Is it time to tap now!!?

[David Wayne]

Missed out on a lot last season by thinking it would get cold like winter should be, folks that tapped in Jan. had a decent season.
I am thinking about putting in 30 or so taps to see how it flows. Or do we need a period of real cold weather before the trees will produce?
Looking for advice here, I don't want to miss the boat this year. What do you think? Here is the forecasted temps.

Thanks David

12/12 44H-23L
12/13 37-21
42-26
47-31
47-34
49-31
40-24
41-30
45-32
44-32
46-35
46-35
48-36
12/25 47-35

[buckeye gold]

First thing to know is what method are you using for sap collection. If its buckets/bags then I'd be careful about early tapping. If you have lines then here's my thoughts. I am i i/2 hrs south of you and I will probably tap some just after Christmas. I have 150 total and will tap 50 early. If it is running good I will tap the rest around the third week of January. Most years we get a cold snap mid January and shuts everything down. The last two years have been different as more sap ran early. The biggest problem are the 60 degree days which really starts a lot of bacterial growth. I did tap all 150 earlier than usual last year and I had a great year. My best advice is start with no more than half your taps early then watch the trends in weather.

[David Wayne]

I tap 120-130 on bags. If they heal up or we get the cold snap and need to start over I will just make a new tap hole.
I have read this is ok to do since I only tap 1 per tree and they are large enough for 2 or 3, is this information correct?

David

[buckeye gold]

Yes, I have heard opinions along that line. Proctor Maple Research has done some work on that, check their site for more information. I have done it myself in the past but only on large trees. Like you, I mostly only put one tap, but I have a few large trees that get two annually. That would allow you some flexibility.

[Swingpure]

You do need temperatures to drop below freezing at night in order for the sap to flow.

[Swingpure]

I tapped early last year, some at Christmas, some mid February and some March 1st. I am much further north than you.

Just some thoughts from last year:

Although sap will run now, it will run a lot better in the spring.

For some people who can only dedicate a set period of time tapping and making syrup, wait until the Spring.

If you are more flexible, then there are opportunities and maybe great opportunities for tapping early.

This winter is a strong El Niño year. It was predicted that December would be warmer than normal, but it is not know yet what the effects will be for January and February, as they have to wait to see if the warm part of the ocean that is causing this, stays put, or migrates west causing a dip in the jet stream over Eastern Canada and the US North East. My uneducated opinion is that we will see several warm spells this winter.

The surprising thing I found last year and it may have been a fluke and a giant anomaly, is the trees I tapped at Christmas, were still flowing in April when I stopped collecting. I cannot explain why, and I should not offer reason why I think that happened, but my uneducated gut feeling is that the bacteria that close the tap holes, are far less active in the middle of the winter than the Spring, because of the average temperatures in the two different time frames.

[David Wayne]

Thanks for the replies, I will see what January does, the rest of this year has daytime highs in the 40s. If the trend doesn't change I will tap after the new year, this is like last year and Feb. was too late. I don't like winter but we really need 2-3 weeks of constant freezing.

David

[DRoseum]

I am due east of you outside of Pittsburgh and am contemplating tapping earlier this year as well. Normally I have tapped right around Feb 1. Last year we had 4 straight weeks starting in Feb where daytime Temps exceeded 70F. Horrible season.

This year is starting out just like last year - very mild. If that continues into mid Jan, I'll strongly consider pulling the trigger about a week or two earlier than usual.

[spacetrance]

I am in Muskingum county.
I am going to put all 150 taps in this week.
I missed out on a lot of sap last year.

[David Wayne]

I am going to wait, I keep looking at the weather and it looks like we may get some cold starting on the 13th or 14th. I hope it's enough to reset a season. I wish you
good luck, hopefully better than last year.

[buckeye gold]

I always tap an early sugar bush that's separate from my main bush. I tapped those 50 yesterday and the sap is running a full line in two 3/16 laterals today. I already had enough to start a fire and begin sweetening the pan. Hopefully tomorrow will be a full boil. I'm in Ross county. I anticipate my main tapping to be between January 20th and 31st. Good luck to all.