Tapping on Tuesday

[StewieSugar]

This is my rookie year, so I'm still busy gathering all the supplies and getting things ready, but it looks like I'll be out in the woods on Tuesday setting my first taps.

Forecast down here in the southeast part of the state (near Rochester) for Tuesday is cool (25 F), but Wed is mid-30's followed by 40's on Thurs through Sunday.

I'm hoping for some good runs to put my new evaporator through its paces as well as all the taps, tees, and tubes "mtcrumpit" was nice enough to give me (Thanks!).

Anyone else tapping this week? Weather in northern part of the state still too cold?

[StewieSugar]

Guess I've got more to learn...

I set 23 taps on Tuesday based on the prediction of warm (40s) days and cool (20s) nights. Wednesday we plenty warm (42), which was good, but it never really cooled down last night (36). I checked the taps today, and there was just a dribble in each jug - about a cup or two per tap.

It looks like the next few days will be reasonably warm in the mid- to upper-30s, but nights are predicted to get only to 30 or 31. Am I correct in assuming that 30 to 31 is not cold enough? How cold does it need to get at night to freeze the trees enough to get a good run? Similarly, how warm does it need to get in the day?

[KenWP]

Your like me waiting for sap to find out if your doing things right or not. I would hate to go to all the trouble I have gone through to get supplies and make a evaporator and such to find out it was for nothing. Time will tell I hope.

[BriJack]

Stewie

i personally think that it hasn't been warm enough. what is your frost level at? It will come, you just need to be patient. You are probably a week early or more. Wish we would warm up, up here in the north, this warm two days has got me itchin' but I know its early yet.

[buck3m]

If this were two weeks later I think it would have ran great but apparently it's too early yet, which is why I'm holding off. Most of those buckets have some sap in them but only a pint or less. Looks like it's going to cool off after tomorrow and my plan is to tap when the next big warm-up starts.

StewieSugar, it seems to me that there are so many variables it's hard to say exactly what will happen at a certain temperature. I do think the best runs occur after the trees and ground have had a chance to warm up sufficiently and there is a good frost at night followed by highs in the 40s or so the next day. I think the main reason you got so little sap is that it's simply too early in the season.

[mntapper]

too cold up here yet. snow this morning cold this weekend, at least another 7-10 days before i start tapping

[Peepers]

Still a lot of frost in the yard, melted snow still ponding up. I tapped Monday and we only have a pint or less from each tree so far as well. I think when it melts a bit we'll be good to go. I'm still new at this too but last year it didn't take much below freezing at night to get a good run going the next day. We had a couple trees that would give us over 3 gallons a day. that was mid-late march last year and this winter seems like it was colder so i'm guessing we have more frost.

the turkey fryer pot couldn't keep up last year, we had sap stored in every food-safe container we had and I had the fire going almost 24x7. I'm getting our previous kitchen sink back from the welder on Monday as an evaporator, hopefully over twice the surface area will get er done a little faster.

bring on the sap!

[KenWP]

I invented a evaporator useing a sink also. I figured I was nuts to think of it till I joined this site and found others think like me. Scared my wife to find out I am either nuts or there's more of me out there some place. I am waiting on sap now to see how it does. My first plan was to use a 32 liter aluminium stock pot untill I figured it was to small anyways. It was almost 1 square foot in surface area. The sink is 2 and SS.

[Jim Powell]

I was going to tap this weekend, but looking at Accuweathers forecast of getting really cold again I'll probably tap on Wed/Thursday of next week when the ground is firm and easy to get around on, the wait for the warm up.

I'm 25 miles west of downtown MPLS.

JCP

[Davydd]

The University of Minnesota Landscape Arboretum in Chanhassen, MN started tapping today. I was out there this morning and photographed some of their work and then I tapped three of my trees this afternoon. Sap was flowing nicely in one tree. This is my first time as I had never done this before. I posted a 20 phototorial on Facebook in my albums that can be viewed here by anyone, Facebook member, friend or not...

http://tinyurl.com/7fd8f8

[markcasper]

Minnesota tappers: You are not getting much because its early yet. I am behind the 8 ball because of work and am itching to get started. I have tapped one, but not much. If your using open taps, I'd hold off at least 1 more week or into the next week.

There is 6 inches frost in the soil in the woods. (I did several checks with a hammer and fencepost) In yards or in the open the frost will be much more. Usually I make much more syrup in April than in March.

[mntapper]

just checked the weather forcast, big snow on tuesday then below 0 by thursday, it might be 2 weeks before i start tapping up here

[StewieSugar]

Yeah; patience has never been one of my virtues... ;)

I checked yesterday and today, and one tap produced three gallons each day. This tree was along the bottom of a hill (bluff, actually). I checked the trees on top of the hill (~ 120 feet higher elevation), and they were dry.

With four straight days in the 40's, the top few inches of ground are very soft/muddy, and it's a real mess out there. However, there's still plenty of frost underneath. It's suppose to be cold and snow tomorrow then heat up again (high-30's) on Monday, so I'm interested to see what happens.

Anyone know how much the ground frost plays a factor? Does the ground need to thaw before sap runs well, or is the air temp more important?

[Peepers]

I know its still early but I also am not big in the patience dept! one of my 3 maples was dripping pretty good today and one of the 3 box elders I tapped was dripping like crazy. sap was spraying off the bit when I drilled it this afternoon. With only a few taps I'm planning on re-boring some of mine in a few weeks. I read of others doing that here and it seems like a good plan. I started with a 9/32 bit today and will go to 5/16 the next time.

I'm amazed at all the good info and discussion on this site - thanks to everyone that contributes!

[markcasper]

Ground frost plays a BIG ROLE in when they will start. I bet the tree that was down on the bluff was on the south side of that bluff eh? That would explain it running and the ones on top of the hill not running. I have the same thing in my woods.

Give it time....usually the BIG runs don't occur around here until the end of March and into April.

The trees always run the best when its hardest to get to them (mud), frost going out.

[StewieSugar]

The trees always run the best when its hardest to get to them (mud), frost going out.

I got my tractor (1958 Int'l 400) stuck on Thursday, and it took me over four hours to get it out, and this was with mostly-frozen ground. If it gets much worse, it will get real "interesting" out there.... ;)

[Peepers]

With cold weather coming we decided to do a small batch with the 4-5 gallons of sap we had from the two trees that had been dripping. Only got a little less than a pint but its good stuff! I wasn't sure how the silver maple/box elder sap mix would turn out but its good.

Now I can't wait for the big sap runs so I can get a real fire going instead of using the grill's side burner and a big pot...

And yes the trees that were dripping have West and a some South exposure. The other more shaded trees weren't dripping yet.