New Brunswick 2020

[Marvel26]

Well, the weather here is making me second guess my plan every other day.....great temp fluctuations for a couple days which makes me think "uh oh....its starting early!!" and then BAM! -25C for a few. lol.

Fingers crossed for a great year! Good luck all!

[Maple Lady]

I tapped Feb 16 and they were dripping, didn't collect a huge amount but temps are looking good for about 6 days starting tomorrow so I'm hoping for a good run. Hope everyone has a good season.

[erob]

I was planning on putting my taps in next weekend but the long range forecast is not looking too promising for the beginning of March. Hopefully it’ll change for the better. Good luck y’all.

[Maple Lady]

So far not much sap. Had some nice days and barely anything and not getting cold enough at night doesn't help. The extended forecast doesn't look good. I hope it doesn't just jump right into spring without cold nights. Erob, did you tap?

[erob]

I’m thinking of tapping my trees this week but the long range forecast here in Fredericton isn’t looking to promising for a good run. Could be like last year. Short and sweet.

[murferd]

We're starting in the woods today. Hopefully it won't rain too much Wednesday. We should have most repairs & taps in by Saturday.

[Maple Lady]

Supposed to get up to 10 degrees tomorrow, that's kinda too warm, I hope what little sap I get doesn't spoil. It's not looking too bad for temps but a couple nights won't be cold enough. Hope the weather cooperates for everyone to get tapped.

[Maple Lady]

How'd everyone make out today? I had a good run today. Won't get cold enough tonight but hopefully after that it will work out.

[sbishop]

Hi, i'm also in Fredericton (Hanwell), my neighbor and I tapped 2 weeks ago (100 taps), we have a mix of 40 buckets and 60 on vacuum. So far nothing in buckets and about 40 gallons of sap from vacuum. Any get anything from buckets yet?

[Maple Lady]

Hi, i'm also in Fredericton (Hanwell), my neighbor and I tapped 2 weeks ago (100 taps), we have a mix of 40 buckets and 60 on vacuum. So far nothing in buckets and about 40 gallons of sap from vacuum. Any get anything from buckets yet?
I only have buckets, 64. In total I've got about 40 gallons but 31 of those gallons were yesterday and today. Only 9.5 today. Tomorrow and Friday's temps look promising here in Charlotte County.

[murferd]

We're about 1/2 tapped, hopefully finish by the weekend. It's taking a little longer this year, we're dropping most multi tap trees down to one. We've tapped these trees along time, lots of holes in them! We're thinking it should be better for the longevity of the trees. Not really loosing that many, because some of the smaller trees are big enough now. Has run a bit but we like to wash the tubing out anyway for the first few days. Not sure what's going to happen next week.

[erob]

Got my taps in today. Trees were running good here this afternoon. Hoping to have the first boil of the season next weekend if the weather holds.

[murferd]

We finished tapping on Saturday. Have some line repairs & lots of cleaning left to do. Got the vacuum going yesterday, no leaks on the front section, mainly on the lines that the "repair crew"hasn't been through yet. Weather doesn't look great this week, but the following looks good.

[erob]

Most of my trees were running here in the Fredericton area today. Hoping to have enough for the first boil this weekend.

[Marvel26]

Good luck all, this year looks like a good one. I received "the call" the day after I started cleaning my barrels and pan for the year. Surgery for thyroid cancer on Thursday....no heavy lifting for at least 2 weeks. I ACTUALLY paused for a moment when they told me the day.....first thought, "****!, Sap season will be in full swing by the time I can do anything! Maybe I can get them to reschedule...." and then I thought better of it. Plus, my wife woukd have literally killed me.


I'll be watching all your posts....have a great season and make steam as long as you can!

Rob

[Pdiamond]

Marvel26
Sorry to here about that. I'll be saying prayers for you. My daughter went through that and came out just fine. I am sure you will too. Sorry to here that its during sugaring season. Getting it taken care of now though will make sure you have many sugaring seasons ahead in your future.

[Maple Lady]

Sorry to hear that Marvel. Hope you have a speedy recovery. Take care.
Not sure how the other folks are fairing for the sap season, mine is no where near as good as last year. I hope to be able to collect another Barrell this week but the forecast isn't looking too great on the weather network. I hope others are doing well.

[erob]

Yes thoughts and prays for you and your family Marvel. I have collected about 120 litres of sap over the last week. Some trees I tapped have southern exposure for most of the day in full sun light and are giving a lot of sap. My other trees have hardly ran yet. I’m just putting the finishing touches on my new oil barrel evaporator so I’m hoping to boil this week sometime. Hang in there the sap has to run sooner or later.

[DrTimPerkins]

Marvel...your health comes first. The prognosis for thyroid cancer is better than many. Hoping you recover quickly and completely and are able to get at least a little sugaring in. Good luck to you and your family.

[Marvel26]

Thanks all, for the kind words.

In terms of the big C this is the one you want, apparently. Had pre-op today and they said that Covid-19 may cancel surgeries....I was thinking, "Oh for the love of PETE!, it better NOT after missing the first half of the season! "

I have a problem...I accept it... lol

[murferd]

Good luck! Hopefully they'll get you in and get rid of the cancer soon. It does suck to miss the season, but it may not be that great anyway. It's sure a slow start this year, we haven't started collecting yet, maybe today!

[Marvel26]

....Surgery cancelled...DARN YOU COVID-19! :mad: No timeline for rebooking, could be Monday or 5 months from now.

I'll stop posting about this.....its taking away from the important sap talk!

Rob

[Maple Lady]

That is too bad Marvel. I hope they get you seen to sooner than later. Best of luck when you get your surgery.

My season has been slow. Just collected yesterday, first time since last Saturday morning, which was actually from Friday, but I didn't collect in the rain. Hoping for enough today for another boil Saturday. We'll see.

[erob]

21265

First boil of the season today. I got laid off so lots of time on my hands to spend in the sugar shack. Boiled about 120 litres of sap and ended with 2 litres of some really light, really sweet syrup. Hopefully the trees start running good for everyone over the next couple days

[Maple Lady]

Looks good erob. It ran good here today. Can't boil til Saturday though. Hope you get lots to keep you busy☺️

[erob]

Boiled down about 140 litres of sap today. Trees have been running good the last couple days. Anyone else having any success this season ?

[murferd]

Finally ran good Wednesday, really the first day we got any amount of sap. Fired up the evaporator, hooked up the new auto drawoff we bought from CDL. Still getting used to that. Didn't run that great yesterday, decided not to boil past supper time. Should run some today, even though it a bit crappy out, vacuum should help us. We want to bottle tonight, so it's nicer to have the shack warmed up from firing the evaporator.

[Maple Lady]

I took the day off yesterday and boiled 200 litres, collected another 78 when I was done for the next boil, hopefully tomorrow. Didn't even hit -1 this morning though, I find it doesn't do as well as when it goes to -5 or so.

[Maple Lady]

Finally ran good Wednesday, really the first day we got any amount of sap. Fired up the evaporator, hooked up the new auto drawoff we bought from CDL. Still getting used to that. Didn't run that great yesterday, decided not to boil past supper time. Should run some today, even though it a bit crappy out, vacuum should help us. We want to bottle tonight, so it's nicer to have the shack warmed up from firing the evaporator.

Having any luck with more sap Murferd? I think my season will be done today or tomorrow. I will find out when I collect tonight. I hope things are just getting going for you.

[murferd]

It''s been good, the trees seem to be just "waking up".We had a couple of cloudy & cooler days after the weekend & got still good runs. The boys boiled all day & just kept up with what was coming in. We're up to 40 imp gal so far, lots of snow in woods yet, & forecast looks ok, should be alright for a couple more weeks at least.

[erob]

Anyone else having issues with a lot of nitre or sugar sand this season ? My first run of finished syrup was crystal clear but every batch since then has had a lot of sediment in it. Very frustrating. I'm using the same filter method I used last year and I never had this issue. Any advice would be helpful

[Maple Lady]

I've had alot of Nitre as well. The filters clog quickly and I end up with some fine Nitre in my bottles as well. I wish I had advice, but other than filtering again, I don't know what would get rid of it. I had alot last year too. I'm still getting that Meringue like foam too after it goes through the filters. 4 prefilters and 1orlon. I've noticed others having the bubbles when bottling. They don't seem to go away either.

[erob]

Thanks Maple Lady. Now i know at least it's just not something I'm doing wrong. Must just be the season.

[Maple Lady]

Finished up yesterday. I have to get something quicker for that last little bit. Boiling on a turkey burner takes forever for 5gallons of sweet. Now for my least favourite part, the clean up. I ended up with just over 31 litres, not as good as last year, but still good for me. I hope you guys that are still going get a good run.

[erob]

I pulled my taps on Monday as I boiled down the last of my sap in the sugar shack. Cleaned the pails and spiles yesterday while I finished the syrup at the house. Ended up taking it too far and it turned out very cloudy and with a lot of nitre. My wife will probably end up cooking with it. This year has definitely been more challenging then last year. I think I'll start using a hydrometer next year. I still had more syrup to finish today and it turned out great so the season ended on a good note. Hope you all enjoyed the season and now its time to enjoy the sweet product.

[murferd]

Finished off Saturday, fairly good year, somewhat disappointed that our sap was never very clear all season. Not sure whether the ground wasn't froze or what the deal was. Result was darker syrup, which is ok, because most of our customers want dark, but it's not as pretty. Not positive what our total was one of my brothers figured it up while I was cleaning & forgot to ask.