NH 2008 - Tap now or wait ???????

Hello Everyone,

Has anyone in NH tapped yet? The weather seems right but I don't want to tap too early (2/03) and end up with dry holes later. I usually tap around 35 trees and use buckets. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Gary in NH

I almost put some taps out today but I held off. It does look like we will have good weather this week so I may very well do some tapping later this week.

It looks like it is going to cool back down this coming weekend and I don't know how long that cold spell will last. I am going to wait until after that to tap here in Loudon.

Russ

Hi Gary,
We are looking toward our usual date, if the weather looks good, February 17th.
Always use the 16th, it's our aniversary, so what the hay, might just as well do something together .......... tap trees.
Just remember, what the temps are forecast for maybe just the high for the day and might only last for an hour or less.
We have quite a snow (ice) pack so that will keep the cold around.
Good luck to everyone this year!!!

Dave

Temps look marginal at best. Remember, the high for the day will probably stick around for only an hour or 2. We'll need a better warm up to get things moving. An old timer told me once; "It don't hurt to let the tree have some before you tap."

I'm going to try stubbies this year with the replaceable taps. I have a 9 year old line installation that didn't run for **** last year. Only thing I could come up with was the plastic in the taps had broken down, allowing air to get in and seal the holes up.

A 20,000 tap operation once told me this. Take the last day you boiled and back up six weeks. That is the time you should tap. I can tap all of mine in one 12 hour day. Sugaring season is still mid March to mid April here in NH at 1350 in elavation.

Guys-

I will pass on some comments from Bruce Bascom when I was up
then in early January. With the new stubby/disposable combo, which
eliminates the bacteria buildup in the plastic tap, the taps will actually
produce for 9-10 weeks (with no harm to the trees).

Paul L.

I think all Bruce is interested in anymore is making predictions from somewhere out of thin air.

Has anyone else ever noticed that Bruce's predictions, insights and recommendations always include spending money at Bascom's. Hey, I can't blame him, after all, he is in business to make money or he wouldn't still be in business.

Just remember where he is coming from and factor it in when making plans based upon his input. Still planning to tap out right around the end of the month.

I have talked to Bruce on a couple of occasions over the past two years. I can not say that he has tried to push me to buy anything from Bascom's. I'm only a hobby producer but he has been available to talk to and very helpful none-the-less. In my most recent conversation with Bruce I mentioned I bought a synthetic cone filter from Bascom's last year and one side was not stitched properly. He offered a no-charge replacement - no questions asked and no return needed on my part. I spend a couple of hundred dollars a year with Bascom's and have found their customer service has always been excellent. I like to do business with companies that do the right thing for their customers and so far Bruce has provided that for me.