2021 Tapping South East PA

[Skeller001]

The weather forecast for SE PA is making me think I will put my taps in this weekend. Monday snow is predicted but after that it looks like the daytime highs are going to be about right.

is anyone tapped already and if so how are you doing?

[Skeller001]

ok.... maybe not a lot of tree tappers in SE PA...

Yesterday I tapped my trees in the middle of the snow so that they are ready for a warm up later this week. I ended up tapping 18 trees. While tapping I found 3 that were over 11 but under 12 so i tapped them a bit shallow. We will see how they produce.

hope everyone has a great season!!!

[DrTimPerkins]

...While tapping I found 3 that were over 11 but under 5 so i tapped them a bit shallow.

Not sure what you mean by over 11 but under 5?

[Skeller001]

Not sure what you mean by over 11 but under 5?

Talk about a bad typo! That was supposed to be 12”.

[Skeller001]

Collected 6 gallons of sap today.

[Skeller001]

Better day today, 11 gallons

[Skeller001]

Finished syrup for the first time today. Bottled 7 pints which is more than I ended with last year.

[Openwater]

Good job Steve. How many gallons of sap did you start with?
We just boiled yesterday and produced (12) 12oz bottles of maple walnut.

[Skeller001]

Good job Steve. How many gallons of sap did you start with?
We just boiled yesterday and produced (12) 12oz bottles of maple walnut.

I started with 75 gallons of sap, took that down to about 18 gallons of concentrate to boil to 7 pints of syrup.

Do you combine your maple and walnut? Curious what that would taste like.

[Openwater]

Yeah, we boiled the maple and walnut together. started with 77 gallons of sap (22g walnut and 55g maple).
It's pretty dark and rich syrup, but I'm already getting tired of trying to filter the pectin out of the walnut syrup; it's like trying to squeeze grape juice out of grape jelly. Next year, I'm gonna start tapping more maples in place of some of the walnuts to try to stay around 50 taps.

[Skeller001]

I am tapping all the maples I have that are big enough. You are lucky to have that option. But.... if I had more I would be building a sugar shack and a big arch.

[Openwater]

I've got plenty of trees; the problem is just the blood, sweat and tears getting to them. I have this one stand of red maples (see pic), about 2-3 acres, at least 1/2 of them are tapping size but they're surrounded by briars, multiflora rose, poison ivy, brush, etc. I can barely get my ATV into this patch and close enough to the trees. It would be impossible with snow on the ground.
22085

[Skeller001]

I've got plenty of trees; the problem is just the blood, sweat and tears getting to them. I have this one stand of red maples (see pic), about 2-3 acres, at least 1/2 of them are tapping size but they're surrounded by briars, multiflora rose, poison ivy, brush, etc. I can barely get my ATV into this patch and close enough to the trees. It would be impossible with snow on the ground.
22085

I would have my tractor and brush hog there in the summer to clear that crap out

[Pdiamond]

Make a pathway thru it. That has to be great bedding and protection for wildlife. I would love to have that on my place. I see spots for a couple of deer blinds.

[Openwater]

If I had a tractor and brush hog, it would already be cleared out. It's a travel route and bedding spot for deer. Always lots of tracks and rubbed-up trees. The lower field on the far side is usually planted w/corn and there's a creek on the far side of that. Definitely a good spot during archery season.

[Skeller001]

If I had a tractor and brush hog, it would already be cleared out. It's a travel route and bedding spot for deer. Always lots of tracks and rubbed-up trees. The lower field on the far side is usually planted w/corn and there's a creek on the far side of that. Definitely a good spot during archery season.

sounds like a great archery spot, may not want to mess with it too much.

[Skeller001]

Had a good weekend for me, we collected about 18 gallons of sap last night. The down side was the sugar content was definitely lower than it was earlier. I dropped from 1.75 to 1.25.

[Skeller001]

Taps were running dry and I got less than a quart yesterday so we pulled the taps. Ended the season with 1.5 gallons of syrup. We all seem to like this years syrup more than what we had from the last 2 years so that is good!