When is it too early to tap?

[aunt stellas gardens]

The weather man gave a long range forcast yesterday to the End of January. Starting at the end of this week we are going to get below freezing temps at night and above freezing temps during the day. I have always made it a rule to not let the weather man dictate my plans but....the idea of these temperatures is starting to make me feverish. Has anyone ever tapped as early as January here in SWPA? Will that make for a short season or no season at all because of a mistake of tapping to early? When is the best time to put your taps in?

[Dill]

Heck I was looking at the long range this morning and friday to next wensday we are looking at 35-45 highs, heck if I was ready I would stick in a few taps.

[gator330]

It's going to take a week of above freezing weather just to let the tree warm up. There frozen just like every thing else. You can tap in January they say it doesn't hurt to have the taps in and when it runs it runs. The early shut down of holes is do to bacteria if it's cold the bacteria isn't going to grow and shut down the hole. If it runs you have sap if not, it's not a big deal. Look back at times people in your area started last year. search taping PA

[red maples]

believe me we are all probably itching to get out there. I can see the sugar house from the kitchen window its just down the driveway a bit and I see all tubbing through the woods everythime I look out there I see it, I get excited then sigh because I can't do it yet!!!!! :rolleyes:

[Jax]

aunt stellas gardens, you and I are falrly close. I'm just down the highway in Wheeling!

Yeah, the forecast looks tempting. I'm seriously considering tapping sometime this coming week. Unless there is a good reason to NOT tap, I'm thinking "why not?" I don't have too many trees, anyway.

[wcproctor]

I'm going to tap 12 or so on Thur. just to test it out.

[aunt stellas gardens]

Hi neighbor (Jax)
I just may put a few taps in and see what happens. I was just worried if I put them in too early then I would somehow compromise the hole. I'll give it some more thought and wait for someone to give us a reason NOT to tap. Lack of trees is not my problem, but working the season into an already existing 40 hour work week IS the problem. Using cinder blocks as the arch (I think that is the term, still just a fire chopper) and the sugar shack is still a dream. Is it getting warm in here?

[Jeff E]

As noted, the only downside to tapping early is that your trees start to heal the tap hole. It may be very slow at the beginning, frozen days, but the potential is there.

That is the tension, because the taps will only be good for so long, especially if using old taps. If you have new taps, you could be more agressive.

[killingworthmaple]

I am in southern CT and 2 years ago I tapped the last week in Jan. with great results. I watched the weather and when they said serveral days in the high 30s low 40s I tapped and got great runs and made very light syrup and ended up pulling my taps 6 weeks later they were still running strong. Last year I tapped in Jan. it took several days for them to start running and again I had great runs and then I stopped boiling and they were still running. I like light syrup so I tap early and pull my taps early when it starts to darken. I always thought if someone has a small pan and more trees than he can boil at one time one could tap 1/2 the trees early and 1/2 later and stretch out the season longer than 6 weeks.

Nathan

[Gary R]

Aunt Stella's,

If I lived where your at I'd tap. I'm about 80 miles north of you. I will wait because it will not be that warm up here. You've said you have a lot of trees and you don't put in too many taps. Worst case, tap some more trees. If you don't have a lot of time, this cold weather will allow you to hold your sap until you can boil. I've had my taps in for 10 weeks and they still run.

[wcproctor]

Ha killingworthmaple where in CT are you ? Are you close to Mass?

[Brent]

I guess the bottom line is you won't know you've tapped too soon until it's too late.

Specifically, your holes are dried up and everyone near you is still getting a good run. Down your way I'm guessing that would be about the end of March or early April. Up here we don't tap till mid March.

[Goggleeye]

So starting now in SE Missouri Probably wouldn't hurt? Last year was my first year, and I tapped Jan 30.

[KenWP]

I tapped March 5 for some of my trees and they ran until April 20 then stopped when it stopped freezeing. They never ran until the 11th of march and then only a few cupfulls a day. This year who knows. Am worried if I don't tap early enough Theron will suck the trees dry on me.

[killingworthmaple]

I am the in southern part of CT down by the sound. Killingworth is where the sugar house is we tap trees on the Madison and Killingworth line.

Nathan

75 taps and growing
2x6 evaporator
16x16 finisher
3 Kids (sap Haulers)
1 Maple Widow (wife)

[Dave Y]

Aunt stella,
If you have trouble fitting sugaring into a 40hr work week do like i do extend the work week to 80hrs you will have more time. If you have an extended period of weather that has a good freeze thaw cylce through that period go ahead and tap. I have tapped presidents Day weekend for the last 7years, never made much syrup until march

[Hop Kiln Road]

In Scott Nearing's book he talks about his experiments of tapping in Nov, Dec, Jan, Feb etc. and the results, which were pretty good. He did this back in the 1940's and obviously had metal spiles and buckets. The results he reported were drastically different from what people report today especially the length of time his tap holes produced sap. The only differences I see are: (1) his tap holes were slightly larger and (2) his metal spiles and buckets versus todays plastic and tubing. I suspect the bacteria rarely had a pathway back into the tree back then and perhaps the bacteria strains are becoming more resistant to the various washing techiques today.

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

Weather was much warmer back then and they had more freezing and thawing in Nov, Dec, and Jan. Before Al Gore came along and came up with global warming and now it is too cold those three months! LOL!

[ericjeeper]

I tapped today in central Indiana. Today is the first day we have had above freezing in probably three weeks. Our ponds are frozen to a depth of 5-6 inches. I drilled this afternoon and as soon as I pulled the drill out most were trickling. The larger trees seemed to be frozen more so than the smaller average trees.

[KenWP]

In the old days we used to get more days that were warm and cold nights. Now we either get cold or the nights stay warm. Extremes of each now. Spring is not like it was 30 years ago even.

[The Birdman]

I got all my taps in today. going to be mid 40s next two weeks. Where I'm at I might get a week in march before it's to warm. 38 today mid 40s IT ON :D :D :D :

[PerryW]

It will likely be nearly 2 months before I tap here in northern NH

[newman_maple]

I am going to tap about half my trees this weekend in southern Ohio.

I have similar forecasts as some of you. I have tapped in late January the last two years successfully. Last year, my trees started to bud the first week of March.

I think us in the southern range just have to jump in when the sap gets deep enough, regardless of what week it is.

[aunt stellas gardens]

Well, the fever has reached a high degree. I have 18, 5 gallon buckets and we plan to go to the hunting woods and tap there. It will be a good experiment and we can save the trees we have at home for February. We have no electric or water at this site so it will be a learning experience. What I want to do is tap and boil down the sap to reduce and then bring home and do the finishing boil at home. Has anyone ever done that? Boil sap at a remote site and then bring it home to do the finishing?

[Thompson's Tree Farm]

Aunt Stella's Gardens,
My Dad talks about doing exactly that when he was a kid 85 years ago. The sap was boiled down in a big flat pan in the woods and then brought to the house in milk cans when it was "sweet stuff". It was then finished on the kitchen stove (wood fired cook stove) by my grandmother in a 3x3 pan that we still have. Much of the syrup was processed directly to sugar. Several buckets of soft sugar were made for home consumption and blocks of hard sugar were made to take to the store to barter for other goods.

[Brent]

I've never heard it suggested before but maybe all you south'n eager beavers should take a thermometer to the bush with you and drill a hole in the first tree just small enough to put the thermometer stem in a few inches to see if the tree has thawed. No sap comes from frozen trees.

[Cardigan99]

I won't set a tap here in Central NH for at least another 6 weeks

[red maples]

probably 3rd or 4th week in feb depending on weather!!!

[gmarvin]

We tapped just a few yesterday. tapped more today and we have run! We are on the very, very edge of the sugar maple growing zone on the western edge of the Shenandoah Valley. The trees are few and far between and the season can be very short so our idea is tap as soon as the weather lets us in the new year. We will sweeten our pans by the weekend.:mrgreen:

[Farmboy]

When have youguys in southern mass and norther ct tapped in the past few years and when do you think you will tap this year. I'm just woundering?

[wcproctor]

OK I Did it!:) I'm doing a test, I only put 10 in and 6 were moving. Yes it is very early but I am look for something to do. Ha Farmboy I usually start in the 2nd week of Feb. and I am in Mass on the RI line.

[Gary R]

Aunt Stella's,

Let us know how they are running in a few days. South facing slope will be running best. You are able to take the evaporator too the trees?

Made it to 40 today. It's still 35 at 9 o'clock. Need to wait up here though.

[Jax]

I got everything prepared to tap but had the wrong drill bit, so my tap hole is too big. It's a plastic tap, so I wrapped a bunch of duct tape around it, hammered it in, and so far, it's working. No sap yet, but it started to get dark before I could get a smaller bit and drill some other trees.

It's still 37 at 9:35 on Thursday night. If the weather keeps this way and we get some decent snow melt, I think I could get my first sap by the end of the weekend.

[Saw Filer]

Farmboy,
We are in N.E. Ct. and we usally tap between the first of Feb and the middle of the month, the middle of the month would be late for us to have all our taps in. I think this is a little earlier than most people we know in this area.In the past we have tried tapping one third to half our trees early in the areas we thought would run early, in order to tap more without using the bathtub for a holding tank. This seems to work pretty well (not the bathtub part) most years depending upon the weather,as always.

george

[The Birdman]

I've never heard it suggested before but maybe all you south'n eager beavers should take a thermometer to the bush with you and drill a hole in the first tree just small enough to put the thermometer stem in a few inches to see if the tree has thawed. No sap comes from frozen trees.

When you drill a hole and sap runs out before you get the tap in it warm enough.

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

We tapped just a few yesterday. tapped more today and we have run! We are on the very, very edge of the sugar maple growing zone on the western edge of the Shenandoah Valley. The trees are few and far between and the season can be very short so our idea is tap as soon as the weather lets us in the new year. We will sweeten our pans by the weekend.:mrgreen:

You are about 3 hours from me and I agree, if you are going to make syrup, you probably need to tap now as your season is probably about done by March 1st. Be interesting to see what you sugar content is, I imagine it's pretty low.

[red maples]

well I said I was tappin' no tree but did 5 today way out on the end I wasn't going to tap them this year anyway. So no loss if they close up. I got like 1 cup of sap. it got to 43 degrees here but the sun went behind the clouds before noon. So the trees got no thaw at all. maybe just the edges on south side a little but no enough. forcasted for 42 tomorow then starting to get colder by sunday then back to normal temps by monday. I hope I get something tomorrow so I Can at least play with it a little.

[maple flats]

According to Dr Tim Perkins' presentation last weekend at the Verona Maple Conference, He is tapping this week, at Proctor Maple Research Facility in Vermont. He IS using the new check valve adapters. He is doing a test with careful monetering of results to see if the season can effectively be extended a few weeks. Time will tell.

[gmarvin]

You are about 3 hours from me and I agree, if you are going to make syrup, you probably need to tap now as your season is probably about done by March 1st. Be interesting to see what you sugar content is, I imagine it's pretty low.

We have a hydrometer for brewing and it tells us the sap is about 3%. Does that sound about right? Our trees are so very few and far between there is sometimes a good hike between lots. When the weather warms it is almost panic time to get started before we miss it. If it were not for the love of it, I am sure most would find our woods not worth sugaring in. We get just enough syrup by seasons end to keep us in supply and to sell a few hundred dollors worth to friends and family. What was your start date last year?

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

I started tapping last year around Feb 1st which was first stage. Next two stages were in the next 3 weeks as I usually space out taps with my north bush sometimes not getting tapped until March 1st. MY season is usually over by March 21st.

What is your ratio of sap to syrup. Take 86 and divide it by the number of gallons you boil and you will find out your sugar content. I would doubt it is 3% as the further south you go and the milder the winters, it seems the lower the sugar content. I know a producer in Monroe county which is close to VA border and south of me and much warmer area and he runs 50 to 75 to 1 ratio and has about 1500 taps.

[gmarvin]

Thanks for the information. We did about 65 to 1 last year. We started Feb 1 last year as well and that was late as we had to be out of town earlier. The season was over for us about March 3. Lost sap in buckets as the weather warmed so quickly and stayed warm, we could not boil off fast enough. At that point the sap had lost so much sugar we ran about 85 to 1.

[Leadft]

I feel behind allready with the weather in the 30's for the last few days and I have no trees tapped....

[KenWP]

I think it's safe to say that if you drill a hole in a tree and get no sap it's to early to tap.

[ennismaple]

I think it's safe to say that if you drill a hole in a tree and get no sap it's to early to tap.

In our neck of the woods if the month ends in "Y" it's too early to tap!

[KenWP]

That could be May some years I remember out west.

[Brent]

June may be too soon for me this year. Today my neighbour agreed to let me tap her bush. Going to add 200 - 250 more taps.

What have I done. The panelling in the sugar shack is not done. The pans are out in the snow. No pipeline, no wire, no tanks, no releasers.

I hope I see a different face in the morning when I shave. That couldn't have me that took that on.

[maple flats]

I say it's too early to tap if you are not ready to boil. For me it's too early. I'm farther behind this year than I have ever been. Today I will be walking and fixing my main woods. I have many side ties that failed over the winter. I must have used the wrong wire. This year I will use galvinized for the side ties because what I used last year rusted and broke in several locations. I had used non galvinized rebar tie wire from a bunch of spools I had for years. Big mistake!

[aunt stellas gardens]

We went ahead and tried the preliminary boil, experimental boil, reduce the fever boil... what ever it is called, and boiled down about 35 gallons and produced 7 half pints. The sugar content must be low and the sap did not run very well the last half of last week. But I did learn alot! Especially not to rush the season. The syrup is good and it is alot darker than our first batch last year. I think maybe it is the low sugar ratio and that required us to boil longer. Now that it is out of my system for January, I'll relax and watch the temps for the next month.
Question: should we pull the 15 taps that are in now or leave them in for the next boil? I think the temps are going back to freezing day and night so the sap should not spoil. right?

ASG

[Jeff E]

Early runs will be low sugar normally. Since the damage is done to the tree, leave the taps in for the season. It is always fun to do that first run!

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

Won't be long it will be running again and the sugar content should rise significantly for you.