this weekend?????

[jmayerl]

Just watched the weather and local (G.B.) and weather channel are forcasting above normal temps sat(2/12) through the whole next week. Get ready NE Wisco time to tap! If I work day and night till then I'm not sure if i can get ready but i'm gonna try.

[bison1973]

Not to be disrepectfull...

but it seems this question is asked every year at about this time. You can do what you want but most experienced people would say way, way, too early (by at least a month typically).

[driske]

My experience with February runs is mixed. One year we did make 9 bbls of syrup from like Feb 20 - 24. The other times were bust. Bags full of frozen sap. Transfer lines full of frozen sap. Pumps busted. Lots of aggravation for a little weak 1% sap. Basically we busted our butts trying to get about as much sap in a week, as we get in an hour when the trees are actually ready to run.
On the other hand. The trees have to be tapped sometime. Might as well get 'er done. My wifes family lives in GB. You guys are always about 2 weeks earlier than the Wausau area. It did look as though the noses in Lambeau were running quite freely today.

[markcasper]

Accuweather says 30's and a few low 40's by early to mid week next week, then back to the 20's for highs towards the end of the week. Considering we had virtually no January thaw, I think it'd be a bust to go next week especially considering the nasty ice/snow pack we have.

I actually hope it happens so that some preparation work can get underway. Its been a nasty cold winter thus far.

[ehafkey]

I would love to tap next week but I'm just not ready yet. I've been laying awake at night trying to figure out how to get it done. I have tubing to hang, an evaporator that needs bricking and the stack run through the roof, and I need to place my sap storage tank. I'm planning on tapping March 1st this year. Last year I tapped in Feb and had pretty good luck but I believe last year was an odd year and we had a warm up and it never cooled down again.
This hobby is a labor of love!

[maple connection]

My thoughts are if you can tap your trees in a day or two with bags and pails get all your odds and ends done first it is alittle two early yet in Marathon county. In my case it seems like there are alot of odd and ends to do If you have tubing and it take awhile to tap watch the weather to see what the extended forcast looks like after next week. I know its tough to wait for the sap to run but in mid to late season you don't want your tap holes to be sealed up. Thats my two cents. I'm watching the weather thinking about tapping my 400 bags around March 1 unless theres a major warm spell. Good Luck to everyone this Season.

[TF Maple]

This next week looks tempting with the warmer weather, but the guys in Ohio and other states farther south are just getting going. So I think it is too early for Wisconsin. It will take 5 to 7 days to thaw out the trees in my opinion. After this warm up if we have normal winter temps and it gets warm, then the trees might run. But hey... anyone can put taps in when they want to.

[jmayerl]

so most everyone thinks that if you tap now and the trees run for 4 or 5 days that it would be a mistake because its to early in the year?

[dschultz]

I'm not even thinking of tapping yet. The high temps look good in the upper 30's but seeing the low's in the mid to low teens is not sap weather yet.If the low's were in the mid to upper 20's at night then I would tap,my plan is to start on the 28th.

[C.Wilcox]

so most everyone thinks that if you tap now and the trees run for 4 or 5 days that it would be a mistake because its to early in the year?

Yes, that is typcially the thought. Tap holes only stay open for just so long so start too soon and you may miss the best part of the season. I'm about 25 minutes north of Milwaukee and I typically tap the first weekend in March, but I'm on mostly box elders which don't run as early as sugars. My neighbor taps the last weekend in February and seems to do alright, but he's tapping all sugar maples. When I lived in the Wausau area it seemed like the buckets came out around the 2nd weekend in March, but those are just approximate dates.