Checking what VT sugar makers are doing

[MJPJ Sugars]

We pulled them all tonight -- some type of bees awoke and attempted to colonize the buckets -- we dumped most of what ran today. The older trees were actually still running pretty hard -- but the buds seemed to double since yesterday.

Thanks to everyone in the community here for the information, knowledge, and entertainment this year! What a delightful and fantastic resource you are. Hard to believe it's over....

[Sugarmaker's dad]

This has been an amazing run to end the season. After the hard freeze Saturday night, the sap started running hard Sunday morning at 10:30. Between 10:30 Sunday morning and 10:30 this morning we had 26,500 gallon of clear sap. Still running tonight. Over 36,000 gallons for this run! Should hit 60 barrels before it is all said and done.

[wiam]

Made almost 50 gallons of Dark today. Still no off flavors. We will try again tomorrow.

[spud]

In the last 24 hours I have gotten 3 quarts per tap. The word around my town is we are going to try to make it through this warm spell. We have 6 freezing nights in the next ten days. Still ice on the pond (but I would not want to walk on it). Sap is testing 1.2%. I would love to go till the 20th but that might be wishful thinking. Good luck to all that are still going and to our friends across the border.

Spud

[sugartree310]

We are done for the season , made another 40 gallons last night and part of that was from pushing the sweet out with water. Sap was 1.2 and pretty much came to a halt yesterday afternoon . Had not turned yet still great tasting ,Heard the peepers last night , that's a sign . Was a great season we tapped in early January and used CVs. We made it over 1000 for the first time . Now to clean up and pull taps . Good luck to those still going

[rhwells2003]

We pulled in another gal/tap yesterday, and my step daughter and I gathered her buckets. We picked up 16gal out of 10 buckets. Thought that was pretty good with it being so warm. I checked my tank this morning and we had gotten another 1/2gal/tap over night but its definitely a different color then yesterday. It didn't really look very good. I told the guy about it that boils our sap and he'll take a look at everything they brought in over night and make a determination. He sounds like he wants to try and make it through this warm up too, even if that means dumping some sap to try and bridge the warm gap. We'll see. I figure what they picked up last night put me up over 11,000 to around 11,300. Puts me at around 25gal/tap. No complaints from me, that's more then last year and better sugar content. I'm a happy sap sucker

[bairdswift]

West Fairlee vt: made 70 Gallons last night off 1200 taps. 16 degrees yesterday and 29 this morning. Wicked run today. 800 gallons before 3pm.releser dumping ever 3.5 min. Sugar dropping. It's not over yet but it's close.

[DrTimPerkins]

Made another 90 gal dark syrup with very nice flavor today. No hint of buddy off-flavor, but the wet sock smell is there very faintly. Sugar down to 1.6 Brix. Niter not bad. No hard freezes in our forecast. Taking it day by day, but it seems like the end is close.

[GeneralStark]

Looks like being at elevation and/or east of the greens has kept some going. Here....not so much. It has been hot and I have never seen sugar maples break bud so fast. I'm very glad I did not try to boil the sap that came in Sunday night and Monday as when I cleaned the tanks last night, the sap was ropey and offensive and surely would have made nasty, buddy syrup. I was able to get it thru the ro to make permeate but the prefilters were disturbing when I removed them.

I boiled out the evaporator today and made over 10 gal. of good DR. Also washed the RO and am almost ready to put it to bed. Debating getting a new membrane to replace the 14 year old one currently in the machine. Will think about it for a bit.

Anyway, totaled up all the syrup I made and I was off in my rough estimates during the season. The final conservative total is 350 gal., all table syrup no commercial, from 740 taps or .47 gpt. Very happy with that. I learned lots this season including tapping in January is the way to go from now on. Time to start thinking like sugarmakers in PA and Ohio....

[VT_K9]

We finished up today. The sap was very cloudy with about a 1.1% sugar. As the day went on with boiling the dirty sock odor started making it's appearance. We finished the year at 95 gallons with just shy of 400 taps. We missed four good days in February due to other projects and not being ready. Last year we had 104 gallons. Overall we are happy. Time to clean up and work on next years plans...300-400 more taps.