2018 Tapping

[markjustinmoore]

Looking at the forecast it looks like next week may end up being a good one to tap. Anyone else planning to tap or am I just jumping the gun?

[White Crow]

your lucky, 30 below zero today in upstate NY

[buckeye gold]

I think once this extended deep freeze is over the temps will swing just as radically upward and yes there will be sap to get. The bigger question is if it will start an early season. A few years ago we had a December like this and by mid-january it warmed up and I tapped and was making syrup everyday, then it turned back cold in February and I sat for three weeks at a frozen stand still. Then it warmed way up and we had a 10 day sap tsunami and the season was over. I hope it warms and stays cool. I have some fall taps out that I will just keep working into late January, as I think they will be fine since I only had them out a week before the deep freeze. I look for it to warm and stay that way until late season then have a cold March. For Kentucky my guess is you should be ready to go soon as the trend swings. I'm guessing I'll have all taps in by third week of January

[bluegrassbumpkins]

We are planning to tap this Sunday if the forecast doesn't change drastically. This is our fourth year tapping here in NKY. We are hoping to put out 45 taps and burn with a new evaporator hubby is fabricating from an old oil tank. If any veterans out there have any input as to tapping this early please let us know. We don't want to do it too early but the conditions just seem great to tap....

[buckeye gold]

bluegrass, what part of Ky are you in? Your region will make a big difference. My guess is your a bit early, but will be ok. Most people expect to get get 6 weeks out of their taps and that puts you at mid february. My season is generally over the first week of March here in southern Ohio, So I shoot for the 20-25th of January as a target and adjust according to weather. If your Northeastern Ky your about the same as me, western a little earlier and central to south a week to 10 days earlier. My best guess is wait a week, but I'm sure you'll get sap next week, but what happens is your taps start the process of healing and sap production declines as season goes on. That means when peek season comes you will already have tap holes that are slowing and it will hurt your peek production. I'm assuming your not on high vacuum with these comments, vacuum will keep you going more and so you'll do better early tapping. If you are hanging buckets or bags I'd say wait.

[bluegrassbumpkins]

We are in Northern Kentucky....Crittenden to be exact which is just about 1/2 hr south of Cincinnati. We are just on buckets as you predicted so maybe we will wait a bit longer as you suggested since we are probably about the same region as you. That would help my husband not feel so pressured to get the evaporator finished pronto. I just saw the forecast with the good freezes and the above freezing temps and got antsy but that's why it is nice to have the input. My parents are the only others that I know that tap trees but they are in MO....similar region but also fairly new to the tree tapping process. Thanks for the advice :)

[bluegrassbumpkins]

Well, we indeed did wait until now to set out our taps. We are planning on tapping tonight and Saturday in the hopes of getting them in before the ground thaws too much and we are tromping in a muddy mess! The children are super excited to use the new evaporator that should be much more efficient than in years previous. Good luck to all....I truly enjoy this season! Before we tapped trees I absolutely dreaded the outdoors in winter and avoided it at all costs but now I thrive on getting out and seeing how much sap we can collect and cook down!!

[esetter]

I tapped 10 or so wednesday . Hearing a little bit of dripping tonight. Hope the flow gets better as the ground warms. Looks like its gonna get a little too warm later in the week.

[bluegrassbumpkins]

Another question for you all that have years of experience...Should I be worried that only about half of my taps flowed over this warm-up? Do certain trees perform better year after year? Or does it vary by season? I just didn't know if the trees that didn't put out sap this year should not be tapped in future years. Is it odd for trees near eachother to perform quite drastically....for example, one fills the bucket and the other bucket is dry? Thanks for any responses and your time taken to give them!

[fisheatingbagel]

We tapped the trees at the Shelby Campus of University of Louisville on 1/20. Had good flow for a day, then warmed up. Cooled down some yesterday, today is in mid 30's. Tonight is forecast to be in upper 20's so hopefully we'll have some sap tomorrow.

[jnwill0]

Another question for you all that have years of experience...Should I be worried that only about half of my taps flowed over this warm-up? Do certain trees perform better year after year? Or does it vary by season? I just didn't know if the trees that didn't put out sap this year should not be tapped in future years. Is it odd for trees near eachother to perform quite drastically....for example, one fills the bucket and the other bucket is dry? Thanks for any responses and your time taken to give them!

I have some that are not running or not running well. I have discarded some that didn't perform well and I've also tapped them again in hopes that they would do well. I've found out that it varies by season, by tree and by time of the season. They may end up running at some point but I would make note of them for future purposes.

[bluegrassbumpkins]

Thanks for the responses. Today's flow seemed much better....most all of the trees were flowing and dripping well when we collected! Hopefully we will just continue to learn as we go. We actually burnt our first batch tonight on the new evaporator. I guess it is much more efficient than we expected! All good experiences in learning...it burnt in just the short 35 minutes we went to collect for the day:( At least it wasn't a huge batch close to finishing....we had just started so it was only about 15 gal or so. Luckily hubby thinks he welded and fixed the warped pan again to be used!

[afretired]

I’m sorry to hear of you burning a batch. It can happen in just a blink. If you have a bucket of clean water or sap sitting by you might get one ready. If things start looking bad you can dump in a bucket and buy some time.

My lines were flowing good yesterday also. I collected about 120 gallons by afternoon. I’m anxious to see how much I have this morning.

Here is a little video of how well it was running. (No sound)


https://youtu.be/AhIzwXrzt1k

[afretired]

One last thought...I have found that the acid rinse that is used to clean milking equipment, when used fairly strong sure makes cleaning a scorched pan a lot easier, and that is from a lot of experience. Sorghum scorches as fast or faster than syrup and I have thrown out several batches. Tractor Supply sells it by the gallon.

[esetter]

Wow! Awesome video!! I have collected my 25th gallon today. Trees are hit and miss? Im getting some really good flow from some and the trees right next to them that look as good or maybe even a little better are producing nothing? Hopefully the weather gets back down below freezing a couple of nights this week.

[bluegrassbumpkins]

Thanks for the suggestions and video! We love getting advise. We did get to cook the sap down Fri and got 5 quarts of pure maple sweetness! We are looking forward to another run .... it looks like next weekend will be good weather!

[esetter]

Got my 35th gallon yesterday. Did a boil down. Was really sweet! Weather looking good towards the end of the week!!

[jnwill0]

It sounds like everyone's season is going great. My sugar content has been running at 2% but I've noticed this last run has dropped a little in sugar content.

[Hartlove Farms]

We had a short flow here in Harlan, I collected another 4 & 1/2 gallons, bringing the two day total to 8 gallons. I don't think they'll flow anymore for a couple of days with this freeze coming. The sugar content has dropped to just above 1% now. I've noticed it dropping the past couple of runs and the syrup is getting a little darker, but just as sweet.

[esetter]

Im at 66 gallons collected here for the season. Had some really good flow this week. Done a couple of boil downs. Hoping for another 25 gallons or so before its over.

[esetter]

Ended up collecting 74 gallons of raw sap this season. With 10 gallons I had frozen from last year , made just shy of two gallons. Id say its over buy looking at the 10 day forecast down here!