Do you guys have a rough time frame for when you plan to tap? I am looking to wait until late February, but I am seeing folks going for the early stuff. Could this be weather related?
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Do you guys have a rough time frame for when you plan to tap? I am looking to wait until late February, but I am seeing folks going for the early stuff. Could this be weather related?
You're better off to wait. The daytime highs are tempting but the sun is still low in the sky and the trees don't have long to thaw out. That and the nighttime lows are still cold. You might get a couple decent runs but then it will most likely not run great for a while. I usually wait until after presidents day at the earliest. March is the month for syrup in NH.
How are you collecting sap? Gravity (buckets, bags, gravity tubing) or with vacuum? How clean are your spouts and droplines (new, CV spouts, new drops, bleach cleaned?).
Generally gravity systems will last approx 4-6 weeks, less sanitized maybe a bit less, more sanitized a bit more. With vacuum systems it'll be 10-12 weeks, again with more highly sanitized systems lasting longer than non-sanitized systems. Thus on vacuum systems you have more leeway in terms of tapping early than on gravity systems.
I'm in Loudon and usually plan to tap on Presidents Day weekend. I have tapped as early as February 1st in the past and have also waited until March 13th because of the weather. I was tempted to drill some holes yesterday but know that it's still too early despite the warm weather.
Interesting to have actual numbers for this. Since you have the data, how long would you expect taps to stay open for a system with CV spouts and 3/16 tubing on a steep hill pulling nearly full vacuum, but no vacuum pump?Quote:
Originally Posted by DrTimPerkins
I've tapped in late January and early February many years. I have a combo of buckets and gravity tubing, no vac. Early runs are good, but it usually freezes up again and no good runs for a few weeks. I'm holding off on the urge this year.
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I'm in central NYS, but back when I had my highest tap count and had 3 college students working for me, I tapped 3 years, finishing no later than Jan 20, because they returned to school then. With good sanitation and on good vacuum 10-12 weeks can be achieved, unless you get crazy warm temps for too long.
Where in NH are you? There can be a 3-4 week difference in starting time for sugaring between the seacoast area of NH and the northern tip. In my location, Walpole NH in the hills at 1150 feet elevation, I usually tap around the 3rd week of February but watch the weather closely and adjust accordingly.Quote:
Originally Posted by BeaverBrookMaple
We're relatively new to the hobby as this will be our fifth season, but we do keep a lot of data on our trees. The average start date for us is right around Valentine's day. We are on gravity and stay tapped in for about 7-8 weeks on average. We have a microclimate at Elevation 750 feet that keeps us cooler than most areas, so we can tolerate the warm spells better than most. We normally have snow on the ground until about May 1.
Looking at February 14ish no earlier
Any sap you get between now and then is more of a nuisance sap can't get enough to RO it and don't like boiling raw sap
So we will just wait
Got stuff to do to gat ready anyway . get tanks out get the RO ready clean the sugarhouse
We usually keep the taps in until mid April so plenty of time