Western Mass 2019

[Thegreg20]

Thinking about tapping in Franklin county Saturday so that I can get every drop for the start of Sunday's warm spell. 3 straight days in the 40's and the rest in mid 30's. Crossing my fingers on no more arctic blast. It's early but I'm going crazy waiting

[fred]

Jumping the gun is a good way to make less syrup

[bigschuss]

I'm at 2,000 ft. about 45 minutes west of you and my average date of first tapping is the 1st week of March. I wouldn't think of chasing warm spells and hoping for no arctic blasts. Remember last March? We got 3 major Nor-easters and temps. plummeted.

[berkshires]

I jumped the gun last year in Chester. Tapped on January 20. Wound up with half the sap per day that I've gotten previously. Not to mention all kinds of issues dealing with frozen sap. Bad decision on my part.

I'm at only 800 feet, but I still won't be tapping before late Feb at the earliest this year.

[bill m]

Last year we finished tapping about Feb. 22 ,made our first syrup on the 24th and made over 1/3 of a gallon per tap without vacuum. I'm going to wait another week and watch the weather. Not to worried about missing much this early.

[Thegreg20]

I run vacuum at an elevation of 570 ft. Looking at the projected temperatures for Feb. and march if I tap early I should have 8 days of sap leading up to Feb 21st when temps are looking more consistently warmer. Last year I tapped Feb 5th and didn't start off with good flow till I switched to vacuum (night and day difference). By April I was having a hard time keeping my sap cold enough working 14hrs a day so April was a wash. If I ran buckets I definitely wait being the avg tap life is 4 weeks, vacuum 6+. My early syrup was my best. Nice and golden. My fear of starting later is April will be a wash again but I'll try waiting approx till the 21st

[berkshires]

A few things to keep in mind about those projected early Feb days:
- Those predicted high temps in the day are just that - the high temp. In Jan and early Feb, it may only be an hour or two anywhere near that temp, coming from lower overnight temps, and with few hours of sunlight. Your trees have a lot of mass, and so does the frozen ground around them. That means they may never, or barely, defrost enough for sap to flow, no matter what the high temp for the day is.
- Frozen lines don't move sap

Probably a good choice to wait a little.

Good luck!

Cheers,

GO

[maple flats]

Besides that, the few days when the sap would run, helps increase the sugar% in the sap. More times up and down raises the sap sugar%. Besides, there is a lot of cold ahead of us.

[berkshires]

Besides that, the few days when the sap would run, helps increase the sugar% in the sap. More times up and down raises the sap sugar%.

I did not know that. That could help explain why I saw my lowest sugar percent in the sap ever, last year. It averaged only 1.4%

This year to maximize the time I have available, I'm probably just going to tap/boil in March. Hopefully that will mean I get the best sugar my maples can give.

[sweetwater sugar shack]

Think I might do my Westfield trees Sunday

[WESTMAPLES]

i wait until after v day to tap anything.. maybe a bit longer depending on the forecast. depending on your operation it maybe be easier or harder to make the right choice.... i like to wait till it looks and feels right to me, even tho it was tee shirt weather in my area for a few days my test taps didn`t do any great so the wait continues.... my reasoning is that there is nothing worse than dealing with frozen releasers and keeping flu pan from freezing in prolonged cold to start with nevermind all the other headaches down the line to get to finished syrup. choose your window wisely , because impatinces can turn into a headache till the weather gets better atleast with sugaring that is . good luck

[Thegreg20]

Flowing good today, needed those extra freezing temps where it didn't flow for 3 days. My sugar jumped to 2.5% from 1.4%. Can't wait till I own some actual land with sugar maples on them. Second year sugaring to get the process down till I move. My yards like a small scale experiment testing different methods, tapping times, line sizes, etc. I used 5/16 last year and switched to 3/16 with probably a 3 ft drop total to test the theory that 3/16 shouldn't be used. I sustain 21in on shurflo pump and my output has increased. Even have some taps with looped lines at messed up angles just to see if it would flow good and even those are sucking sap good. Wish I had more trees to do multiple experiments. I'm addicted to the methods of madness as I am to making it.

[GV2]

Hung 16 buckets for starters. A few running slow. Looks like maybe 4 day window before a long cold snap. If buckets look good midday tomorrow will put out more taps maybe on a 3/16 line.

[berkshires]

Good luck guys! It definitely looks like now's the time to start. If I could I'd have tapped on Weds, but I'm going to have to wait until March. Though it does look like there's a cold snap coming. Hope it doesn't last long.

[berkshires]

Just checked, looks like after this run, it's supposed to be cold at least through the first full week in March. Bummer. On the other hand, it's not like they've never been wrong before. ;)

[sweetwater sugar shack]

Bottled almost 3 gallons today

[berkshires]

Hey I'm curious - anyone in Western MA who did tap early: Looking back, it appears that in the foothills of the Berkshires at least, the first week of February should have been a fantastic run, based on recorded temperatures. Did y'all see that, or was everything too frozen up for it to run like it would with those temps later in the season?

Thanks!

Gabe O

[berkshires]

Replaced my old rotted out stovepipe that had some holes as big as three fingers. My gallons per hour evaporation rate went up by 20%!

I started late, but last week (my second week this year) was huge for me. Most of my five gallon buckets were overflowing. And sugar level this year is the best I've seen in four years of sugaring. Hoping to get another week or so before wrapping things up.

How's everyone's season going?

[ecolbeck]

Boiling an 80 gallon run right now. Cautiously optimistic about a run early next week


19879

[bigschuss]

Here in Savoy things are going great. Last week was a great run, and this coming week looks like it might be perfect for sap flow. My woods trails into my sugarbush are still covered in snow so I can easily collect sap with my snowmobile without mucking up my trails too bad.

[WESTMAPLES]

hey anybody tapped in around westfield / montgomery area ??? i see some guys in w.springfield and agawam tapped and boiling . my test taps have run alittle but the sugar hasn`t been great.... atleast enought to get me excited and going , i usaully wait till after v day anyway just seeing what everyone else is up too

[berkshires]

I've been back and forth on the fence for over a week now. In particular, the forecast for this week has looked anywhere between great and terrible over the last week. I was going to do it this weekend, then the forecast changed for the colder, so I didn't. Then the forecast changed again for the warmer, soo... I wound up biting the bullet, took the day off work, and tapped today. Of course the predicted high temp for me today was 42, and it barely got to 35, so I may have blown it. Oh well, we shall see.

Cheers,

GO

[johnpma]

Going to start tapping after work tonight and on thru the weekend..........anyone know where I can purchase a bundle of dried pine or hemlock slab wood?

[Russ008]

http://mapletrader.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=20978&stc=1https://www.windfinder.com/forecast/orange_airport

[Aaron Stack]

Hi Folks – Quick intro from a noobie, freshly addicted.

I’m setting up to have 25 taps next year in Westfield (16 reds with the remaining 9 sugars “borrowed” from a friend) so wanted to say hello. It’s my first real year doing this after a test run of 2 taps this year in Springfield. Hoping to have fun more than anything, but there has been a dream of retiring to the woods for years. I joined the MA Maple Producers Assoc. hoping to get more info all around but would really like to get together with other small-scale producers to discuss operations and how-to’s, typical noobie issues, etc.

Hope everyone has a great year.

[berkshires]

Hi Aaron!

I'm happy to help out here on the trader all I can, but I'm afraid I'm not much use to you in person. My sugar shack is near you, but my house is two hours away, so I'm not really a local.

Good luck!

Gabe

[Aaron Stack]

Just about 95% ready to go and the weather outlook looks like I won't be tapping next weekend as planned. Thursday the 18th looks like a definite maybe, but it also says 8-10" of snow so probably the 20-21st....

Cleaned the tote yesterday and yeah it's a pain - even with the bucket cover I installed. I couldn't fit the 48" watering pole/brush into the tank with the carport height so ended up copiously rinsing for a good two hours with hot water from the tankless propane dolly setup. It's a new tank, and the temp reading on the unit was maintaining 45-48 Celsius so just shy of boiling and I am cautiously optimistic it is clean. A few leaks on the first run of the tankless that will be fixed today but overall a good result. Going to throw the wand on a pipe bender and trim the ends of the brush to make it fit.

21887

Came across this rotary spray ball that will fit on the end of the hose. Figure I'll put a hole in a bucket cover to suspend it into the tank and let it run for a good 30 plus minutes for rinsing during the season.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07KXKFVWR/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Snow today so I'll be sanitizing the covers inside - buckets were done last weekend. Boiled the CV spouts and bits already this morning. After that just the drums on the trailer need round two of sanitizing and copious rinsing then dare I say I'll be ready.

[bigschuss]

Good luck Aaron. I'm about an hour west of you in the Berkshires. My forecast must be very different from yours as I don't see anything in the next 2 weeks that looks remotely like tapping time. High's in the 20's and lows in the single digits and teens for the next 2 weeks.

I brew beer as well, and I sterilize everything of course. I've never gone through the trouble with my lids and buckets. I don't even really sterilize my gathering tank....just a quick scrub down and rinse with hot soapy water. I assume the boil sterilizes everything that comes into contact with the sap. Is that common practice for the pros? Or are you just being extra-cautious?

[Aaron Stack]

Good luck Aaron. I'm about an hour west of you in the Berkshires. My forecast must be very different from yours as I don't see anything in the next 2 weeks that looks remotely like tapping time. High's in the 20's and lows in the single digits and teens for the next 2 weeks.

I brew beer as well, and I sterilize everything of course. I've never gone through the trouble with my lids and buckets. I don't even really sterilize my gathering tank....just a quick scrub down and rinse with hot soapy water. I assume the boil sterilizes everything that comes into contact with the sap. Is that common practice for the pros? Or are you just being extra-cautious?

Im fairly sure I’m being overly cautious, but I tend to be a bit of a perfectionist in most things and looking to build good habits from the start. It’s a hobby for the next couple years but I’d be very happy if it grows into something.

Weather wise your right, I think I’m being overly hopeful through the 20th based on what I’m seeing. Last year my taps (both of them!) ran dry around March 20th and I’d hate to think I’m looking at 4 weeks for the season. If nothing else it will be good practice!

[bigschuss]

Im fairly sure I’m being overly cautious, but I tend to be a bit of a perfectionist in most things and looking to build good habits from the start. It’s a hobby for the next couple years but I’d be very happy if it grows into something.

Weather wise your right, I think I’m being overly hopeful through the 20th based on what I’m seeing. Last year my taps (both of them!) ran dry around March 20th and I’d hate to think I’m looking at 4 weeks for the season. If nothing else it will be good practice!

That's great Aaron. It will be nice to hear how it turns out for you this year.

Good luck with everything.

[berkshires]

Savoy, MA is night and day with Westfield, this time of year. Westfield is at like 600 feet, savoy at like 1800! Chester is in between, but more like westfield (I'm at around 900 feet). Right now based on long term forecasts, I agree that around the 21st looks likely this year for both Chester and Westfield.

Good luck!

Gabe

[bigschuss]

Savoy, MA is night and day with Westfield, this time of year. Westfield is at like 600 feet, savoy at like 1800! Chester is in between, but more like westfield (I'm at around 900 feet). Right now based on long term forecasts, I agree that around the 21st looks likely this year for both Chester and Westfield.

Good luck!

Gabe

Agreed. That's why I said Aaron's forecast must be very different. Very cold temps. through 3rd week of Feb. and 3' of snow in Savoy. I usually don't tap until the first week of March on average.

[berkshires]

Agreed. That's why I said Aaron's forecast must be very different. Very cold temps. through 3rd week of Feb. and 3' of snow in Savoy. I usually don't tap until the first week of March on average.

The way the weather is looking now, I may be in the same boat as you. The long-term forecast suggests a bit of a warmup the last week of Feb. But three weeks out means the forecast is just a wild guess. After all this cold and snow it will have to be a big warmup for me to have a chance at tapping before March rolls around.

GO

[Aaron Stack]

I've only recently started looking at the long-term forecast sites and imagine there's plenty of room for movement that far out - this is New England after all. Temperature wise they seem to be fairly accurate, but precipitation predictions tend to be way off. But, both Accuweather and Time and Date.com show a good warm up the 24th and beyond. A bit of a disagreement between the two on the weekend of the 20th but if I get my taps in by Sunday the 21st, I should have good collections the following Tuesday and Thursday...I hope!

[berkshires]

Thinking about tapping next Monday unless the forecast changes radically.

Gabe

[Aaron Stack]

Tuesday for me - The cold weather has held me back from finishing the final wash of the trailer drums and pump setup so hoping to get that done Sunday, while Saturday has me snow blowing a road from the street back to the arch and wood.

[Aaron Stack]

31 taps on buckets today. Southern side taps were dripping like mad to. 14 more tomorrow then need to scout for the final five. There's plenty young sugar maples where the 31 are so just need to practice identifying by the bark and the opposite branches.

[Aaron Stack]

Finished up my mapped trees last night after work and have 44 buckets so far. Yesterday's were all Reds and didn't drip at all. From my reading here on the trader I know Red's don't do as well on bucket, but I'll take what they share since they are in the yard.

First collection today. Didn't hit freezing the last two nights and almost 50 yesterday so I'm curious of the impact on sap collected. Did it run because there was a good thaw or did it not run because the temps stayed well above freezing? We will certainly see this afternoon!

[Russ008]

Flushed the maple lines 150 taps, sanitized the holding tank and it looks like the trees are waking up ! I headed out on the tractor to put up buckets and had a few set-backs, #1 forgot the lids, #2 found out that my buckets won't hang on my tree saver spouts, #3 Got stuck in the deep snow and ruts, #3 Had to raise my logging winch to the next setting to clear the Ruts and stumps. #4. Hose rupture on my bucket loader, found a way to chain up so I could move again. All in All another great Day as I was able to get the Tractor back in the Yard ! I will be looking for a new loader hose today.http://mapletrader.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=22037&stc=1

[BAP]

Flushed the maple lines 150 taps, sanitized the holding tank and it looks like the trees are waking up ! I headed out on the tractor to put up buckets and had a few set-backs, #1 forgot the lids, #2 found out that my buckets won't hang on my tree saver spouts, #3 Got stuck in the deep snow and ruts, #3 Had to raise my logging winch to the next setting to clear the Ruts and stumps. #4. Hose rupture on my bucket loader, found a way to chain up so I could move again. All in All another great Day as I was able to get the Tractor back in the Yard ! I will be looking for a new loader hose today.http://mapletrader.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=22037&stc=1
Sounds like you had one of those days where it doesn’t pay to get out of bed

[Aaron Stack]

Yesterday had me feeling like a little kid coming down the stairs on Christmas morning looking to see what Santa brought :)

Ended up with 30 gallons on the 44 buckets for yesterday's first collection.

Learned a bit on bucket placement as two fell over. Many buckets were bone dry, dumped two that were too yellow (thankfully only a small amount in each), but one bucket was almost full. Most of the sugars only had about 1/2-2 gallons and the reds at Dad's were all bone dry. The Norway in my back yard surprised me with almost 2.5 gallons in only about 12 hours which beat any day last year. We didn't have a freeze the last two nights and it was almost 50 the past two days but the next 6 days look good for a freeze/thaw cycle.

Temp inside the carport surprised me and was almost 60 degrees. I was thinking the dark color would shield it somewhat from the afternoon sun but no. Once I had the front opened up the temp dropped to about 50 pretty quick so tonight I'm going to rig up something to keep the door open a couple feet on the bottom so the tank isn't in the sun but the carport open. And did I mention mud? Truck made some big ruts right where I am planning to pull a trailer up to the tank so might need a longer hose for the sap pump.

Not disappointed at all - 30 gallons is six times what I collected all last year and learning is part of the fun. Still a bit giddy!

[bigschuss]

Finally tapped today in Savoy. Still a foot and a half of snow in the woods in the sugarbush, but temps. today approaching 40 had the sap flowing decently. This is the latest I've ever tapped in the 20 years or so that we've been doing this.



22193

[Aaron Stack]

Hit 53 here is Westfield and I collected about 66 gallons total today - my best day yet. I had all ten 5-gallon buckets I keep in the truck filled to the brim at the main site, the reds at Dad's finally opened up and gave me about three gallons for those 12, and my home backyard Norway keeps chugging along at about 5 gallons a day.

The chimney continues to vex me. Difficult to keep it at temp and I haven't yet figured out at what speed the blower wants to be. Seems leak, both two foot sections on each side of the first 45 came apart, the 2' section out the back of the arch glows red and looks like it collapsed, and I've blown a 1' flame out the top while boiling. Replacing the the two foot section and one of the 45's tomorrow and will see how the blower speed works. It tends to like medium to hi to keep the temp in the 500-600 range but given all the other factors going on it needs a rebuild. All the while the pan is sucking sap at 12-15 gph and all three chambers are ripping and having difficulty maintaining 2" fully open. Had to use the OSB once while drawing - took a long draw to get under 219 that time.

I've had two sugarers stop by and chat this week. One is a retired third generation and gave my syrup the spoon, color, and taste tests and all passed! Another used to sugar and lives across the road from my main site - offered his trees for tapping so tomorrow I'm going to move 4 non-producers over there. He said his arch is 8' long and made about 40 gallons a year from his yard. The madness has me thinking of next year :)

[berkshires]

Did my second boil today. Was really surprised that after more than a week, with a number of nice warm days, I only had 20 gallons of sap to boil. Not sure why some of the taps just didn't want to give it up, but I think maybe all the snow on the ground (still 8 to 10 inches in most places) might be making some of the trees miserly. But as I was wrapping up around 2 today it looked like all the taps were dripping, so I think this will be a better run.

At any rate, I was able to fully sweeten the pan, and do two draw-offs before I had to shut down. Drawing off syrup straight from the pan is pretty darn cool. Much more fun than batch boiling.

Now I just have to figure out how to maintain the gradient between boils. I had rigged up some stainless plates that covered the openings between channels last time I shut down, but when I started up today all the sap was mixed up, no gradient.

GO

[Aaron Stack]

At any rate, I was able to fully sweeten the pan, and do two draw-offs before I had to shut down. Drawing off syrup straight from the pan is pretty darn cool. Much more fun than batch boiling.

Now I just have to figure out how to maintain the gradient between boils. I had rigged up some stainless plates that covered the openings between channels last time I shut down, but when I started up today all the sap was mixed up, no gradient.

GO

Gabe - When I shut down last Sunday I just flooded my pan without any dividers and when I started boiling again Tuesday the gradient set up again in no time. I had two draws in two hours and almost a third but ran out of time/light for the night so flooded again. Did you get as excited as I did drawing off? Or maybe it was stressed looking at the level drop - HAH!

Collected just over 100 gallons Wed/Thurs evenings and will boil again Saturday/Sunday. Have about a gallon and a half syrup so far on about 160-ish gallons boiled, counting the 100 it took to sweeten the pan. I think I overestimate how much sap I actually get in the buckets but thankfully the IBC tote has markings so I know I have the 100 now. No freeze/thaw cycles last night so not sure how much I'll get tonight, but I'll take it and boil away most of this weekend after replacing the chimney.

Weather looks good all next week for freeze/thaw cycles so I guess the race against the buds has begun. Last year I pulled my taps in Springfield on March 23rd, but Westfield is colder so hoping those stay bud-less longer.

Good luck!

[berkshires]

I actually did get pretty excited/nervous. I wanted to raise the level in the pan before doing the draw, but I think I raised it too much, because the temp in the syrup channel dropped by three degrees! Took me another 40 minutes to get it back and do that first draw. Oh well, better safe than sorry, and it will take a bit of fiddling to figure out how to optimize draws.

Cheers,

GO

[Aaron Stack]

I actually did get pretty excited/nervous. I wanted to raise the level in the pan before doing the draw, but I think I raised it too much, because the temp in the syrup channel dropped by three degrees! Took me another 40 minutes to get it back and do that first draw. Oh well, better safe than sorry, and it will take a bit of fiddling to figure out how to optimize draws.

Cheers,

GO

Same way I did it :).

[Aaron Stack]

Got two gallons yesterday - my first bucket full! Sap had turned cloudy due to the warm weather (no smell, tasted fine, and not ropy) so its a bit on the dark side, but it tastes great. I'll collect this morning and boil yesterday's harvest then clean clean clean the rest of the day.

[Aaron Stack]

Sap ran wild the past couple days. Collected 101 gallons Saturday noon to 7am Sunday morning for about 160 gallons in the tank since Thursday.

Boiled for 9 hours yesterday with the new chimney setup and got just over 14 gph and 2.5 gallons. Stack temp was a constant 650-700 with the blower on very low so a tremendous improvement over the old setup. Thanks for everyone's advice on the change. Old temps barely hit 350 with the blower on high.

Still about 40 gallons in the tank which I hope holds until Tuesday so I can boil again along with what is in the buckets tonight and tomorrow. Still 30 taps running but today is the last overnight freeze and one of the sugars' buds turned red, and only one red is still producing so it's only a matter of a couple days left.

6 gallons in the freezer waiting to bottle when all is said and done.

[bigschuss]

Sap ran wild the past couple days. Collected 101 gallons Saturday noon to 7am Sunday morning for about 160 gallons in the tank since Thursday.

Boiled for 9 hours yesterday with the new chimney setup and got just over 14 gph and 2.5 gallons. Stack temp was a constant 650-700 with the blower on very low so a tremendous improvement over the old setup. Thanks for everyone's advice on the change. Old temps barely hit 350 with the blower on high.

Still about 40 gallons in the tank which I hope holds until Tuesday so I can boil again along with what is in the buckets tonight and tomorrow. Still 30 taps running but today is the last overnight freeze and one of the sugars' buds turned red, and only one red is still producing so it's only a matter of a couple days left.

6 gallons in the freezer waiting to bottle when all is said and done.

Sounds great Aaron. Here at 2,000' elevation in the Berkshires it's another world. My trees are just starting to flow nicely...very, very late...but flowing nonetheless. Still a lot of season left for us though. Boiled for the first time this weekend.

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[Aaron Stack]

Yesterday was my best collection day yet... 80 gallons! I collect with 10, 5-gallon buckets in the truck bed and had to make two trips. Back at 125 gallons in the tank and get out of work at 2pm so should be boiling by 3:30 if I collect again today.

Sap was a bit cloudy, not as bad as two weeks ago so it should be good as I can still see the bottom of the tote. Plus we did get under freezing tonight. I know I'm flirting with spoiled sap but the out of the tank temp is well below the 50 degree minimum on my thermometer (yes, adding a different one for next year).

I had 50 taps this year and 16 were low to no sap so really about 35. The 12 reds at Dad's finally hit the 5 gallon total collection mark yesterday, two are still giving sap. Starting the what I need for next year list, 50 producing taps or 50 producers plus 50 more - the sickness has set in... hard!

[berkshires]

I took a day off last Thursday to boil. I've not been up to the Berkshires since then. Too busy packing to move the family from CT to MA this week. But this week, I'm sure, is the best run of the season. So tonight after work I'm going to drive up and boil all night if need be. Otherwise by the time I get back there this Sunday I'm sure all the sap will be spoiled.

I just *had* to schedule my move for the week when Mother Nature finally gives us the goods.

GO

[Aaron Stack]

Final boil of the season last night and cooked up a gallon. A nice and light buttery flavor to it. I'll drain the sweet from the pan tonight to boil in the turkey fryer this weekend for a final tally, but I should be in the 8 gallon range. Over 50 gallons in the tank that will be dumped as there is a definite aroma - the compost pile will be happy at least.

The chimney continues to mock me. Blew out the new 45 degree elbow at the arch almost immediately Sunday and by last night flames were shooting out of it - though my temps still maintained 650. Maybe I need double or triple wall for that piece to handle the heat? No worries, this summer's project is building the 8x14 sugarhouse though it might be expanded, toying with that as there is room to make it bigger.. and I'll go with a 90 out the back assuming I don't upgrade the arch ("assuming" - hah!)

Wondering if Sugaring is like owning a boat - after the season everything goes up for sale so next year it can be bigger?

[eustis22]

How wide is the space between the bottom of your pan and the top of your firebox?

[Aaron Stack]

How wide is the space between the bottom of your pan and the top of your firebox?

It's 2 inches to the top of the wall, then I cut the bricks along the sides and back with an angle grinder so they taper to that height from the outer edge. I've been stocking it fairly full and wondered if I should cut back on the amount of wood. 10 pieces 12x2x2 every 6 minutes, and up to 15 every few rounds.

[berkshires]

Well that was a long night. I cooked down 72 gallons of sap, or 4 1/4 gallons per tap. Took me all night, ran out of wood and was splitting not fully seasoned wood just to keep it going. That was by far the biggest boil I've ever done. Glad my niece got most of the collecting done before I got there, or I would have been late for work in the morning! I brought home about a half gallon of syrup, plus the sweet from the pan that I'll use to set up a gradient next time I boil.

Looks like next week should be pretty cool again, so I'm going to see if my niece can go out on Sunday, after this warm spell, to dump any rotten sap in the buckets so I can start fresh on Monday. I'll plan to go out late next week, do one final boil, and pull taps.

GO

[eustis22]

Ok, I was wondering if you just had too much heat going up the stack vs staying under the pan but that sounds right to me

[bill m]

Well we are done! last boil was yesterday and today we will package it. We should be about 415 gallons on 1275 taps. This season we have set all kinds of new records, Record sales, record number of visitors, record amount of syrup made in one day and record total syrup production. It was a fantastic year!

[bigschuss]

Well we are done! last boil was yesterday and today we will package it. We should be about 415 gallons on 1275 taps. This season we have set all kinds of new records, Record sales, record number of visitors, record amount of syrup made in one day and record total syrup production. It was a fantastic year!

Great to hear Bill. Out here in the Berkshires at 2,000' we had a deep freeze mid-season that shut everything down for quite a while. We had a below average season. Also had low sugar content this year.

[berkshires]

Congrats, Bill!

And sorry to hear that bigschuss.

When all was said and done, I had about an average year on the eastern foothills of the Berkshires. Sugar level was about average. Sap runs in Feb were next to none, which is rare. It was just too cold. Sap runs in March were slightly above average. What really saved me was adding a few new trees that were really high producers, in both in sap and in sugar percent. I average about 9 gallons per tap in March, and this year I was over 11. I just about hit a quart of syrup per tap, which on buckets, makes me pretty happy.

Gabe

[bill m]

Finally got everything packaged. Ended up with 420.5 gallons on 1275 taps. A 26% increase over last year which was an average year at .26 gallons per tap. Now to get everything cleaned up and start planning for next year!

[Aaron Stack]

Last weekend I packed up the remnants of what was in the pan for my first 10 pints. Dark (dark, dark, dark) with hints of red when held directly in front of the lightbulb, but it's deeeelicious! Broke out last year's turkey fryer propane setup in the backyard to boil down 10 gallons to about 1.25 gallons which topped me out just over 8 for the season.

I called it Gnomish Brew (I have lawn gnomes in the back yard so it's fitting)

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[berkshires]

Sounds like a great season, Aaron!

GO