Wayne County, New York 2010

[gator330]

Just in from the woods!!! The 100 on main line 1/2 inch gravity are in!!! By the time I started, worked up to the top and back down. There was a stream of sap hitting the tank. Took less then an hour to tap in. Dad and my four year old went along for the walk. By the way it looked there may be 100 gal. by morning. Be happy with 75 a day for the first week. NO turning back now. May run some short 5/16 lines this week rather then set pals. Have a buyer for pals and drops may just let them go? Love a full pal of sap but time is a factor. Lets go Wayne and Ontario county. Backyardsugarer your missing sap if your not in today.

[Ace_R]

Yeah, I tapped my 12 trees this past weekend, so far so good! Good luck with the season!

[gator330]

Only about 55 gal. of sap sence yesterday morning. We'll see what we get for the weekend at least get the pan sweet and maybe pull of a little 2010 syrup. Going to run some more short runs this weekend 5/16 to a tank. Skip the pals and pickup... 10 day changed a little but were in. Makes me want to get in more, More, MORE!!!!

[backyardsugarer]

Gator,

I am going to get in the woods on Saturday snow or no snow! You got addicted to the tubing didn't you? End of next week looks good on accuweather (Mid 20's and low 40's). Let me know when we are going to run the tubing in that huge woods you have.

Chris

[gator330]

Whats not to love about tubing!!! Drive up drop pump, pump, drive away!!!!! Sap is running good right now. As for the big woods?!?! That won't happen till I own a 2x8 and 600 gph RO!!!!!! In a real sugar house with water and power!!!! As well as no longer work a full time job!!!!! Happy taping Saturday!!

[gator330]

Made a little syrup today brought up all the sap and boiled pulled off a little over a gal. nothing major The sap tested at 2%. The syrup was a nice light amber, was hopeing to make "NEW YORK" fancey being first run this early?? Will have to see what the next run has to show.

Chris, cought you on the new last night. Hope you far well with this storm. By the way you need a bigger sugar house!!!!

[backyardsugarer]

Job 1 this April is to expand the sugar house for an RO. The storm was not big deal. I was in the woods today setting up my tank and releaser and not a single line was down. You are way ahead of me with a gallon of light made already. Depending on who's forecast you look at the end of next week could be decent so I am tapping tomorrow.

Chris

[davey]

I'll be tapping in Macedon tomorrow as well

[gator330]

The snow was just a big pain for the weekend. It's melting fast and will settle a lot in the next day or two. Thinking about heading out and set my short runs for something to do. There is a little sap trickeling in. Next week looks good. If there is any kind of run I won't want any more taps in. I have to work a long hard day to boil off 150 gallons of sap with my little rig. It feals good to have a little syrup mad, feel a lot better to have a lot mad!!!!!

[gator330]

If your not in you had better be today!!!!!! Skip work, skip school, skip dinner and tap, tap, tap!!!!! The ten day forcast is screaming sap!! Pulled up the tank and we are boiling now. Started at five with about 100 gal of 2.1 sap. it's running now and may run all day.

[backyardsugarer]

Collected 500 gallons last night and running strong. Pulling 25" of vac at the releaser. Boiled for a few hours last night but it will be a late one tonight with what I have left and collect today. Next weekend looks like it cound be big.

Chris

[backyardsugarer]

Just went to the tank on my lunch break and got another 210 gallons. Sap is running decent. Then I started the vac pump and it really took off. I may be boiling all night.

Chris

[gator330]

All sap has been a t 2.1% hope it gets a little better. Comeing in a good pace I took a tap count there is only 75 on my line that is in right now. Weve been getting 60 plus a day every day this week. Can't complain with that sence it is all gravity and hasn't been the best of conditions yet. The worst part is it takes a lot to cook down that much sap on my rig. It will be forsale the first week of June and a larger one on order!!!!!

[Wanabe1972]

Is anyone getting runs in eastern NY? weve had two perfect days for sap to run in a row and Ive got nothing. Checked tanks at 1:00pm not even enough to fill my head tank. Im usually pretty patient but this has me nervous. Normally have made 10 or so gallons by this time and cant hardly get that in sap.

[Ace_R]

Yeah, I didn't have anything in my buckets yesterday......I am hoping that with last night being a little colder that I would get a small run today.....but we'll see when I get home from work.

[backyardsugarer]

My buckets did not run that much either. Everyone I have talked to that is on gravity is getting some sap but not a ton. I think that vac really helps with marginal conditions which is what we have right now. I am sure you will have plenty of sap by this weekend.

Chris

[gator330]

GET READY TO RIDE THE WAVE!!!!!!!!

The two days were nice but not sap nice didn't get cold enough at night even though the day was nice. Now last night was cold and today is sunny and warm and the sap is RUNNING HARD here and now!!!!! You'll get plenty the next few days to wish it would slow down some!!!!!!! Those are the words of a man with a small evaporator and twice the tape count for it's size!

[backyardsugarer]

Just went to the woods on luch break to see if it was running. Holy cow, fast and steady. 400 gallons tank is half full already. I have to get there before the ulitmate sin happens and it runs on the ground!!!!!! Gator, you could need a 4 by 12 before this is over.
'

Chris

[gator330]

Not the run I had hoped for today. Was done boiling at two after pulling the tank twice. Not enough of a run to boil in the morning. Finished and bottled 4.5 gallons today.

[gator330]

Just in from the woods set 25 pals, not shure why? The main line is running well and I have a supply of tube, drops and tanks. I could have set short run 5/16 for easy pick up, yet I set pals??? The walk will do me well. Funny with every pal I set (Keeping them close to the field edge) just beyond it and up hill was another maple screaming for me to tap it too!!!!! Set the Farmall 806 up with a cage tank and a tote with a 12 volt pump in it for easy dump to pick up the pals. Using the bucket on the Mahindra to run down pick up the cage tank the 75 taps on 1/2 inch gravity run into. All is working well so far. The preheater (copper around the stack) has knocked a lot of time off boiling so I just as well better add more taps to keep her sweet and steamy. The evaporator that is. The other "her" around her is never sweet or steamy during maple season!!!!! Any number of smilies could go here!!!!

[gator330]

How you guys in Wayne County makeing out???


Not getting any sap the ten day looks bad and the syrup is gone dark. Not at all close to last years amount. Hard to beleave, I was really looking forward to a killer season. Wanted to make ten more gallons then last year and I might be ten less.

[backyardsugarer]

I agree had a killer start but the sap has stopped and no freezing temps for the next 7 days in the forecast. Not even the vac. is helping much now.

Chris

[gator330]

I would hate to think it could be the end. Next year I hope to be a lot bigger set up so even if there are few runs I can make a bunch off of them. I hope to do 30 gallons just to meet the demands of my little nich at the local market. Not going to do that this year without buying syrup.

[Ace_R]

Doing ok out here in Macedon, I boiled 10 gallons of concentrated sap and got almost 2 quarts. Boiling on my small steam pan set-up has been going well. I too am concerned about the weather forcast; nothing in my buckets yesterday, but we'll see what happens. Have another 15 gallons of sap to boil down, so that will keep me busy for a while. Good luck to everyone, hopefully the season is not as dire as it seems.

[danno]

Yes, the forecast does not look good for the next week with lows in the 30's and highs in the 50's, but I don't think we've ever been done before 3/31 and that's 3 weeks away.

If the weather turns cooler for the last two weeks of March, we'll be fine. If it goes the other way, well, that would be a shame.

[gator330]

The ten day for my town shows one night getting down to 34 degree high 50-55 and most of the time the low is around 36 degree. That takes us to March the 20th. I cleaned every thing so when the sap came again I could keep it a little lighter then what the last batch was. In the last week I got maybe 20 gallons of sap off 100 tapes. I almost feel as if I 'm cleaned up for the season at least i'll have half my wood left for next year. Very disapointed in this season.

[nruder]

I am amazed at the 10 day forecast as well. I can not remember it being this warm at night so early in March. It will be interesting to see if we get hard frosts further out after all this warming. 10 Days seems pretty far away and closer to Spring, making it seem unlikely to get some good hard frosts.

I only have 9 taps out and have boiled sap down to about 2 and a half gallons of syrup. It tastes fantastic!!

[Ace_R]

Wow Nruder, I am not that far from you and I have 12 trees tapped and haven't even come close to my expected yields. It's good at least someone is making out. I have only been able to produce about a gallon this year. Kinda dissapointed, but you can only work with what mother nature gives ya, I guess.

[Lyle]

One thing to keep in mind with ten day forecasts. Ususlly only the first few days are really any kind of a forecast, after that they tend to go on the average temps for the area. It could end up better than it looks right now. At least that's what I keep telling myself.

[nruder]

Yes, Ace R, it does seem like a lot of syrup from so few taps. I have a few trees in the back of our little suburban lot that crank out sap like crazy. More sap seems to come out than the averages people have suggested for tree averages. The trees on the front of our lot produce much less sap.

Our lot is on a slight hill, making the trees on the front higher than the ones on the back. Also, the ground tends to be wetter behind our home and a stream is not too far away, which tells me that the water table is close to the surface. Do you or anyone out there think that wetter ground contributes to an increase in sap production? There is such a marked difference in the trees, that I have been wondering for a while.

[Ace_R]

Well boys I packed it in today, I tap mostly silver maples and the buds have started to break; so the season is offically over for me. Made just over a gallon of syrup, hopefully better luck next year. Good luck to all of you who are still in!

[gator330]

Well it's been about 12 days sence we've gotten any sap. Only thing left to do now is pick up, clean up and sell the little bit we did make. I think it was about 8.5 gal the last 1.5 being grade B. Not the season I had hoped for!!!! I'm almost shure we had 4 freezing knights the hole month of March. One of them may have been Febuary still? Very disapointing!!!!! Look for a bigger better next year.

[gator330]

Took a walk and pulled all taps today. I didn't expect to find that all the holes would still be wet. Also had some what of a run take place over night. About 65 gallons of sap. Mixed in with some three week old sap there was a total of maybe 100 gallons of sap for the last three weeks of March. Not a bad daily average but for 3/4 of the month. I don't think it was a good average at all! I will say it was nice to see after all that hot weather that the holes were still wet. So thats a rap for use this season. Time to tend to the hatching chicks and ducks. Get the green house back under plastic and start some seeds.