NH 2008 - Tap now or wait ???????

[Gary in NH]

Hello Everyone,

Has anyone in NH tapped yet? The weather seems right but I don't want to tap too early (2/03) and end up with dry holes later. I usually tap around 35 trees and use buckets. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Gary in NH

[325abn]

I almost put some taps out today but I held off. It does look like we will have good weather this week so I may very well do some tapping later this week.

[Russell Lampron]

It looks like it is going to cool back down this coming weekend and I don't know how long that cold spell will last. I am going to wait until after that to tap here in Loudon.

Russ

[3% Solution]

Hi Gary,
We are looking toward our usual date, if the weather looks good, February 17th.
Always use the 16th, it's our aniversary, so what the hay, might just as well do something together .......... tap trees.
Just remember, what the temps are forecast for maybe just the high for the day and might only last for an hour or less.
We have quite a snow (ice) pack so that will keep the cold around.
Good luck to everyone this year!!!

Dave

[Mark-NH]

Temps look marginal at best. Remember, the high for the day will probably stick around for only an hour or 2. We'll need a better warm up to get things moving. An old timer told me once; "It don't hurt to let the tree have some before you tap."

I'm going to try stubbies this year with the replaceable taps. I have a 9 year old line installation that didn't run for **** last year. Only thing I could come up with was the plastic in the taps had broken down, allowing air to get in and seal the holes up.

[maple maniac65]

A 20,000 tap operation once told me this. Take the last day you boiled and back up six weeks. That is the time you should tap. I can tap all of mine in one 12 hour day. Sugaring season is still mid March to mid April here in NH at 1350 in elavation.

[ploefstedt]

Guys-

I will pass on some comments from Bruce Bascom when I was up
then in early January. With the new stubby/disposable combo, which
eliminates the bacteria buildup in the plastic tap, the taps will actually
produce for 9-10 weeks (with no harm to the trees).

Paul L.

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

I think all Bruce is interested in anymore is making predictions from somewhere out of thin air.

[Mark-NH]

Has anyone else ever noticed that Bruce's predictions, insights and recommendations always include spending money at Bascom's. Hey, I can't blame him, after all, he is in business to make money or he wouldn't still be in business.

Just remember where he is coming from and factor it in when making plans based upon his input. Still planning to tap out right around the end of the month.

[Gary in NH]

I have talked to Bruce on a couple of occasions over the past two years. I can not say that he has tried to push me to buy anything from Bascom's. I'm only a hobby producer but he has been available to talk to and very helpful none-the-less. In my most recent conversation with Bruce I mentioned I bought a synthetic cone filter from Bascom's last year and one side was not stitched properly. He offered a no-charge replacement - no questions asked and no return needed on my part. I spend a couple of hundred dollars a year with Bascom's and have found their customer service has always been excellent. I like to do business with companies that do the right thing for their customers and so far Bruce has provided that for me.

[Mark-NH]

Went to Bascom's yesterday and spent $450. Swapping out one orchard to the the stubby taps from health spouts. Sap out of there has been decreasing every year since I tapped it in 2000. I am anxious to see if new taps will make a difference.

I also picked up another 300' of mainline. On a new installation last year we had to drive through a field to pick up the sap. By the end of the season it felt like we were competing in mud bog every time we collected. We'll run the mainline out to the road this year.

Bascom's had just started tapping last Monday. Weather around here looks like we are on schedule for end of the month.

[Mac_Muz]

Tap now or wait? Well if you were in Tamworth I would wait... it is supposed to get way to cold, it has been gray, and the winds have been high.

I don't expect to be ready to tap before the 23rd and 24th here and still it depends on the weather.

For me that is a good thing since I have no rig at all yet.

I wasn't sure i would have time this year and haven't in the last several years, so I must re-assemble and make everything I need, from pan to stove from taps to buckets, everything..

You can tap all the trees you like, but with out weather there isn't a lot of sence in it.

[hookhill]

Bruce is a business man, and a good one at that. He and Liz do a good job. We are glad they are there, buying our sometimes marginal syrup. I do get a chuckle when Bruce talks about syrup shortages and is encouraging everyone to buy more tubing...spouts....ect!!

[ploefstedt]

Gary - friend and neighbor! As you know from cruising past
my lines, I have had more sap than I expected thus far, and
if you prefer the earlier lighter syrup, then there is a case to
be made for tapping as soon as you get flow.

Mind you, it depends on the exposure of your trees to the
sun this time of year - but even yesterday, where the weather
in Bedford topped out at 35 degrees, I managed to get about
20 gallons of sap out of the southerly line, with an open
field adcent to the trees. I was shocked! It was trickling
out at a rate of 3 gallons per hour - not bad for a lousy
55 taps on a cold day. On the other hand,
i've had zilch in the shady trees just up the road.
I have now about 110 gallons of sap in storage, out of 55 trees
in which the sap has really only flowed on 3 days.

You see from the earlier comment about Bascom's tapping
last week, that they are clearly expecting to get
more than 6 weeks out of their taps. This is due to their
switching over from the older style 'leave in' tap to the
stubby/disposable insert, which they assert produces for
up to 10 weeks, instead of 5-6. I had taken all my taps off and
boiled/bleached them (and rinsed!) so I have good reason to
believe they were essentially bacteria-free at the start; that's
why I was willing to put 'em in early.

See you on Nashua Road, eh?

Paul L.

[Mac_Muz]

Paul, Gary is nearer Bedford eh? No wonder you guys can tap.. I am sure there have been a few days in Tamworth that sap would have run, but not many days in a row. We are getting buried still and with more white stuff coming.

I get down to manchester driving delivery for parts rather often, and there is far less snow down that way. I will be forced into snow shoes, just to set taps.

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

I like Bruce and met him in person a few years ago at Verona. Nothing against Bruce and I appreciate what he has done for the industry and has been a good source of supplies not matter how big or small the order for many years for myself and many others.

I do think he gets a little carried away with predictions at times like 9 to 10 weeks out of a spout. Anything is possible in a given perfect year, but not likely. They have always treated me second to none and customer service has been tremendous. Hopefully they have got the shipping cost back under control.

[gmcooper]

I'm not sure Bascoms are tapping with the plan to get 9-10 weeks out of a taphole but with the number of taps they have they have to start early. Most all the really large operations do as well. Friends of ours have started they only have 6-7000 taps but there is only 2 of them and they milk cows as well. Can take them 3 weeks to tap. Yes they might get some early sap but they also might lose some at the end of the season from the same taps.

Mark

[ploefstedt]

Hi Guys -

It was actually Bruce's brother, whose name escapes me, that told me
that last year, the fresh 'throw away' inserts he had used were
the only ones producing after 9 weeks. He actually gave me quite a
talk about the bacterial contamination which contributes to the drying up
of the hole, and if I understood him correctly, they are in fact switching
over entirely to the stubby/insert system.

I ought to have qualified my remarks with the caveat that I am only
passing on what I was told by 'da man' himself, rather than professing any
acquired expertise. It does seem plausible that a fresh clean tap would
produce longer, but we'll see - if I am running dry by March 21st, I will
be asking you all for your best crow recipes...

Paul L.

[Valley View Sugarhouse]

That would have been David Bascom he has like 4000 taps on his own land that he taps and sells the sap to the business his brother owns.. I have seen those taps produce longer, It is kind of the same thing with new tubing producing longer, well its not the new tubing its the new taps on the tubing..

[mtcrumpit]

Folks,
I tapped the weekend of feb 23 and the sap ran pretty good. I have about 400-450 taps and had over 800 gallons of sap boiled by 2:30am Thursday 2/28. I was trying to get everything boiled before the freeze. needless to say I've made 17 gallons so far. I figured I would tap before the snow thawed and then I would not have to tap on snow shoes. That's not much fun. Glad I did it when I did as we have another 14" since I tapped. My legs are short so I'd been in big trouble. I live in New Boston with trees facing west. Not the most desirable but it's all I have. No vaccuum allowed on these borrowed trees. Hope the best for you all.
Mt Crumpit

[TapME]

Nice and hilly there in New Boston. Been there a few times for work. Are you up on the hill?

[mtcrumpit]

TapMe, there are hills everywhere in New Boston. I tap on the dairy farm land. yes I'm fortunate to have a hill side for the pipe line. I could put out a ton more taps but I don't have the room or time for a bigger rig. I'm basically a one man show. Ocasionally I'll get a little help gathering but usually I'm out there for the night alone, that's not necessarily a bad thing. Then I get to go to the paying job an hour away. If your ever in NB feel free to look me up. My wife manages the little store in town so most everyone knows us.
hope you have a great season.
mt crumpit