Sap down to 1.5 but much clearer than what we got yesterday afternoon. Running hard, just got to hold on for a few days for a real freeze
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Sap down to 1.5 but much clearer than what we got yesterday afternoon. Running hard, just got to hold on for a few days for a real freeze
Made a trip to pick up a 40 gallon drum today. Came home to boil the sap from yesterday and today. Looks like we are nearing the end of the season here the syrup was rather buddy. Maybe this weekend's temperatures may help make a little more syrup. We are up to about 104 gallons this year. A good improvement over last year's 65 gallons with adding about 40 new taps this year.
Mike
Processed and boiled my gravity and buckets from yesterday's collection, and the warm sap that came in this afternoon.
Made another 12 gallons of DR with good flavor. One of the coldest spots in the state here this morning (freezing until 10:15), and the sap never started flowing at all until near noon. Flowing well now, and near clear sap at 1.5%, my norm for this season.
Pretty good run here today. Should run until Saturday night. We hit 600 gallons tonight.
My Jericho woods 2,149 taps are up to 22 gal sap per tap. I have collected 47,300 gals so far as compared to a little over 25,00 last year. Too bad sugar went down to 1%. Yesterday, from 2:00 Pm to 6:30 PM, sap ran .70 gpt. Can't wait for this morning surprise. Overall, at .43 gal syrup per tap.
Joe
It's one day at a time at this point. I made another 10 gal. AR last night with ok flavor. Boiling is still pretty easy. Some new smells are starting to appear in the sugarhouse which suggest the end may be near for me. I'm savoring the final days as much as possible.
The sap ran pretty well yesterday once everything thawed and went well over 1 gpt in 24 hours from yesterday til today. Sugar at 1% or slightly below, and sap has that late season look and smell to it. My plan is to boil today what came in overnight and will come in today and see where I am at. I may finish it off with a water chase, or try to go til tomorrow. If we hit the predicted highs I think sap quality is going to drop off dramatically...
We are participating in the open house weekend but I don't think we will boil. I have no interest in trying to keep sap when it is 60+ degrees and don't want to boil late season syrup with visitors. I think it will actually be nice to focus on giving tours and talking with people instead of having to worry about boiling. Any Traders looking for something to do are welcome to stop by!
Good luck everyone!
Pretty sure my red maples are done after today and tomorrow's warmth. Sugars will probably produce again next week if my tap holes aren't dried up. They've been in 6 weeks now. Running very low on dry wood and spousal tolerance.
Didn't warm up fast enough yesterday, so only made 65 gal before we shut down for the night. That puts us at 2,020 gal for the season, a new total production record for us, which is 0.47 gal/tap. Sap kept coming in and ran well overnight (tanks are all 3/4 full or better), so with a little luck we should break 0.5 gal/tap by this afternoon. Judging by my research chambers, it was probably the 2nd or 3rd best run for the season. Sugar content yesterday was 1.7-1.8 Brix. Haven't checked it yet today. Not sure if we'll make it though the next few days....the clouds and rain should help. However the peepers are starting and green things (spring ephemerals) are beginning to show up on the ground in the woods. I'd say we have about a 50:50 chance (maybe a tad better) of still making syrup next week.
. Running very low on dry wood and spousal tolerance.[/QUOTE]
Aren't We All
Dr. Tim those peppers are going to be under an inch of ice come Saturday night. I see no signs of buds in my woods yet ( I am afraid to look up though). I think I have a 100% chance of going into next week. Sap is clear and still testing 1.6% this morning. Sap ran all night but is now only running 300 GPH. There is no sun today or tomorrow so that will help. I'm thinking big sap starting next Wednesday again. I want my .5 real bad. I have 210 apple trees coming on the 22nd of April. If I hit .5 avg I may be able to talk the wife into 200 more. :)
Spud
Certainly not the crisp, clear sap in today's & yesterday's buckets as was the last few weeks here in Georgia (Franklin County). Anticipating some teeth-staining syrup here... :) But no buds on the sugar maples yet.
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Well the fat peeper has peeped here in Bristol. I have thrown in the towel and after almost four straight weeks the vacuum pump is off. First boil was 2/20 and last was today. Long season but unfortunately productivity did not match length of season due to low sugar the last couple weeks. Not exactly sure of final count but somewhere between 275 and 285. Not too bad for this weird season and this hardscrabble piece of land.
Before today the last 40 or so gallons were not of the "reserve" quality and today that certain flavor that lingers started to show up. Not real strong but it's a sign of things to come and given the sap quality this afternoon and considering the forecast I decided to call it quits. No point for me in making commercial syrup. The flavor certainly won't come back with the upcoming freeze either. Been there, done that in 2012.
The peepers are screaming here tonight and the forest floor is starting to green up with the spring ephemerals. The woods are dry and I did have the hose ready in case a spark from the stack got carried away. What a great time of year.
Anyway, good luck to all of you still in it.
Certainly don't want the season to be done. It's warm out there, though. Did see leeks coming up in a friend's woods on Tuesday and saw dandelions come up today and almost (might have) ran over a frog or two today on the road. I've got some energy left in me for another two weeks or more.
Any chance that the lingering flavor is a metabolism off-flavor? You could test it by boiling some of it in a pot to 240, letting it cool, then mixing water back in to get back to proper density - that technique will remove the nasties from the metabolism off-flavor (if it's worth the effort to do it for huge batches of syrup is another question entirely)Quote:
Originally Posted by GeneralStark
http://www.uvm.edu/~pmrc/off-flavor2.pdf is the doc that talks about eliminating metabolism off flavor. AFAIK it doesn't do anything for buddy flavor.
Well here we are, this season has been pretty good for us with a new season high so far of 461gallons made. I went to the woods late yesterday chasing a leaks that accord with the wind yesterday. Trees still don't show buds, and no peepers are peeping. But sap was not really running, we need a freeze up soon. I don't anticipate us hanging on to much longer with this warm spell, 64* here yesterday and there calling for nearly the same today. Sap sugar content has really dropped off as well, 1.2-1.4..
Fingers crossed for the 500g mark.
PM
sap is certainly not of high quality, however I haven't made any very dark or commercial as of yet, today that will change, processing 1600 gals most from yesterday. im sure 60 degree sap may make some dark if not commercial. ground is dry, frogs out, small bushes starting to break bud, no trees though. flavor has been ok as of 2 days ago although getting that slight robust taste(even with the light syrup) seems as though all my syrup this year has tasted below grade, ie amber taste fancy, dark taste amber etc. this next week will be interesting to see what happens-maybe too late. we need about 5 inches of rain!!
I boiled from 745 yesterday a.m to 1030 at night! longest day for us ever... however we made an awful lot of syrup. sap ran great Wednesday through yesterday. yesterday I had to turn the switch off the pump and just let gravity do it's job. if I left the pump on, the tank this a.m would be overflowing! testing 1.6% yesterday but clouding up. I'm hoping my sap in that tank will survive the 55-60 degrees today and i'll process it tonight and tomorrow! no major bud swelling up here. my wood supply (that I thought would last 2.5-3 yrs) is running on the low side! syrup flavor is still very good... I'm also noticing my flavor is a grade above what the color would suggest! very tasty... better than last years crop!
Sap still running and I am averaging one gallon per tap for the last several days. Sap was testing 1.4% this morning. Sap quality is very good and making a good tasting DA. Hoping that after the freeze we will get 1-2 weeks more. No peppers or flowers or buds in sight. It looks like a lot of rain or snow still to come. Vacuum dropped to 26 yesterday due to tree gas. The CV2 spouts is what's going to get me another 50,000 gallons of sap. No slim in my sap at all yet. Still real nice clean sap. For those of you that are now done for the season thanks for posting. For those who are continuing on Good Luck.
Spud
No it's bud flavor. Some would call it "pre-bud" as it was still quite subtle. In my experience when this flavor shows up during a real warm spell, within 24-36 hours it will get more pronounced. The syrup will make good sugar and if it were colder I would keep going, but I'm really not interested in making more ropey syrup from slimy fermented .9% sap which is what was starting to show up in my tanks yesterday evening. The high hit 65 here yesterday with a low of 58 last night.Quote:
Originally Posted by ryebrye
The fat lady may not be singing, but she sure is warming up her voice. Red maple (flower) buds have swollen considerably since yesterday morning. Sap very cloudy, and has a faint wood odor. We're not seeing the really big yeasty bubbles yet though. We'll concentrate some from each bush separately (one bush is < 5% red maple, the other is ~30% red maple) and boil each in a small pot on the stove to see whether to process it or dump it. Would rather not run it through the evaporator, as we've calculated there's 50 gal of syrup held up in there....no sense adding buddy stuff to it (if it is truly buddy). Even if it is somewhat buddy, we'll leave the pumps on and let the sap run on the ground until after the cold spell this weekend and see if it comes back a little (rare, but does on occasion).
Sap was running 1.6-1.7% yesterday. We are at 2,145 gal as of last night, 5 gal shy of 0.5 gal/tap (0.4988 gal/tap), however we can easily get past that by boiling out what is in the evaporator if we have to. Just hope we don't have to quite yet.
Yep. I'm all done too. Sap has really low sugar content and not looking too nice either. I surpassed all the goals I had set before the season and really grew as a sugarmaker. Already thinking about next years tweaks and upgrades! Good luck to all who are still in the game!
I am processing today, some 650 gallons that came in at 1.5% through the day yesterday, and dropped to 1.3% through the night, and a little cloudy. I will collect buckets and gravity barrels today, and hope for the best. That should bring me up near 850 gallons of sap. I will update late tonight after my boil. Very little sun, and a high of 62 yesterday, so I am still holding out hope for today and next week. It will certainly be quite dark I imagine. I completely cleaned my pan after my last boil, to help my boil go better.
Just finished off my last drum. Sap is coming too slow to be worth it. It's been tapering off since the first warm up. Buds are still holding tight. I350 gallons for the season.
Still hanging on here. Sap flow up considerably overnight (along with a damaging south wind), 7000gal since yesterday's pickup (which was around 2pm)
I don't even dare test what I'm getting right now, it's a little cloudy but doesnt have really any scent to it yet.
My neighbor blew the oil seals out of his pump last night, not a good time to be without vacuum if we are going to make it to the weekend.
I like your optimism Spud, you and I seem to have similar weather so I'm counting on you to be right about more good sapping!
The sap in my tank today is super cloudy (almost like milk) - I'm on a hybrid 3/16 vacuum system. I shut off my pump but the gravity-induced vacuum will keep pulling sap out for the rest of today and tomorrow into the freeze. I'm going to let this sap dump onto the ground and hope for the best after the cold spell.
I don't see any signs of budding in my trees - I have a small (but mighty!) sugarbush so I can reasonably walk the entire thing and inspect every tree after it starts to freeze up again.
Before I dump today's sap I'm going to boil some in a small pan and look for any of the musty smell coming from it too.
For sap production I've exceeded my expectations for the season.
Right now I'm at 28.8 gallons of sap per tap and if you were to hypothetically mix up all the sap from this season together the sugar content would average out to be 2.18% (Last years was almost 0.3% higher for an average sugar content, so it has been lower but I wont complain. I know others have had it worse).
I have all CV2 spouts and my taps aren't showing signs of drying out yet - if the trees haven't budded in my area this next cold spell could help push this season into the "amazing" category for me, but you wont ever hear me complain about 28.8 gallons of sap per tap if the season is already over for me.
Have you guys who are done considered selling sap once you quit boiling? I've heard of people doing that up my way. I agree, don't wanna process commercial syrup and it probably wouldn't be worth it financially to us. But I know of big guys up my way who will boil commerical stuff for a long time and get a fair price for it, too. They have the necessary resources to process and still turn a profit. Although unless you live close to someone, it probably wouldn't be worthwhile for them to truck if the sugar content is so low. With the sap we are selling at our Jericho bush, a truckload (4500 gal) at 1% is about one 55 gal barrel according to the guy trucking yesterday. 3 Hour round trip for them to drive down, pick up, drive back, dump.
I drove all over my woods today and there really is not any buds even close to coming out. The Red maples are swollen but I have very few Reds in my woods. My sap quality today is cloudy but still fine. There is no smell at all. Sugar is 1.4% today but thats fine. I only got 2000 gallons today but it will continue running all night. I am very excited to get this 3 day freeze up. I really think we have at least one week after the freeze up. I'm hoping for 25,000-50,000 more gallons of sap this season. I see no reason not to get it.Quote:
Originally Posted by GiddingsHill
Spud
Spud- what are you plans with all the apple trees? Think the wife will allow the other 200? Why not maple saplings to tap? What's on the land the apple trees are being planted now?
Pulled the buckets tonight and heard the peepers on the way down. Ill leave the line taps in for now just in case. Spud, tell us more about the apple trees. I planted 6 Dunstan Chestnuts last year and have six more coming. Always wanted to do apples.
Thanks to all for the help and friendship.
Don't forget to measure the temperature of your sap when you check the density...
My sap wasn't all that bad (cloudy, yes, but not stinky or anything) so I took it to a bigger producer I sell sap to. When I checked the density I thought "well yep... My sugar content is dropping, that's 0.2% lower than it normally is" but then I remembered to check the sap temperature (I used a high precision instant-read thermometer to check it) and it was 57°F...
According to the temperature correction charts that means I need to add 0.2% to it... Putting it back to where it normally is for me.
I'm sure most of you big guys already know this, but I think it's ready to forget because 99% of the time sap is below 46°F and didn't need any correction so it's easy to forget.
It looks good down here for next week. I am hoping for for a slight improvement in quality, but I will take what I get.
I collected buckets, barrels, and processed all my sap today and boiled till late. Sap was warm at 50-60 degrees for a long time, and never was more than moderately cloudy. As expected, syrup was DR, and just a little bit of a bite, so I guess it is slightly buddy. While I was collecting buckets I looked up now and then, and no obvious signs of buds on the sugars. I had pulled taps on some reds 3-4 days back.
I am just short of 150 gallons for the year.
We boiled a little concentrate on the stove and it was fine, so season still going. Sugar content was still 1.7%+ -- sap was a bit cloudy, but not terrible. No real big yeasty bubbles yet. Ended up making 65 gal DR yesterday with excellent flavor, bringing us to a total of 2,261 for a yield of 0.515 gal/tap. Will probably make another 50-60 gal today. Sap has definitely slowed down, but we have plenty of moisture in the woods, and nice cold weather coming tonite. Should be back in action by the middle of next week after a few days of nice cold weather and some rest.
Thank you Doc that's music to my ears. I cleaned all my tanks today and I am waiting for next week.
Spud
If I can hit .5 GPT I will order another 200 trees. I have NO interest in more maple trees so the saplings are out. The apple trees are being planted in a field right in front of my house. I had been letting a neighbor hay the fields but always dreamed of planting an apple orchard. I have room for about 2000 trees if I ever wanted to get that big.Quote:
Originally Posted by bairdswift
Spud
I currently have 13 verities of apple trees. Several people have asked over the last four years if I have a market for my apples. I'm told that I should line up a market for the apples before I plant the trees. I say plant the trees and get them started then find a market. A four year old tree will produce one bushel of apples. I have room for about 2000 trees but only 750 trees will fit in the field in front of my home. We are working on filling that field first and then see what happens. The orchard is just a hobby for now with hopes of making some money in the years to come. The thought is that when I have a bad sugaring season maybe I will have a good apple season. A little spring and fall money would be nice. I plan to buy a cider press and sell some of that also. I have 250 trees that are producing some apples. I have ordered some bee hives. Walking in my orchard is like therapy for me. Everyday during the summer months I take walks just looking at the trees and watching them grow. My wife thinks I'm crazy but does say she likes the looks of the orchard instead of a hay field. I bought a Ferris zero turn mower last spring and I enjoy mowing the orchard in the summer months. I also have Cherry, Plum, Pear and Apricot trees planted. It's all a hobby with hopes of making some money someday. If I never make a dime with the orchard that would be ok. The joy of planting and watching them grow is a lot of fun. Someday I will be an old man sitting on my porch drinking hard cider. I don't want to have to say I wish I had done this and that. I want to be able to say I did it all and had fun doing it. My kids help plant the apple trees and complain about it. I tell them that someday when they bring their kids to visit Grandma and Grandpa they can say they helped plant the orchard.Quote:
Originally Posted by woodchuck
Spud
Spud, I'll buy some of your cider if you get a press. I used to make hard cider but some of the drive to do that faded when I realized I was putting way to much money and time into it and could get some cheap Natural Ice for half as much as the cider cost. But if I did it again i would buy some better equipment.
Dr Tim, what you said is also music to my ears. Although I visited JoeJ and two other sugarmakers today who were skeptical of the continuation of the season. JoeJ was going to see what Wednesday brought but I think the other two were gonna call it quits. Been to 2 sugarhouses that were boiling some syrup that smelled raisiny to me. Sour. One last night and one This morning. We boiled and made some great syrup last night. Really ready for more.
Spud- I like the way you think. Your thoughts are spot on!! Your kids will look back on this some day and it will fill there heart,no worries. I'm at the point where I'm trying to kick my dreams into gear so I don't look back and think I wish I had done such and such.. My dreams are a little crazy to, cows and maple.not many people of my age are dreaming of milking cows and making maple syrup. But then again most are not willing to work that hard anymore.
If you are interested in getting a lot of production out of your orchard should look into putting in a tall spindle system. (I know a bit about this since my father-in-law is one of the ones who has been researching it for years at Cornell - http://fruitgrowersnews.com/article/...or-the-future/ )Quote:
Originally Posted by spud
Very cool project. The bees seem like a natural step for any orchard. Keep posting in the off season. Always enjoy seeing what folks have for hobbies.Quote:
Originally Posted by spud
seems as though a lot of people don't like to make dark or commercial, someone has to supply the makers of ice cream ,donuts, cereals, maple foods etc. I wouldn't be surprised if more than half of the consumption would be B or commercial grade considering how often most people eat pancakes. I think most people see maple as big money maker(and it can be quite profitable if your able minded and bodied and aren't LAZY) and don't think the commercial is worth the time, at only 300 less a barrel its not that bad if your set up smart and not into the bank for this and that(things take time to acquire) similar as to working for yourself or owning a small business, buy new fancy tools all the time it eats at your profits, hire too many jokers it eats your profits. its imperative to do things cost effective so producing commercial is still profitable.