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So glad to see sugar bushing going
On in Md. My family has 100 acres In
Friendsville. Wondering if it is to late
To tap for this year. Starting out on turkey
Fryer for this year. If we get enough sap
I'll make an evaporator out of an oil tank
For next year. Thanks
Youre not that far south of many of us in Ohio if your in Friendsville and we're just getting started. Some of the guys in Ky have been going for a week or two and your north of them. Its not too late as long as your Maples haven't budded out. , do a test hole when the weather is right and see what comes out. There's a large producer in Cumberland area and I bet he's getting ready or going. Forget his name. Another nice sugarhouse on the road to the lake down there. 42? 62?
Also watch for posts from some of the southwest Pa guys, lots of them around Meyersdale area. If you have 100 acres and a turkey fryer your problem is not going overboard and drowning in sap. Get out there and try it and good luck.
Western MD Mapler,
You still have time the West Virginia producers near Mt. Storm have in the past waited until Valentines Day before tapping, your weather should be the same.
Mark 220 Maple
You have still got time. Just keep an eye on the extended forecasts for your area for that freeze / thaw cycle that's needed for sap flow. And as SevenCreekSap said start slow with a few good trees until you get the hang of retrieval, storage, boiling off etc... I started off with a TF also and after my first long batch immediately went out and bought 2 stainless steel buffet pans, scrounged up some old cement block to make a small arch and reduced my boil time from about 1G per 1.5hr to 6-7 gals in an hour. Some folks have continued using their TFs year after year but if you've got a lot of sugar bush and decide to go "all in" you will quickly realize the need to upgrade to a level that meets you needs even if you just do it in increments. Good luck!
Here's on of the guys near you:
S & S Maple Camp
10816 Sugar Camp Dr
Corriganville, MD 21524
(301) 724-1433
Another just north is:
Brenneman's Maple Syrup & Equipment company
572 Oak Dale Road
Salisbury, PA 15558
(814) 941-8974 *Call first
I started last year and boiled on my kitchen stove.This year I'm boiling on a 3 burner high propane stove with a custom made syrup pan with 3 dividers and a preheater pan sitting on top. I'm boiling 4 gph and only have the burners turned about a 1/4 open. Probably could get more gph if I opened the burners up more. Doesn't matter what you use, just tap some trees and go for it. Be fore warned though, this sugar making is addictive!!
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Definitely not too late. If anything, too early. I'm in central MD and most of the sugarers around here are just getting started. I drilled a test hole last week and not much has come out. Probably going to tap some this weekend and see what I get. Mid Feb is probably going to be about right.
This has to be one of the best forums not for maplers but in general. All the responses and recomendations are always positve and helpful. It seems like all other forums have select few that ruin a topic. Now that the brown nosing Is out of the way, thanks for all your input. I will be taping today. The weather looks absolutely perfect for sugarbushing. As for the evaporator, turkey fryer is on standby, and I will be using a 55 gallon drum with a stainless steel sink as a pan. Thanks to this website for the idea and a barn full of junk. Notched out a section on the side of the barrel so the sink can sit two inches into the fire. May rig some kinda preheater with old coffee cans on the the barrel. Gonna tap @ 20-25 trees. My grandad from quebec gave me some aluminum buckets and taps. Using a couple gatorade water coolers for transporting and storing. Sounds really redneck, but hey its a start right. Thanks again for all your input and encouragement. Hope to post pics of my setup soon.
No such thing as too redneck when you're backyard sugaring. Whatever works. I tapped the other day, almost nothing coming out except for 1 tree that produced about a quart of sap on Saturday. We'll see what happens this week as nighttime temps will be getting closer to freezing.
Quick update -- Checked my buckets yesterday, about 1 gallon out of a medium sized maple and about a quart out of a smaller red maple. Other larger trees are still bone dry.
Well only tapped 10 trees and got ten gallons of sap. Boiled it Tuesday and got a little under a quart. Not bad for first time. Hope to post pics on next boil.