Still waiting patiently. Thought we would have a couple days prior to sub freezing temps through the weekend but not producing. 15 day forecast starting on the 15th looks to be the real thing this time. Get ready!!!!!
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Still waiting patiently. Thought we would have a couple days prior to sub freezing temps through the weekend but not producing. 15 day forecast starting on the 15th looks to be the real thing this time. Get ready!!!!!
God I hope so Jukenjer!
Jukenjer,
I'm still new at this- 3rd year, we still have 12" of snow on the ground with another 3" that fell this AM. I really thought the trees would start flowing this week. I was sadly mistaken. I'm a little bit south of you, near Brimson. We've had pretty decent weather this week,I really thought the sap would start flowing. Some taps I've had had out for 3 weeks due to the forecast I seen and then it changed as the days approached. When do you put out taps? I fear that I put them out too early and when the sap starts to really flow, the tree will be in it's healing process and my volume will be limited.
I have some small maple trees of which I pruned branches back in November when the trees were dormant. The wounds started weeping sap yesterday for the first time, 5 months after pruning, and it is a flood soaking the trunks of the trees. I am no expert but I think the healing process only occurs after most if not all of the sap run has occurred in springtime (which is ultimately how I know when to pull taps knowing the season has ended), so I do not feel there is a time limit regarding installing taps too early and having them "close up" or heal before the sap run. How would they heal during wintertime when the trees are dormant and the wood is frozen? I bet I could tap a dormant tree in November and the tap would produce sap 5 months later during the spring run.
Billschi by no means are we experts either. Last year we tapped March 3rd and finished April 16th with the biggest runs the last three weeks. We tapped again the first weekend of March and here we are mid April with only 3 1/2 gallons in the bank. I just tapped 40 trees last Monday here at my house near Nashwauk and they are dry today. May take a couple days to get primed. I would think there is some healing going on but insignificant to the run, however I am sure the big sugar bushes watch that close as 1% decrease affects there bottom line.
Jukenjer did the trees start running for you also yesterday?
Too many irons..Quote:
Originally Posted by TooManyIrons...
Others may weight in but it's not necessarily the Tre healing but the bacteria plugging the holes. I've had it happen when we tap too soon, like more than six weeks before prime runs. I had tapped half my trees in February once and I finished the other half about a month later. All trees tapped in February barely ran when the rush came.
Thanks for the explanation. Do the bacteria thrive only during above freezing winter/spring thaws or do they continue to multiply/colonize in below freezing temps? I am curious, is the bacteria that causes the problem anaerobic? Is bacteria a problem because folks are not sanitizing their taps properly or sanitizing the drill bit before drilling the next hole on the next tree? Sure seems risky to not sanitize the drill bit before drilling the next hole, especially when it is such a simple thing to do.Quote:
Originally Posted by MN Jake
Read the first part of this patent.
https://patents.google.com/patent/CA2819730A1/en
Toomanyirons..
As soon as some sap comes out of that hole aerobic bacteria have food to grow and thrive. The activity of bacteria would be very low during the cold part of the winter, which is why the trimmed spots on the trees would run during the season.
As far as anaerobic goes I'm not sure. There may be some but if there was you would have to think trees would never survive in the first place. That's just a guess.