Hardy County

[darkmachine]

Hung 138 buckets today, 1/10/2021, hope to make it to 200 and then work on tubing tomorrow. Almost all were dripping, expecting a good run this week, then a freeze up for a week.

[darkmachine]

Update 1/14/2021: Today was probably the best day for run. I'll have enough to boil tomorrow evening. I don't think the days are quite long enough to justify hanging any more buckets. I'll hold off on my next 100 for a week and keep an eye on the weather. In the meantime i'll get all my drops ready and tubing repaired so I can go all in when it breaks loose.

As a side note, does anyone in the eastern panhandle area have any 3/4" mainline saddles for 5/16 that they would be willing to part with? The supply is drying up quick online. Send me a PM if anyone has any they would be interested in selling.

Jacob

[darkmachine]

Collected 100 gallons on 1/16/2020, seems like everything is just starting to run. Still waiting to hang the next 100 buckets and lines until First week of February, hope that works out. Any one else have any taps in the woods?

[wvsugarshak]

Glad to hear you're up and running yeah I've got a little over 400 taps in. waiting on the buckets too. I've got extra saddles but they're just for emergency not a whole bunch might have some old ones that I took out if you'd be interested. I' have sweeten pans and boiled once since then made a couple gallons and good luck on the season and stay safe with this craziness going on

[amasonry]

Hey darkmachine, bascoms maple farms in NH has 3/4" mainline saddles for 5/16

[darkmachine]

Thanks! Now i just hope they arrive in a timely fashion.

[darkmachine]

Glad to hear you're up and running yeah I've got a little over 400 taps in. waiting on the buckets too. I've got extra saddles but they're just for emergency not a whole bunch might have some old ones that I took out if you'd be interested. I' have sweeten pans and boiled once since then made a couple gallons and good luck on the season and stay safe with this craziness going on

Trying to stay on the farm as much as possible. School starting next week, so it's back to driving the bus when all i want to do is boil.

Collected another 75 gallons last night, is was partly cloudy. Most likely the same today. Boiled twice, just don't want to get behind.

[darkmachine]

Collected 75 gallons today, it's been pretty cold and no sun. Next week looks good as far as temps go. Should have the vacuum up and ready to roll by Monday! Collected 45 gal last Friday, and boiled Saturday until about 3, got 2 gallons of syrup off. Sap has been 1 to 1.5 % until today we were sitting a hair over 2%. Much less boiling.

[darkmachine]

I see a few in southwest VA are pulling for the season, ours has had a few stops and starts, but i think we still have about 3 weeks of run before it starts to get buddy here. We do run about 10 degrees cooler here on the farm though. I put out 80 taps on gravity yesterday, ran over 100 gallons. It's going to be a long weekend boiling. Anyone in Hardy county have a RO and will travel? lol.

[darkmachine]

I think i have about 15 taps left to hang, and i'll be all in 338 in total. My mid January buckets are starting to dry up, so i'll pull those this week, boil the taps(stainless 5/16) and move them down the valley. I had a bit of trouble, vacuum pump was down over the weekend, so i missed that run. Running hard today though, got the pump back up and running. I have about 800 gallons to boil. It snuck up on me.... Its going to be a long day tomorrow, and Wednesday. Hopefully I can keep up...all those RO's are looking pretty good now, lol.

[220 maple]

Jacob,
Odd’s your getting over run; some of my taps have slowed way down others are not that old and seem to be wide open Sunday and Monday; amazing how a cold wind will slow them, should have run hard Friday and Saturday. Hopefully I will have another 2000 gallon plus waiting on me tomorrow when I go back to WV. My helper is rushing the sap into a room where the sun is not warming the sap to much, this maybe my best season ever, all I will say at this point that if it turns out to be a new camp record their will be people unhappy with what I did this year!
Mark 220 Maple

[wvsugarshak]

all done here in morgan county now the cleaning up and dreaming about next years season!!!! Mark glad to hear you are ok.

[darkmachine]

Finished up running laterals today on our new vacuum expansion. It will allow us to move our buckets closer in to roads and the shack. Hope to start tapping tomorrow for some good runs later in the week.

[220 maple]

Darkmachine
Good Luck, the forecast has folks excited! I started last Monday, have had a couple days of good runs, going to be a lot taps put in the Great State of West Virginia this week.
Mark 220 Maple

[canaanmaple]

Darkmachine
Good Luck, the forecast has folks excited! I started last Monday, have had a couple days of good runs, going to be a lot taps put in the Great State of West Virginia this week.
Mark 220 Maple

How are you fairing down there with this crazy "winter"? Starting to be concerning with the 10day and feel like I shoulda tapped 3 weeks ago maybe! I'm gonna tap this week since feb 14th is usually the baseline. 4 days over 50 in the 10day forecast hopefully wont get the trees starting into bud mode.

[darkmachine]

I would have liked to be in at least a week earlier, but can't go back and fix that, I'm glad i'm getting sap now. I still have about 100 buckets to hang. I got about 200 gallons of sap yesterday afternoon so i need to fire up the RO, looks like i'll boil a few hours tonight. I think everyone feels better once they get started, it's the waiting and wondering that's killer.

[wvsugarshak]

Started a week or so ago. I agree 10 day forecast not looking good? I got a surprise freeze last nite . My
Vacuum on and flooding in so yep looks like some cooking tonight! Sugar content up over years past! Best of luck to your season! Still would like to get over your way sometime.

WV sugarshak

[220 maple]

WV Sugarshack,
Sad that we are concerned this early in February about the weather, just Twenty years ago the standard was tap the first warm day after Groundhog Day! Now it is too warm to tap in early January, season compression! Dr. Rechlin and I have been having this discussion for the past two seasons! Oh well I do have 2500 gallons plus of sap off of the last freeze that will be ROed then boiled tomorrow
Mark 220 Maple

[canaanmaple]

WV Sugarshack,
Sad that we are concerned this early in February about the weather, just Twenty years ago the standard was tap the first warm day after Groundhog Day! Now it is too warm to tap in early January, season compression! Dr. Rechlin and I have been having this discussion for the past two seasons! Oh well I do have 2500 gallons plus of sap off of the last freeze that will be ROed then boiled tomorrow
Mark 220 Maple

almost starting to wonder if the trees could start budding any day now

[220 maple]

Canaanmaple,
Yesterday day I was at new camp helping a new producer, first time boiling sap, he might actually be closer to you air miles than to me! He is four miles behind the locked gate on the road that goes from the Northfork valley to Red Creek thru Dolly Sods. His elevation is somewhere around 3300 hundred feet, I seen no sign of budding, you should be fine, I on the other hand is seeing things I don’t like, Easter lily growth, absolute sign the ground is getting warm, the peep frogs will be warming up there vocal chords especially the fat female ones��
Mark 220 Maple

[canaanmaple]

Canaanmaple,
Yesterday day I was at new camp helping a new producer, first time boiling sap, he might actually be closer to you air miles than to me! He is four miles behind the locked gate on the road that goes from the Northfork valley to Red Creek thru Dolly Sods. His elevation is somewhere around 3300 hundred feet, I seen no sign of budding, you should be fine, I on the other hand is seeing things I don’t like, Easter lily growth, absolute sign the ground is getting warm, the peep frogs will be warming up there vocal chords especially the fat female ones��
Mark 220 Maple

If I could find a helper on short notice today to help move tanks, I would probably tap today and not miss this weeks run! as it stands I guess Ill tap thurs/fri for sure and get the next ones. (the large operation steyer bros near oakland havent tapped yet, but stemples in aurora have..and they just started at spruce)

[220 maple]

CanaanMaple,
Right when the releaser was dumping every 1 minute and 20 seconds, main breaker when bad, RO down, will get one hopefully today, over 3000 gallons of sap, drowning!
Mark 220 Maple

[darkmachine]

Having my issues, my concentrate had an off smell...I thought it was moldy membranes, next tank of sap....same smell. emptied tanks washed...same smell....almost metallic...green plant smell.... Last season i had COVID, no smell no taste....it was sad....now that my smell is back...everything is off, I have to have someone else smell it and see what's up....mean time 600 gallons on the ground, and the rest holding .....i've never had this problem. Also read that prilosec can make things taste/smell metallic....so that's one think stopped taking for the season....i need to get this figured out!

[canaanmaple]

Having my issues, my concentrate had an off smell...I thought it was moldy membranes, next tank of sap....same smell. emptied tanks washed...same smell....almost metallic...green plant smell.... Last season i had COVID, no smell no taste....it was sad....now that my smell is back...everything is off, I have to have someone else smell it and see what's up....mean time 600 gallons on the ground, and the rest holding .....i've never had this problem. Also read that prilosec can make things taste/smell metallic....so that's one think stopped taking for the season....i need to get this figured out!

any trees budding yet?

[darkmachine]

Nope, it's not buddy. I think I've tracked it down to faulty equipment, my senses. The sap is beautiful, clear, fresh. Ro membranes all good. I'm gonna blame COVID, seems to work for everyone else.

[220 maple]

CanaanMaple,
I’m curious why those in the higher elevation wait to tap? If it is colder there, then the holes won’t heal, I’ve heard this theory that they will freeze dry? Wondering why West Virginia tap holes do that and Vermont tap holes don’t? In 2011 I visited a sugar house in Fairfield, Vermont, 72 thousand taps, they started tapping on January 3rd. They was still producing on April 14th
Mark220maple

[canaanmaple]

maybe tradition? I know the past five years that ive been keeping records, ive tapped 2/10, 2/3, 2/25, 2/12 and 2/10 this year and always had at least 6 week season. This year I think I shoulda tapped sooner because there have been a few days in the 50s so far, and the 10 day looks like a handful more! Luckily theres a handful of freezing nights in there also.

As for the crazy non solid winter this year, there has been a very persistent stubborn southeast ridge that has refused to break down in the tropics that has pushed all the snow out west and brought up warm air to the east because of the la nina. This is the lowest recorded snowfall here this season on record (so far) 41"!! :( Meanwhile Alta Ski area outside Salt Lake City has had a record season so far of 495" of snow!! The la nina should break down near the end of the month, and its not uncommon that we will get a very snowy march, so one can only HOPE the trees wont start budding before then. As of now the tanks are overflowing from tapping friday and freezing good friday night!



CanaanMaple,
I’m curious why those in the higher elevation wait to tap? If it is colder there, then the holes won’t heal, I’ve heard this theory that they will freeze dry? Wondering why West Virginia tap holes do that and Vermont tap holes don’t? In 2011 I visited a sugar house in Fairfield, Vermont, 72 thousand taps, they started tapping on January 3rd. They was still producing on April 14th
Mark220maple

[darkmachine]

I've seen a few syrup makers starting very early, Ky, In, Oh, Pa, even some in the northern states. I have seen videos of some making syrup already. I have not had what i would call winter yet. As a house painter part of the year I'm always looking at the forecast, and I know the further in the future you try to predict the less reliable the predictions are. The trends have been for a warmer winter, and earlier spring.....but I follow this weather guy....who has been pretty adamant that we are due for a freeze up and some real winter mid January. Because of this i'm hesitant to put any taps in until mid January. Even if i was making syrup now, it would come to a screeching halt and maybe shorten my season if i tapped now. I feel better that I typed out my reasoning, it helps me put all the tapping talk out of my head and focus on getting other things ready, lol.

[220 maple]

Darkmachine,
I will be tapped in on January 20th, Future Generations gang has organized a crew of tappers due to my health condition.
The neighbor about seven miles away is about done tapping, heard he got one thousand gallons of sap in one day, he does not have vacuum, 3/16 tubing on extremely steep ground, several years back if I’m not mistaken he got 50000 gallons of sap in one season, pretty sure he has less than 3000 taps.
I have a friend in Rockingham county who has 28 walnut taps in Dec 16th, on warm days before Christmas he got drowned in sap, already has 3 and 3/4 gallons of syrup, his goal is 5 gallons then if tree continue to produce hopefully going to RO bucket his sap and sell it to my buddy Gary Mongold with 850 tap walnut operation in Grant County, if he would have tapped before Christmas, we estimate that he would have 60 plus gallons of walnut syrup! Worth retail around 50000 dollars, he is hoping to tap some tomorrow to beat the snow! I said it hundreds of times snow makes syrup!
Mark220maple

[M&S Maple]

Mark you are right in 2019 we got 50995 gallons of sap from 2115 taps. I finished tapping yestarday got 1990 taps this yeay only the trees on Cave mountian were running got 1000 gal wednesday and 1150 gal thursday from 1286 taps. I was 12 degreese yesterday morning so no sap yesterday.