Got 230 taps in on Friday and Saturday. Just have a few buckets to go when the sap starts to run. Will work on tanks and pumps today. Looks like we will still be froze up until next weekend.
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Got 230 taps in on Friday and Saturday. Just have a few buckets to go when the sap starts to run. Will work on tanks and pumps today. Looks like we will still be froze up until next weekend.
Finished our first 2019 syrup today - one gallon off our 15 taps. With some more cold on the way it looks like the tap holes will freeze up again for the next few days.
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Finally tapped the rest of our trees, 20 in total. Sap was running on all but the largest trees in the shade. First time I had the kids out tapping with me, they had to "taste the syrup" on each tap before moving on.
Happy sapping!
I finally tapped my trees Saturday, and so far (have not checked today) my trees have not produced. Between 24 taps I may have 10 gallons, I think everything is still frozen. Hopefully this heatwave of today and tomorrow help open things up.
Boiled about 30 gallons yesterday, got 3 quarts. Checked today, 30 more gallons in the buckets. Looks like a busy week. Need to figure out my setup - last year we got 5-6 gph on block arch without grate; this year seems like 3-4/hour with high temp (for kiln use) bricks and a grate. AUF and all that as well. Always fun to play with configuration...
It's been running like a faucet here in Northern Saratoga the last few days. I filled up my 35 gallon tank on the back of the ATV last night and imagine I'll have close to that again later tonight. Looks like I may do a boil tomorrow to get a good batch of the golden stuff while it's fresh. From there I'll probably batch boil for the strong Amber we like in our house.
Happy sapping!
Wife boiled 30 more gallons today, 3 quarts finished. Buckets full when I got home from work, like 50 more gallons. Looks like another busy day tomorrow, hopefully boil 40+ gallons, starting before sunrise. "Hobby!"
First boil of the year today, spent sun-up to sun-set out of doors and it felt great. Beautiful day to be around the ol' barrel stove.
Cranked through a good portion of 100 gallons of sap that I measured at 4% and will boil off the rest tomorrow, we'll see what we yield when finished.
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Officially done for the year. It was a short but intense season. Wish I'd been able to get an earlier start but mother nature just wasn't having it.
I introduced a small RO into my setup for the second half of this year's boiling and learned a lot by doing that...excited to work out some kinks and use it for all of next year.
Anyone else in the area still at it?
We are in Albany county up in elevation a bit. Looks like Sunday will be it for us. Overall looks like and average syrup year with good sugar content. I agree, always looking to smooth out a few parts of the operation for next year.