just starting by us. We had 32 taps out for the past two weeks, and collected only about 35 gallons total in that whole time. We refreshed the tap holes on a few of the trees to see if that was an issue, and it made no difference. It seems that we are just too close to the Arctic Circle. Maybe this week will get things going.

[Austin351]

This week should tell me more but thinking my woods just take longer to thaw out.. The majority are at the bottom of a north facing slope, stays fairly moist down there also. Tapped 6 trees on the neighbors property of which all were on a hill with good southern exposure. Guess I'll find out when I get back on Thursday evening..

[TVFARM]

I just checked the buckets. Most were near empty. Just a few trees starting to run, not many. Don't think Ill have a collection until late tomorrow. (...and that's a big maybe).





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[Diesel Pro]

They were still running Monday eve with about 125 gallons in the tank from 80 taps in 2 days.

Nice solid freeze last night down to the mid 20's with 50 forecast high and sunny today. Looking good for the rest of the week as well. Finally a bit of sun and warm yet still dipping into a freeze at night.

[TVFARM]

This is the make or break week for northern WI. Freezing temps at night then warm days until Saturday. Probably shutting down and clean up this weekend.


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[Austin351]

This is the make or break week for northern WI. Freezing temps at night then warm days until Saturday. Probably shutting down and clean up this weekend.


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Hope the flood gates open up... 70 gallons of sap in the last month from 49 taps. Terrible........

[MNmapleboyz]

Got the same issues in northern Mn, 300 taps and collected 650 gallons, bad deal so far.

[Rhino]

Totally agree with the make it or break it statement for this week for us up here.... got the r.o going now to run 1400 gal. Through.... left woods at 12:30 and trees were running hard at 44 degrees... Started dripping at 9 a.m.. right now it's 60 degrees so hope they don't slow up. Plan is to hope for good sap through this weekend and pull the plug. Don't want to take a chance on bad sap and ropey syrup.

[Diesel Pro]

Looking at the buds there's not much to worry about-yet. The silver yard trees on the other hand are popping like crazy.

We are going good this week now with 200 gallons since Saturday afternoon on 80 taps running 14-17" natural vacuum. I ordered a shurflo and will try to rig it and see how it does. At the very least it will be helpful for flushing the lines.

[Diesel Pro]

Down into the 20's again last night into his morning. I did not track how long it was cold for though, but I expect we'll see respectable runs again today and likely through the weekend.

[cedar syrups]

hope we can have a couple more days like yesterday 230 gals on bags from 200 taps which kind of sucks but my shurflos on 230 taps produced 460 gals hope for a couple of more decent runs

[flying squirrel maple]

Was hoping for a lot more sap, 400 gallons from 250 taps. Some full some very little. Weird.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[markcasper]

I guess I should be thankful.....it has not been too bad considering how much was missed if a guy was tapped in February. The bags I tapped a week ago this past Sunday have been a bust, however. Only gathered them a few times, getting a run the day we tapped them and then yesterday. The syrup quality has been fantastic this year. I made alot of super nice light syrup last week and on into Monday when it turned to medium. Yesterdays sap was going south FAST. I forced myself to gather it and stay up for a 2nd night in a row to get it ran through. It was 65 degrees sap coming into the RO. The concentrate tank was just steaming. No foul smells, no bud yet, but the syrup did go to dark amber.

Not sure how long will have left. The sap sugar is down to 1.5% which sucks, but at least its been holding at that. Vacuum keeps bringing in 1-2 gallons a day regardless.

[Diesel Pro]

Flow continues to be good at 100 gallons from 80 taps on 3/16 in past 24hrs.

[jbelany]

Things are still looking good in Ashland County. Over the last three days we have gathered 2 gallons per tap on bags. Sap is nice and clear yet. Garage was empty by Monday morning, three cans now full and weather looks good for more to be hauled. Probably a couple of nights of burning the midnight oil!

Joe

[Rhino]

Tuesdays 60 degree temps. Yielded a gallon a tap on bags. Have to finish collecting this morning yet then with the cooler temps I will let bags fill up (hopefully ) and do a last collection saturday. Yesterday's run was spotty for me. Some taps good... some nothing.

[Rhino]

Finished what I had left of the bags to do at noon. With temps only getting to 31 last night all taps were just not doing much. I have a feeling saturday will be just a tap and bag pulling day with no collection. Will be a poor year for me. Neighbor to my woods on high vacuum is at half a crop so that kinda tells a story on how bags/buckets did in our area.

[Jeff E]

Hi gang, it has been a while.
I echo all the comments, as of now, I am at about 50-60% of an average year. I did tap 1/2 my woods, about 1200 taps, in Mid Feb and made about 150 gallons of syrup in Feb. That was a first.
Last 3 days pulling about 1/2 gallon per tap per day. Sugar has dropped from 2.1 to 1.6. All medium and dark syrup. Good flavors, so I'm happy with the quality.
Maybe freeze tonight?!?!

One positive for me, the syrup has been really clean. not much niter, easy filtering.

I plan on going through the weekend with vac running, and deciding on Sunday night if I keep it on for next week.

Best of luck with a strong finish, and a easy clean up.

[Diesel Pro]

Finished what I had left of the bags to do at noon. With temps only getting to 31 last night all taps were just not doing much. I have a feeling saturday will be just a tap and bag pulling day with no collection. Will be a poor year for me. Neighbor to my woods on high vacuum is at half a crop so that kinda tells a story on how bags/buckets did in our area.

I'm seeing 30° tonight, 25° Friday night and 30° Saturday night forecast for Merrill WI.

[Rhino]

Was hoping for adequate sap in the bags the last 2 days but wasn't meant to be. I'm gonna pull the pin tomorrow and finish off what's in the evaporator. Holds 200 gallons of concentrate and usually flat pans off 40 gallons of syrup. Next year i gotta get line system back up and running. To much time spent chasing around the woods for not much yield.

[markcasper]

If I were you I wouldn't be so quick to throw in the towel, I think there'd be more especially that far north. I have not heard a frog yet down here, so that should be encouraging. And absolutely no bud or anything off flavor as of Friday morning down here, that may change quickly, but so far nothing.

[Austin351]

Sap finally broke loose here today, first real run I've seen this year. At this rate, thinking bags will be over a gallon in 24hrs or less.

[TwoSaps]

Sap is still running pretty well up here in the far north. Collected 90 gallons on 35 taps to buckets last week. Sap nice and clear, made 2.5 gallons of tasty, dark amber syrup on Saturday. Final yield was reduced a bit when I spilled at least a quart of liquid gold into the fire. Waaaaahhhhhh! Not quite like losing a child, but . . .

[Jeff E]

This morning I heard a single peeper at 6am.
I will be listening tonight...

Sugar content on vacuum dropped again. 1.3 % yesterday. Ouch.
Not sure how I feel about making syrup that may be buddy at a 67 to 1 ratio!

[Diesel Pro]

Had a minor miscue with my sap buyer. I had intended to keep the contents of the lower tank and only sell the upper but I forgot to communicate this to him. So 370 gallons from Sunday thru Thursday run from 80 taps. Friday eve I arrived late and added my sap sucker to test. There was about 80 gallons in the tank from the Friday run. Friday night saw a nice freeze and when thawed I restarted the pump and ran all day again. Saturday night saw a nice run up to a bit over 200 gallons total so I pumped it up in prep for our Sunday cook. Saturday night saw another mild freeze and when thawed I started the pump again and ran the majority of the day. When we finished cooking I took out the pump and reconnected the 3/16 lines to the tank and left things roll. Buyer will handle whatever comes from this week, then I wil pull the taps, flush the lines and put things away for the season.

[Dave Nielsen]

I heard a few peepers last night... Not sure if we're done yet. Maybe we'll get a frog run if it freezes the next few nights. We'll see if it amounts to anything worth the time and firewood... We plan on pulling taps this weekend.

[Jeff E]

I heard a few as well Dave. I have everything in the woods shut down, but thought I would turn the Vac back on if we get a freeze on Wednesday night. Then run it into the evaporator. At least I will get the last of the good syrup out, and maybe get lucky and make some more good stuff, or if it goes buddy, shut it down.

Overall, a decent year for you? I am at about 65% of average, mostly medium and dark syrup.

[Dave Nielsen]

Kinda what I was thinking, Jeff. If we get the forecasted freeze, we'll haul it in and cook as long as it tastes good. We've got nothing to lose at this point. As far as the year goes... a bit disappointing, about 5.5 gallons of sap per tap so far. Sugar content started out well over 2 but has been steadily dropping. We actually had one tank load that tested over 4, but that was early on with a lot of ice in the bags. Last time I checked it was around 1.5. Most of what we made this year was light and medium, with the last stuff being dark. I'm sold on the 3/16 tubing, so we'll be doing more of that next year. I'm already shopping for an RO... Maybe I need therapy??

[Rhino]

Trying to read forum threads and watch youtube videos about 3/16th lines for high vacuum. The way I take it is if you have some flat acreage of trees but then a steeper slope....it would be the best situation for it to work..?? Do I have that right or is it a steep slope from start to end? Also what's the minimum length of lateral from last tap to tank. After reading some great reports on traders of Wisconsin producers who use it and did well I gotta get more educated. My woods are flat ...then 30' to 40' slopes before it's flat again or hits the creek.

[Diesel Pro]

First year for me. Mine is relatively flat in fact with my hastily installed zig zag pattern I have some that might actually incline from tree to tree. My drop comes right at the end of the line. I did tap some on the slope which is said to be a bit counter productive, but it works anyhow.

Now the question is how much damage are the squirrels going to do to me...

[WI Sugarpop]

Our woods is on the top and side of a hill. So we start on top with 5 lines and zig zag down hill to the tote. 40 foot drop. We pick up trees all the way down. A tree on the line is better than one with a bag. We don't worry about a Guage on top. It is what it is and we check for leaks if we see a lot of air bubbles. This is our second year and have outstanding results. Wish we could put all our trees on 3/16. We collected 2850 gal on 116 taps which made over 70 gal of syrup. It comes out to 24.6 gal/tap with out a pump. No tree rat damage at all with the standard blue tubing.

[motowbrowne]

Trying to read forum threads and watch youtube videos about 3/16th lines for high vacuum. The way I take it is if you have some flat acreage of trees but then a steeper slope....it would be the best situation for it to work..?? Do I have that right or is it a steep slope from start to end? Also what's the minimum length of lateral from last tap to tank. After reading some great reports on traders of Wisconsin producers who use it and did well I gotta get more educated. My woods are flat ...then 30' to 40' slopes before it's flat again or hits the creek.

Either way works. The beauty of the 3/16 tubing is that it's essentially a siphon, so provided that the end of the line is lower than the beginning (preferably lots lower) it'll run regardless of what happens in the middle. I've got lines that go up and down or run right on the ground. Works like a charm. Squirrel damage is a serious problem for me. Hooking the lines to a Shurflo pump made finding leaks a million times easier. Purely anecdotal, but the h2o innovations green tubing didn't incur a single chew, whereas the 30p required daily repair. The green stuff is also much easier to diagnose because it's more transparent. My number is 715-222-3237 if you want to chat about 3/16. This is only my second year with any installed and first year with 300 on it, but it really works. I'm approaching 20 gallons of sap per tap on mine.

[Rhino]

Thanks for all the input! One thing I seen on youtube or read about was one guy skipped the trees on the slope and just had those taps on regular 5/16 lines and let gravity flow those lines to the same tank as the the 3/16 lines from up above On the flats or way up the slope. I guess the reasoning is they want that long lateral to be as full and pulling as hard as it is possable from the last tap. The green color being more rodent free is a nice tip also. Thanks again!!

[jmayerl]

I heard a few as well Dave. I have everything in the woods shut down, but thought I would turn the Vac back on if we get a freeze on Wednesday night. Then run it into the evaporator. At least I will get the last of the good syrup out, and maybe get lucky and make some more good stuff, or if it goes buddy, shut it down.

Overall, a decent year for you? I am at about 65% of average, mostly medium and dark syrup.

Might want to check your tanks....I pumped out on Sunday afternoon and shut down for the year, no freeze in 7 days and the sap that came out Saturday was milky colored from trees...... Still made great syrup. Fast forward to tonight and I stopped in the woods to get something I left behind and the tanks ar running over with no vacuum on...wtf! Guess I'll cook tomorrow and see if it's any good. This is by Green Bay

[markcasper]

I just got done cooking on the overnight. This sap was from almost 2 days worth and I had 2900 gallons. It was cloudy but other than that I gave it a whirl, low sugar at 1.3 - 1.4 and it made some very good tasting super dark syrup. I have left the pumps run non stop and am planning to until Friday or Saturday the way it looks now. There is no buddy that I can tell, and if there is it is being covered up by the stronger flavor. The flue pan doesn't smell that good when boiling, but such is typical with the end of season stuff. Not sure why some have the shut pumps off to wait for the next freeze, I'd think it'd be better to keep the stuff moving in those lines.

I'll for sure go through Thursday. When I went to fetch the last load last night I heard the frog chorus going on over by the creek, the night before there was nothing, so they just started last night down here. I guess some BTO's (big time operators) have thrown the towel in over the past few days, maybe they have made too much money this year??

[Sapboy]

My plan is the same as Marks. Pumps have been running non stop and have actually been getting decent runs of sap considering we've had only one light freeze in the last two weeks. Syrup has been mostly dark the last few days but still has excellent flavor. With the possible freeze coming tomorrow night I'll hold on a few more days and see what happens. As long as they keep giving sap that makes good tasting syrup I'm happy and thankful to take it. I have no interest in making bud syrup but I'll stay in the game until I get to that point.

[motowbrowne]

I'm in the same boat. Gonna cook after lunch. Sap is cloudy, but tastes good. It ran good yesterday as the rain moved out and the sun came through. Not much happening now. If we get a freeze tonight and tomorrow night I think we'll get some sap at least until the weekend. I'll planning on cooking Saturday maybe for the last time. I'm only a few hundred gallons of sap away from .5gpt, so I'm very very happy.

[markcasper]

I am pretty sure this weekend things are going to pop. The multitude of cloudy days this season has no doubt held the buds off (cloudy again today). I'm thinking 3 days in a row of 60's and sun will more than do this season in. Tubing sap is not going to look pretty after that AND the sugar is virtually the lowest I have ever seen besides at the close of the 2012 season.

[S.S.S]

Boiled 3900 gallons of cloudy sap this afternoon and was the second lightest syrup made all year.. I couldn't beleave it. 67% light transmittance with photometer.

[S.S.S]

16341. Cloudy sap produced second lightest syrup of season

[Austin351]

I'm still in the game! Left on Monday morning, came back this afternoon expecting a cloudy and/or spoiled mess. Just did a test boil and it's good! Dismal season for me regardless but nice to know I can still get a couple more gallons.....

[Jeff E]

sss-how was you flavor on the light stuff?
I usually end the season making light syrup that has an unusual flavor. My copper gets shiny as well as the sap/syrup get a lower PH-acidic.
I am expecting to see that tonight or tomorrow when I boil.
I got about 700 gallons of cloudy sap yesterday, expect about the same today, and will most likely pull sap tonight and tomorrow. See if syrup has any value.
Expecting a FOAMY boil!

[Dave Nielsen]

We brought in a couple hundred gallons of cloudy sap yesterday and boiled it down last night. We didn't have any problems with excessive foam or off odors while boiling. The syrup came out dark with a nice strong maple flavor... there just wasn't very much of it due to the low sugar. We'll cook what we bring in this afternoon and call it a season.

[S.S.S]

This syrup had a fantastic flavor. I was really shocked it was so light and flavor was great.

[wilfredjr]

Ice out yesterday; sap still clear and flow increase with overnight in 20's thursday; tapped a few extra upland sugars to gain some traction on gallons for crucial final boil and pulled the taps on the reds by the water with immanent buds. Brix remains 2.3, same as Feb. I will never tap February again.

[Diesel Pro]

Sold what sap I had on Friday as buyer is shutting down for the season. Sap is still running. Tank was above 125 gallons and still rolling. Likely to have 200 tomorrow but I'm done cooking. I have one more buyer to check with but if I can't find a buyer I'll give it away or worse yet dump it. It's been hanging in at 1.6.

[markcasper]

I boiled the last for the season overnight. I ended up getting 2700 gallons of sap between Friday and Saturday. Made good old fashioned commercial. My north slope bush of 260 taps ran gangbusters and was still running good when I killed the pump at 7 pm last night. Those 260 ran 1100 of those gallons between the 2 days. The last couple of draws lightened way up but the smell was something undescribable. Overall I did pretty good considering all of the February syrup that I wasn't able to get because I wasn't ready that early. I came in with around 2/3 of a gallon per tap. I'd of been darn close to a gallon of syrup per tap I believe if I would have had them tapped early. also was pretty happy with the quality, have a nice mix of all grades this season

The sugar last night was down to 1.2% which is the lowest that I have ever closed with. Alot of hours just to get another 35 gallons of commercial, oh well. I will boil the flue pan out tomorrow, pull the membrane and then start flushing lines this week.

[Diesel Pro]

I'm pulling and flushing today is the plan. Hated to do it, but 150 gallons left on the ground...

[SugarCampAmateur]

Hello All,
I'm new posting to the forum, but have been enjoying reading everyone's posts for several years now. I'm wondering if anyone has tapped yet north of Hwy 8? My sons and I have been doing a very small hobby operation north of Rhinelander near Sugar Camp for a few years now. I felt we tapped too early last year with the bout of warm weather we had in February, and then by the time the run really started in March our taps really didn't run well. So we're trying to game the weather and tap at the very last minute and hopefully not miss too much. Any suggestions or observations from anyone tapping in Oneida County or north of Hwy 8 would be greatly appreciated!
Happy Tapping,
Rick

[Mikeh]

Hi Rick, I'm in Rhinelander and I just put out 4 test taps. It is way too early (I think) but the forecast looks pretty "normal" for sap flow in my mind. They weren't dripping so I'll just watch them and see.

In the past I've tapped way too early (Feb thaws) and I didn't seem to get reduced flow later in the season. I'm on buckets so that helps. My suspicion is that tapping early when the trees might still be asleep means the tap holes won't start healing either. I'm not gutsy enough to tap trees in January to test that theory though.

[Bowhunting Guy]

Thanks for the report, Mike. I’m 10 miles northwest of Rhinelander and am really on the fence with when to tap as well. Debating between this weekend and next. Keep the reports coming! Anyone else in the north woods have any thoughts?

[Sap Hound]

I’m new to posting on this site, been a member for a while now. Been tapping in Marquette and Green Lake counties and there hasn’t been much to speak of for sap yet. 100 on vac, 75 on sap sacks as of now

[southfork]

It is running well today in Rhinelander on high vacuum. Looking at the forecast, if I was using buckets or bags I would hold off tapping at least one more week.

[SugarCampAmateur]

Many thanks for the input everyone! Time for some test buckets for me as well.

[southfork]

From my past experience, I do not think any of you would really be tapping too early, but tap holes will be drying by April 15th, at least in most years. Every bush is different, and of course depends somewhat on your ability to process small amounts of sap should all your trees not be running. I hope everyone has an enjoyable season.

[SugarCampAmateur]

Southfork, I'm curious what you and others think about how long a freshly drilled tap hole can remain active before it starts to heal and slow production? I've read here that vacuum systems heal less quickly than gravity drains (like mine) do, but how many weeks do most experienced folks think? I was very surprised and excited at the same time to hear you are pulling some sap already on vacuum.

[southfork]

I tapped on buckets(700) for about 13 years. Rhinelander tapping time varied from late February to about March 10th. Almost by the clock our tap holes would dry up and spiles loosen by mid April. It seemed tap hole drying from yeast, bacteria, etc was more a function of temperature and maybe sunlight, than simply number of days. Most of the bacteria and yeast grows late in the season, not so much in February. Around April 15th on buckets it was pretty tough to keep moths and other bugs from the sap, bags do better.

Tubing creates more of a closed system with less air exposure, this too slows bacteria and yeast growth so tends to extend the tap use by an additional two weeks or so, into late April, maybe early May in some years. Insects also are not a concern in a closed system. Consequently, sometimes sap production on high vac lasts until the sap is actually too buddy and poor quality, IMO. Much has been written about late season syrup production, so I will not join that argument.

I am no expert, have 5000 taps on high vac and concentrate is processed by Wes Schoepke at Maple Hollow in Merrill.

[SugarCampAmateur]

Thank you Southfork. Much appreciated. I will definitely tap this weekend even though next weeks weather is a cooling trend, things are starting to break lose.

[southfork]

Good luck, this weekend will not be too early.

[Zucker Lager]

Many thanks for the input everyone! Time for some test buckets for me as well.

Hey Sugar Camp Amateur: You must be in the deep southern part of Sugar Camp ha ha Kidding aside. I'm thinking about two or three weeks before we tap on Sand Lake road. I've been tapping around the second week of March as an average. Friends of ours start earlier and get some results but flow seems to start and stop for them depending on temperatures until later in the month. Now today with the snow and daytime temps going below freezing again will probably shut down anything that started with those few warm days we had. I did plow my logging road yesterday so I'm getting ready also Good luck everyone and Happy Sapping Jay

[SugarCampAmateur]

Hi Jay, Funny, Yup I am about seven miles south of you, haa, ha, I'm east of Hwy 17 off Rolling Acres Rd. Your insight is interesting. I guess I'm just nervous and don't want to miss anything. We had a really poor season last year and I don't really know why. We tapped early like during the February heat wave, then things cooled off and locked down, when the trees did come back to run in March we seemed to have a really weak run and didn't know why. How did your February and March run go last year? How does your sugar bush look at this point? Ours is still very winter like with lots of snow on the ground yet and frost in the ground, but a few more warm days like we have forecast could change a lot pretty fast.

[Bowhunting Guy]

Thanks for the info guys. I’m going to do a few test taps this weekend and see how it goes. I’m running strictly on buckets, which creates a bit of a challenge in the knee deep snow. Will report again after the weekend.

Good luck to all!

[Zucker Lager]

Hi Jay, Funny, Yup I am about seven miles south of you, haa, ha, I'm east of Hwy 17 off Rolling Acres Rd. Your insight is interesting. I guess I'm just nervous and don't want to miss anything. We had a really poor season last year and I don't really know why. We tapped early like during the February heat wave, then things cooled off and locked down, when the trees did come back to run in March we seemed to have a really weak run and didn't know why. How did your February and March run go last year? How does your sugar bush look at this point? Ours is still very winter like with lots of snow on the ground yet and frost in the ground, but a few more warm days like we have forecast could change a lot pretty fast.
OK right behind Jenny Webber Lake. A friend on Mill Lake, did exactly what you did last year and had the same issues. I missed that first early run then tapped two weeks later on March 20 and all were dry for almost another week then when sap started running it was very weak. The daytime temps were just barely over freezing most days. I only had one week of collecting before I had to pull taps early to go visit family down south. When the sap was running here it wasn't as good as past years so it may have been the weather / cold temps? but tap holes do dry up so later in the run that could have been the issue for you? When I plowed the woods two days ago the ground was muddy already even under two feet of snow. Fun stuff hey Jay

[SugarCampAmateur]

Thanks Jay, that's interesting to hear you observed similar things last year. I was also interested to hear you're tapping all Red's, as I am also. I really look forward to sharing notes with everyone over the next month to see what happens! Have a great weekend, Rick.

[Ma98tron]

Do you think this weekend would be good to tap even through it’s gonna get cold again next week?

[Zucker Lager]

Had some friends over visiting last night from down under (Wausau) and he yelled at me for not being tapped in yet.............He says early tapping is just fine if you don't mind small batches and on and off runs. I might just change my mind and tap early just to see what is going on, at least a couple trees? Will have to get out the snowshoes if that happens its at least 2 feet back in the woods. These warm spells sure are tempting us hey? Wonder if Bowhunting Guy is getting any? Jay

[southfork]

Early tapping is all about your ability and desire to process potentially small and inconsistent runs. Many rigs and RO's require a certain amount of sap to operate efficiently. Also, some just prefer a shorter season, if so, no hurry on tapping.

[sbingham]

Well said Southfork.
I tap 100 or so trees, we cook on a 2x5 Smoky Lake hybrid - need at least 100 gallons of sap before I even think about firing.
These warm temps are just a teaser.
I plan to tap next weekend, hopefully the snow level drops a bit by then - still knee deep here in northern Rusk County.
Best wishes to all for a great season!

[SugarCampAmateur]

Hey Everyone, we went ahead and tapped 85 reds on Saturday just north of Rhinelander near Sugar Camp and most holes were wet and dripping. By the end of the day Saturday most taps were dripping steadily. My son measured an average sugar content of 2.1 across a couple dozen trees he sampled with a refractometer. As expected with the cool weather things shut down right quick yesterday, but at least now we are ready for whenever the weather turns. Many thanks for all the input and updates everyone has contributed to this thread.

[Bgreisch]

I tapped 17 trees Friday morning at our cabin near Merrill, they were dripping Friday afternoon and collected 3 gallons from them Saturday morning before I left. Probably could of waited a week but went ahead with it. Doesn't look like it will be dripping this week, but next week temps are looking good. The sap collected had a yellow stained tint to it that you did not see in the little bit in the bucket but when it was all poured in one bucket was noticeable does anyone else noticed this. I want to say last year was kind of like that also in the beginning then it ran clear the following week.
Bryan

2017 1st yr 7 taps on Drop lines to buckets, 1.5 gallons.
2018 2nd yr 17 taps on drop lines to buckets.

[Sap Hound]

I’ve notice that some buckets, even though they are white will give the sap a different tint than the next white bucket.

[TwoSaps2]

I put 45 taps in Manitowish Waters area over the weekend. Flow almost non-existent. Had maybe 3 gallons by Sunday morning. Still 2 1/2 feet of snow on the ground.

[G263]

Tapped 60 trees in the Star Lake area over the weekend. All were dripping even on Sunday with out sun. Yes, snowshoes and snowmobile required. Good work out.

[Bowhunting Guy]

I took the plunge on Sunday, and got my 70 taps in. To my surprise the majority of the trees were dripping pretty well. Probably accumulated a few gallons of sap throughout the afternoon. Not that I needed any more proof, but I realized how bad of shape I’m in after trudging through the 2-3ft of snow. Snowshoes may be on the list for next year.

10 miles NW of Rhinelander. Hoping to have enough to boil by next weekend. Good luck; keep the reports coming!

[cedar syrups]

Started tapping yesterday all 3/16 tubing to much snow have to have snowshoes, sap ran a little but will finish with tapping 400 before I put my shurflo pumps out. Looks like end of this week it could run but still cold forecast, hope to be done tapping by then

[Bowhunting Guy]

After having by buckets out for two weeks, I was disappointed to find little to no sap ran. A couple buckets had maybe a gallon, but many were bone dry. I really expected it to run over the weekend which it surprisingly did not. Has anyone else had similar results?

[Daveya]

I'm in northeastern Wisconsin and all I have had running is box elder. The ground is still frozen and even the silver maples are doing nothing unless they are in direct sun. Later this week looks good.

[Zucker Lager]

Drove 5 test taps in my typically early risers on the 12th all were bone dry trudged through 2 feet of snow to get to them. Still nothing even though some in my area reported sap flow earlier in the month! Like some here are saying "thought we would see something these few warm days" Still dry. One thing I did notice was when I drilled it felt different.............harder? like drilling through hickory, maybe the wood is still frozen? Jay

[TwoSaps]

We are having similar experience. We put in about 40 taps two weeks ago, and gave a grand total of about 6 gallons. There is still about 20" of snow in the woods by us, and I suspect that the ground is just too frozen to allow much moisture flow back into the tree after initial tapping. As an earlier post noted, the roots probably extend down below frost line, but the moisture still needs to pass through the frozen zone in order to make it into the trunk (and our buckets). So I'm thinking that the surface soil needs to thaw enough to allow some moisture into the roots -- maybe at least a few inches? But I'm practically a rookie, so this is just a theory. Come on Mr. Sun!

[G263]

We have 60 trees tapped. Tapped all on March 3rd. Eight of the 60 in more sunny spots had 1.5 to 2.5 gallons in the pail. Some of the rest had about an inch in the bottom. Going to boil this weekend. All was mostly frozen in the pails. Will be melting ice first. As far as the ground being frozen i don't think there is as much frost as you think under the snow. The snow is an insulator.

Sayner / Star Lake area.

[Trapper2]

Tigerton / Wittenberg area. Its not running any better down here. I got less than 20 gallons out of 80 taps this past Friday and Saturday. A local excavator told me he was digging for a basement and there was over 5 feet of frost (very little snow here) in the ground yet. The National weather Service is showing anywhere from 2'- 4' of frost in the center of the state in nonsnow covered areas.

[TwoSaps2]

Looking for recent activity in vilas county. We put in about 50 taps 3 weeks ago in Manitowish Waters area. Last weekend they were barely flowing. I don't live there, come up on weekends to cook. Is it flowing enough that I'll be able to cook this weekend? Hope so.

[cedar syrups]

weather still sucks, to cold made a small batch Monday from 500 taps just to make sure my ro was ready for the season had like 325 gals of sap and made approx 8 gals of really good syrup. Looks like maybe this weekend and then next week it might run, but this depends on what the lake superior has to say about that as I,m only 5 miles from it

[BackofBeyondJim]

I'm back in southern WI after a week of collecting less than a gallon a day from the 11 trees I tapped on my land east of Phillips. Sunny days and daytime temps in the 30s and 40s didn't much change the 20 or so inches of snow on the ground, other than making the crust harder. I should have waited to start but I can't stay past the point where my access road becomes a quagmire. (A logging job this winter kept the road open in spite of the snow.) I'm betting the next week will be good though I won't be there. At least I enjoyed the 50 common redpolls at my bird feeder, the stars and sound of wolves at night.

A few more taps (and close attention to the posts here) will be in order next year, and likely a start later in the season. The question is whether I'll figure this out before I get too old to handle all the manual effort required! ;)

[deitzd]

I put in my 53 taps today. It was running good. I have 3 lines that meet in the middle. I tapped the trees on the high side first and by the time I got the last tree tapped on the low side the sap was running out of it on the ground. Turned on the pump in the middle and......... away we go.

[Zucker Lager]

Checked my test taps again yesterday one bucket maybe a pint the others bone dry. Snow depth is down a little now easier tapping once things start. Years past things would be running by now.....................Like Twosaps says "come on Mr. Sun" !!!!! Jay

[TwoSaps]

Everything is still pretty frozen where we are near the UP. Collected a grand total of 2 gallons of sap from 64 taps during the day on Saturday (about 38 degrees for a high). Many of these are big mama trees out in the sun. Still well over a foot of snow. No wonder the trees grow so slowly up here. Over the past 3 weeks, we collected 29 gallons of sap total, which was frozen solid in the buckets. Amazingly, this was such high sugar content, it yielded 1.5 gallons of medium amber syrup. Good luck with the warm-up this week. Finally.

[SugarCampAmateur]

Same thing to report in our woods near Sugar Camp. We see a little drip here and there in the middle of the day, but its just so cold at night. Maybe the warm weather this week will finally loosen things up. We still have not boiled yet.

[TwoSaps]

Same thing to report in our woods near Sugar Camp. We see a little drip here and there in the middle of the day, but its just so cold at night. Maybe the warm weather this week will finally loosen things up. We still have not boiled yet.

I'm almost embarrassed to share this, but what the heck. A week ago I did an experiment by actually shoveling around one of our trees in the woods, to see if having the sun able to warm the ground during the day might make any difference. It's nice and clear there, with no snow. Of course it did not help sap flow, but the deer probably love the nice dry bed. My brother suggested that I shovel around every tree. Hence the name, "TwoSaps."

[G263]

We collected in our opinion, 70 gallons liquid equivalent, frozen solid sap, from 60 trees on Saturday. We tapped on March 3rd and this was our first collection. Most trees the rest of the weekend dripped a dixie cup or two. However one or two tree's in the open had about a gallon or so in the pail. We melted the sap in turkey fryers and boiled anyway. We will be watching the weather also this week.

[markcasper]

It is the deep frost in the ground this year guys! Some on here have said frost in the ground does not matter, to them i ask what are they smoking!? Just as some on here have stated that RO's and vacuum tubing have no attribution to the increased supply of finished syrup on the market. To them I ask, what are they smoking?

[MapleSmith]

I'm in the Minocqua area and very new to tapping maple trees. Last year I had no issues. Had pretty good flow from all trees I tapped. This year I have had very little sap from every tree so far. Okay flow the first day or two but now I'm lucky to get anything at all. Am I early? Late? Or is this just a very bad year? Anyone in the area having similar problems so far this year?

[Diesel Pro]

It is the deep frost in the ground this year guys! Some on here have said frost in the ground does not matter, to them i ask what are they smoking!? Just as some on here have stated that RO's and vacuum tubing have no attribution to the increased supply of finished syrup on the market. To them I ask, what are they smoking?

I have seen marginal flows so far. Typically the trees to the south do best. I recently added a tree on the edge of the field (furthest south) and it really hasn't done squat. I have to think that the frost probably went deeper there as the snow cover always is deepest back in the woods.



I'm in the Minocqua area and very new to tapping maple trees. Last year I had no issues. Had pretty good flow from all trees I tapped. This year I have had very little sap from every tree so far. Okay flow the first day or two but now I'm lucky to get anything at all. Am I early? Late? Or is this just a very bad year? Anyone in the area having similar problems so far this year?

Another week or two would be my guess for that far north. We have property in Hazelhurst, but do not tap it. Mostly oak and pine although we do have an awesome deep drop if we had enough maples to tap a run.

FWIW the WI river was iced over as far as could be seen from Bridge st in Wausau and WW in Brokaw this past weekend.

[Bgreisch]

I have 17 taps outs this year at our cabin near Merrill hoping to make more syrup than I did last year with my 7 taps for a couple weeks. But so far for the 4 weeks they have been out I have made just barely made over a gallon of syrup. Very slow going. I had stopped in at maple hollow yesterday to get some filters and they said it has been very slow before this past week but it started coming in nice this week. I would of thought with the warm up this week that it would of started flowing more but not really, since Saturday I only had about 15 gallons of sap collected this week. I was hoping for almost full buckets. Now with the snow and cold week ahead looks like it will be a bit without any flow.

[G263]

We collected another 40-45 gallons since Saturday the 24th. (from 60 taps) Good thing for the 2 days of temps on Wednesday & Thursday. Total collected so far for the year about 90 gallons. Boiled yesterday, bottled a gallon & a pint of really light amber. Looks like the weather will not cooperate for a week or so to boil again.

[TwoSaps2]

Was in Vilas county last Monday through Friday, after buckets sat for 5 days. With 66 taps out, collected a total of about 48 gallons of sap. Sugar content must be pretty high. Cooked about 1.5 gallons, but still flowing much slower than expected. Neighbor said they got close to 12" of snow between Friday & Saturday, temps not cooperating. Had a few trees cranking pretty good, most real slow.

[cedar syrups]

Just looking at the next 2 week forecast it really looks good Maybe just Maybe we will have a descent season after all 40s and a couple of 50s and still mid 20s at night I hope they are right

[TwoSaps]

The few warmish days last week in the far north gave us 67 gallons on about 60 taps. Not great, but the sugar content was still excellent -- about 27:1 sap to finished syrup ratio. Produced a nice medium amber. Maybe we'll get one more good run this coming week before it starts getting janky.

[jbelany]

Six miles south of Ashland and still fighting snow. Managed to get 36 taps/bags hung; last week added 20 more. Over 2 1/2 weeks we've collected 3 times and have made 3 3/4 gallons of medium gold syrup so far. Sugar content has been very high, with 3% or better on red maples; first collection was 3.8%.

The winch on the sap hauling 4-wheeler has had it's share of work this year. Certainly hope that the forecast of real spring weather comes through soon.

Joe

18557

[Bgreisch]

Went up Friday night collected about 40 gallons, the new taps I had put in a week ago ran nice compared to the old taps. Made just over a gallon of syrup. Left for home before the storm hit hard Saturday night.

2017 - 1.5 gallons on 7 taps
2018 - just over 2 gallons so far on 17 original taps and added 5 more new ones.

[TwoSaps]

Anyone with a good method for cleaning the sap boiling pans? For us, "stainless" steel, isn't.

[Austin351]

Anyone with a good method for cleaning the sap boiling pans? For us, "stainless" steel, isn't.

Search on the evaporator thread, there are a lot of different ways. Vinegar / water seems pretty popular. Easy off Oven Cleaner works but obviously you need to rinse very well. some people let sap spoil in the pan for 3 or so months then rinse, there is commercial products as well.

[cedar syrups]

looks like maybe the season has started and it looks like it wont last long we had our best run yesterday and still wasn't what it should have been collected 250 gall of of 520 trees all on tubing and vacuum. Will have to see what today and tomorrow bring but I don't hold out for much more with the 60s in the forecast and no freezing. Just wondering what everyone else up hear at doing. To my way of thinking we should have gotten at least 500 gals or more yesterday got down to 28 last night and supposed to get to 56 today perfect and sunny. we will see

[cedar syrups]

looks like maybe the season has started and it looks like it wont last long we had our best run yesterday and still wasn't what it should have been collected 250 gall of of 520 trees all on tubing and vacuum. Will have to see what today and tomorrow bring but I don't hold out for much more with the 60s in the forecast and no freezing. Just wondering what everyone else up hear are doing. To my way of thinking we should have gotten at least 500 gals or more yesterday, got down to 28 last night and supposed to get to 56 today perfect and sunny still have lots of snow. we will see& hope?

[Jeff E]

Yeah, my production is way down. Old tap holes I think for me. I put mine in late Feb, early March.
getting about 1/2 G per tap yesterday. Thought it would be double, triple that.

It is what it is....the moto of old sappers.

[G263]

Collected only 20 gallons since 4-14. Nested the 20 in the shade in a snowbank to hold it for the final boil next week. Hoping for a better collection this upcoming week.

[Jeff E]

Now it’s about a quart per tap on what seems like a good day. North slopes and valleys still have 15” of snow.
I will hang around and see what we get for a few day. Plenty of time to clean the syrup pan!

[Bgreisch]

This past weekend collected 60 gallons and made about 1.5 gal of syrup. If I would not of added 5 more taps a few weeks ago to the 17 I tapped beginning of march I would not of had as much the past couple weeks. The old taps are still flowing but not at the pace the new ones are. I made more syrup in the past 2 weeks than I did all of march. We will see what we get yet this week probably not much but will be calling it a season and pulling the taps next weekend.

2017 - 7 taps 1.5 gallons
2018 - 22 taps so far 3.5 gallons.

[TwoSaps2]

Collected about 100 gallons on about 60 taps this past weekend. They were still flowing, but pulled all the gear. Called it a season. Ended with about 7.5 gallons

[Joe Bob]

Between 4/15 and 4/20 I got about 110 gallons of sap from 50 taps. I collected on Saturday morning and spent the rest of the day and Sunday boiling. A few of my maples that are out in the open have buds that look close to opening. I considered pulling the bags from those but will see how they look when I return next weekend.

A lot of my forest trees barely have buds and there is still 12"-14" of snow on the ground. The trees were running strong this past weekend. The forecast has a couple of lows below freezing this week so I think I will have enough to work with next weekend. That will be the end of the season for me.