Search:

Thanks Galena and BCPP.
I think I’m going to start that small batch in the kitchen first to see if it is off.
If it doesn’t stink, I’ll dump in the big pan. Since I’m boiling on a flat pan this...

I’m about 45 minutes nw of Toronto.

It’s freaking hot today. Frantically trying to boil down Saturday’s collection (trees finally gave a decent 630L from 110taps)

I have sugar maples with...

Hey!
I’m back this season after a 6yr hiatus.

Saturday was a great day for us - 630L from 110 taps and it was still going strong in the evening.
My big sugar maples only really woke up starting...

That's great, Karen. For the first time ever, I've not made anything darker than medium. :D I'm wondering if it has anything to do with the fact that I took off each batch after a max of 1-2 days...

Was your last batch light as well, Karen? We took all the buckets off yesterday - threw away about 60L of sap. :cry: Spent the day washing the buckets. Today I'll be cleaning the tubing and pans.
...

Thanks Karen. It was fun this year. Except for the crazy week we had last week, the season seemed more relaxed.
And thanks to your tips, my finishing process has been a lot less crazy as well.
...

Galena, you can do it by hand. When we took some out at 245, we used a wooden spatula to get it to sugar. The mixer came into play because the rest was in a larger pot and my arm couldn't handle the...

haha, my little helpers have defected. They're now helping daddy haul logs out of the forest - they get paid for that job. :)
My total this season came out to 51L plus today's 2L (?) which we made...

Karen - you might get more from the sugar bush. I was surprised to see more sap in my buckets this evening before sunset. Also had a 5gallon bucket that was 2/3 full - this is from 5 taps on a line...

Lesley,
You don't need a hydrometer to make sugar (or any other confections). Your candy thermometer is all you need.

I am by no means an expert on sugar making - but here's my experience with...

well, our surprise collection of 55L from yesterday yielded some very light syrup...how much exactly I don't know - because it nearly became a burnt mess.

I started boiling the sap yesterday...

Maple75, Galena's got more blue spiles for sale, I believe. :)

It's a fun little hobby, isn't it - this sugaring business?! Welcome on board the crazy train!

Don't get me wrong. A few flies, moths, spiders and whatever other crawlies that are in my sap don't scare me. But I had 1 bucket that had more flies than sap. As in a complete layer of flies in a...

Oy. What a predicament I'm in. Taps are dripping, clear cold sap. Some had too many flies in them, so I tossed those. But I have at least 40-60L.
Can't get myself to toss it out. I think I might...

You're right 67, there's more to it than meets the eye when it comes to trees giving up sap or not. And I know not what it is. :rolleyes:

I am in the process of pulling my buckets today. None are...

bwahahaha. THose are awesome names. I had more than my fair share of sisters. :lol:

Wow! Great work Dave! And welcome to this crazy sweet addiction!

Finished bottling up 2 batches today - 15.4L.

Total syrup made so far:46L. Still have sap to boil down - maybe another 2.5L worth of syrup in there.

All hail Queen Lesley of Acer!

2 is nothing, Lesley!! But since you're way past your 1L/tap, I wouldn't sweat it.
Although we all hate to do it until the last possible moment, it *is* ok to pull taps when we want to be done...

Lesley, it might be your containers that had the remnants of old sap, perhaps? I noticed that one of my white collecting buckets that was sitting empty had a few mold spores on the bottom - so I...

Collected another 75L of sap at 11 this morning. Taps were dripping slightly, but the wind has kicked up several notches since. My blue buckets and lids are flapping in the wind. White buckets are...

Surprised to see some buckets half full to almost full this morning. I really thought we were done. But I'm tossing some of the really yellow stuff. Keeping the clear and slightly tinted ones. ...

I'll be getting serious with improving my block arch for next year. And figuring out my gravity lines a little better and the supplies I need to start gathering to make it happen. :D

After that,...

NT, good for you. Quiet on my end here. It's foggy and damp out here, and the only thing in my buckets is tree pee.

Finishing all my nearups I've kept over the last week, and probably going to...

On accuweather right now. It's saying that Friday night will be -2. (Weather network = +3).
Further out, accuweather shows the week of april 19 having 0 to -2 lows. Weathernetwork is all +...