Just tapped the 16th of this month,was helping my daughter move. We will see how it goes, next week looks good if the weather forecast is right.
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Just tapped the 16th of this month,was helping my daughter move. We will see how it goes, next week looks good if the weather forecast is right.
Boiled 40+ gallons yesterday and 30+ today. Taps are still running and the syrup tastes good so we are still in business. Couple weeks ago we were boiling so much we were sure we would have a record year and now we are just hoping to match last year. Ma nature sure loves to play with us.
Starting to worry how I am going to be able to tap with this ever increasing snow pack. Forecast is showing lots more in the next 2 weeks. The older I get the more I hate tapping with snow shoes. Main line is also buried! Luckily I don't see tapping weather in the near future.
Finally tapped here in Covington Twp. Had to use the snowshoes and I hate tapping with them. Also had a lot of work digging out the main line. I like snow but this Feb was just silly. Weather is looking fine right now but we all know how fast that forecast can change. Will be trying out the new RO bucket RB20. Can't wait!
Had 2 runs this week and I am loving the RO. Besides cutting my boiling time in half, today I drew syrup almost constantly. My fist draw today was about an hour and 15 minutes! My system has always been very erratic at best. RO took my sap from 1.9% to 5.0% on one pass. I'm almost bored.:lol:
We had a couple good days last week but things are freezing up again here in the north central. Should have a lot of sap coming early next week.
Not having the best season here. Still didn't have a really good run and above freezing temps the last 2 nights and staying above again tonight. Fellow sugermaker 3 miles away had temps 10 degrees colder then me night before last. Actually think I only had 50% of my taps thawed and running and now they ran dry and the frozen ones are thawing and running. I hope after tomorrow nights freeze everything takes off and we get a normal good run. Running out of season here fast!
It’ll come, just all at once!!
Tapped Wednesday, collected 116 gallons of sap on Friday. Used my RB20 RO Bucket to reduce those 116 gallons of sap to 46 gallons of concentrate with just one pass. Boiled it down today and ready for the next big run starting Monday. Hope everyone has a great season.
Sap ran steady for 3 days. Went below freezing last night for a while and they ran well all day today again. I will have enough for another boil tomorrow then finish and bottle all that syrup in the evening. Busy days here and the forecast looks very good. (We all know that can change fast)
Is anyone besides me hoping we get a run this coming week? The big freeze should recharge the trees, but I am worried the holes might have dried out this week. I am tapped 5 weeks today. The trees ran great on the last run, 7 days ago. I have my barrels, pails and buckets rinsed, just waiting to put them back out. Not a big deal. With the temps that I see coming if the holes aren't dried up, I see a big finish! Am I alone in this thinking????
I'm also interested in seeing what plays out over the next week. I'm at the top of the county and am seeing some of my maples with buds opening. I've left about a dozen taps in the trees with buds that don't show signs of opening for the past week but don't know what to expect. (This is only my second season.) I'd love to see another run since I got such a late start this year.
Waynesgarden, I have been sugaring about 18 years and have never had buddy sap. I only have a few red and silvers and they bud out but never seem to pop open. They scare me enough to sometimes bring some samples from those trees to my stove for a quick boil, but it has never been bad. Your experience could differ.
Am I the only one in Pa that is still boiling? My tress aren't flowing hard but they are still flowing. I do have some tap holes that have dried up but others that are doing good. This morning 2 of my 6 tree buckets were overflowing. My sap is low in sugar (1.2%) but still clear and making great tasting syrup. I boiled Friday and today and if we get below freezing tonight ( it will be close) I might get another boil or two.
No, there are a few of us up north, susquehanna county, still boiling. But it is coming to a close soon. Good luck!
If the temp drop as hoped tonight, I should have enough tomorrow for one last small boil.
Hey Paul- haven't been on here much this year. We just turned our pumps off today. Really good season for us. Hope all is well and you got on your sled a few times this winter
Mike
Glad you had good season Mike. Unfortunately I did not get to ride the sled again this year.Quote:
Originally Posted by Maplewalnut
Well, my thermometer said we had a low of 33 degrees last night but I had ice in some of the buckets.:o It was just enough because my taps are flowing again. It looks like I will be boiling again tomorrow or Wednesday.:emb: Yippee!!!
Didn't get as cold as I hoped last week and just enough sap flowed from the 10 remaining taps around the house to boil down one more quart. Still, this (second) year was a learning year for me. Acquired and used an RO bucket and built a barrel stove that worked very well. Burned kiln-dried lumber cut-offs exclusively and easily kept a hot, continuous fire. (Have a free, unlimited supply so cutting firewood is no longer a concern.)
Some setbacks had me starting very late this year and only tapped for about a week before that warm spell hit but I'm happy with the 2 gallons I produced. Next year everything will be in place so I'll be ready when the sap is. I'm going to add 50 or so trees up the hill with tubing, sealing up a few small gaps between the tray and the stove, trying forced air below the fire and devising a preheater.
Today, is cleanup day.
Wayne
Wayne, I got just cold enough last week to give me another 2 1/2 gallons of syrup. That gave me 24 1/2 gallons for the year and that is my personal best. If you ever want to stop by to see my little setup, I would be happy to meet with you. Always love talking Maple.
Haven't been on here since the spring. It would be great to see your setup when you're back at it or could give a hand if needed when setting up. My schedule is 100% flexible. I'm outside today marking trees to tap.
Wayne
Wayne, I'm retired so I usually have time for Maple talk. I did just get back from a trip to Montana today so I will be busy catching up with things around here for a week or so. I will be putting up some lines that I have to take down each year at the neighbor's property in the next few weeks. Stay in touch.
Paul
All tapped and boiling here. Wow! Never seen them run like the last few days. My earliest start and making lots of syrup. Sugar is low, only 1.2 but it is really early. My RB20 has saved the day. Love my RO.
I see everyone complaining about the weather but at my place it is great. I bottled up 13+ gallons today and that is over 1/2 of the crop I did all last season. This week the weather looks excellent, but we all know that can change. Sugar is low 54:1, but we are making great syrup! How is everyone else in Lackawanna County doing?
Anyone else having big time niter problems this year? I can't run much more than 100 gallons of sap this year, without having to shut down and soak my pan overnight in vinegar. It's a real pain in the butt.
Hi Z/MAN,
I am certainly noticing the high nitre content from my trees in the Hudson Valley of New York this year. Our winter 2022/2023 had relatively little snow with the most significant snow happening 2nd week of March, after I had my taps in.
--Peter
Finally got all my taps in. Running today and looks like tomorrow and Friday. Next week might be a flood.
Tons of niter this year!!! Good luck
Great!, I had lots the last 2 years.Quote:
Originally Posted by Maplewalnut
Going to try tapping next week. Plans for last year fell apart with Lyme disease problems and an expansion by about 40 taps this year fell by the wayside when I broke my ankle just before Christmas.
Not ready to hobble into the woods yet but I'm determined to at least tap the trees right around the house.
A little is better than nothing and take it easy, you don't want to re- injure yourself. Good luck.
Thanks. I do push myself a bit as I refuse to be that old guy sitting around cataloging my aches and pains.
I can get 10 taps in, make some syrup and enjoy the process.
Wayne.
This sap run has been relentless. I did 928 gallons this week. All of last year I did 1,400 gallons. And it's still running!!!!
Tapped on Feb 20th. Had 2 almost unbelievable runs. One I boiled 8 out of 9 days. Now after a long warm spell and then a long below freezing spell, I have weather in the 40, 50, and 60"s. Not getting a drop of sap anywhere. I understand tap holes dry out but I never seen them all dry out at once. Anyone in Lackawanna county making syrup. After the great start it looks like I won't match last year.
Hi,
We tapped in January between the 2nd and 21st. We made a little mid January and quite a bit between the 26th and February 5th or so. Earliest we ever tapped. Earliest we ever made syrup. We boiled the last time on March 6th. Earliest we ever ended. We ended up with about 1/3 gallons per tap so pretty good. Low sugar as has been normal the past few years. Average about 1.2%. We put in a lot of effort with sanitation of taps. Calcium Hypochlorite rinse lines before season started and used check valve spouts. Bad squirrels this year. Had to do repairs almost daily. Sanitation helped but by the 4th of March we were making some real real dark stuff and I decided to end it when the run was really slowing down so there were diminishing returns each day. We might have been able to go longer but the quality was something I wasn’t excited about. We’re only at about 1200 feet so I think higher elevation spots would have had a later/longer season.
Well, after a crazy long cold spell the 2025 season is finally here. Put 120 taps in today. Some were running but I think it is going to take some time for them all to thaw out. Sure looking like it is going to be a great week. Good luck everyone.
Only got 90 gallons over 3 days. Anyone else have the same luck?
Finally running great here!
Flowing like crazy here. Probably going to be a record year. Forecast for 10 days is perfect!