I'm not ready for this

[Brent]

The 15 day Acuweather forecast says starting Jan 4 we'll have about a week of PLUS 5 to 8 with MINUS 1.

Is this early temperature swing going to be worth the madness of trying to get ready ????

[Fred Henderson]

That is just the January thaw coming. We need water in the ground and lower snow levels..

[Brent]

Fred
Our ground, just 20 minutes north of Toronto Int Airport, has not frozen. Snow cover has kept it moist and soft. I was clearing my trail to the bush two days ago with a snowblower on the Kubota and everywhere I dug too deep I got a plume of soft soil and green Alfalfa.

I've heard talk of guys getting short runs very early ... wondering if this could be the right conditions for one.

[H. Walker]

You could get a small run, but real early runs tend to be low in sugar.

I think you should cool your spiles for two months. We have a month of -20C weather to get through yet.

[ennismaple]

Brent,

Charge your drill for a while longer. We always get a January thaw followed by a long freeze up. The sooner you tap the sooner the holes will dry out. You'll get about 6 weeks before they start to close up. The runs in March are the ones you want in the Toronto area. We're in Eastern Ontario (Lanark County) and we plan to tap the first week of March but can be ready a week or more earlier if necessary. Plus, long range forecasts change a lot. Take a look at the OMAF website (http://apps.omafra.gov.on.ca/scripts/english/crops/agriphone/index.asp#Maple) for some more info. Dave Chepaskie (sp?) has a weekly update he does during sugar season. Ohio and Kentucky producers on this site may need to tap in January but they may be done before you make a drop.

[Brent]

Thanks for the link to the Ontario Ag site. That should help.

I'm trying to get a new larger evap. Holes in roof, storage tanks etc etc etc.
It would not have been any fun trying to catch anything next week. More like a Chinese fire drill with snow and sugarwater.