calculating degree days

[maple flats]

Does anyone have a formula for calculating degree days as it relates to sugar maple bud break? I heard one for FTC at a training seminar that might be close but I have questions. That formula was lo temp F plus high temp F devided by 2 less 50. Did not find out when it starts or how negative answers are treated. The FTC emerges between 192 & 363 degree days which corresponds with bud break on sugar maples. If I take yesterday I get 32+52+84/2=42-50=-8. Now what? What resets the formula? For example does it re set at 14 days in succession of below freezing, or some other # or does it start and never re set until dead of winter? Tried searching on line but found nothing yet. Any ideas appreciated. I would like to figure this to know when to start looking extra close for bud break or can't it be done. I think there must be a way but this might not be the right formula to use.

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

I think a lot of it has to do with length of days and power of sun as the earth gets closer to the sun. One thing that amazes me is how much quicker the sugar maples bud in NE vs here. You will make syrup a month longer than me and you trees will probably be budded as quick as mine.

[maple flats]

Yes maybe but what is your elevation? My sugarhouse and my woods are only at 480' elev while my rented trees are another 200-300' higher. They all break bud within a day of each other. There might be a formula that exists or one we can compute that tells us when they will break bud. The formula I heard for forest tent caterpiller (FTC) seems to be missing something, but they both emerge within hours of each other most years.

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

I am around 2200 in elevation.

[maple flats]

WVM, I have a question. Are you saying that your season ends before the buds break or that you are done before the sugar maples bud but you are on reds which bud earlier?
Dave

[Maple Hill Sugarhouse]

Flats- In our local/state paper it tells you how many degree days it has been so far since_____ date. If you can look back through old papers from last year and years before AND if you knew you bud break date you should be able to come up with somewhat of a chart of what your trying to accomplish.

I've been sandbagging to see if you could get the ball rolling on your own.

It looks like there will be quite the # spread of what your trying to do and it is going to give you a spread of like a week or more??

[maple flats]

Now that sounds like a good paper. I have never seen such good info in our paper here, they just print corrections of their mistakes on the front page here.

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

My sugaring season is over usually a month before the sugar maples bud out. The reds are usually budded out by the end of the season or not long afterwards, but the sugars take about another month. I tap about 95%+ sugars, so I don't worry about the reds. It seems to me the reds I do tap bud out a little later than the ones that don't get tapped. Maybe the small amount of sap that is getting drained from them is enough to slow them down a few days.