Central Ontario Tapping

[Stevenick]

Hey there....
We started tapping on Sunday. Still pushing hard to rework lines, install new plumbing in the shack etc etc etc.... not enough hours in the day!

2018 - RO, 3hp vac, approx 1500 taps.
2017 - new shack, evap, vac 735 taps
2016 - 3 homebuilt evaps 160 taps
2012 - 5 pails - 5 taps turkey fryer

[paulflikkema]

Any thoughts on the warm up that is coming this weekend and next week? Think it will be enough to get the sap to start running ? Looks like average of 3 degrees daytime and -5 night time most of the week.

[Run Forest Run!]

Hi Paul. While some of the daytime highs look interesting, the evenings are still pretty frigid and it's pretty cold for the trunks to thaw out enough to start to run. If those daytime highs were 14, and not 4, then I'd be all in.

Last year I was very early with my test taps - February 19th. The sap was flowing that day. It was the earliest ever around here for me. I got some decent amounts of sap (but no overflowing buckets) for about a week and then everything froze up solid until March 19. Usually the daily, consistent runs come around St. Patrick's Day with Easter being tsunami time in our area.

To satisfy my curiosity, I usually put out a test tap or two early on. I also snap a few twigs on my trees that I can monitor from the house and watch for 'sapsicles' to form. I don't want to jump too early and dry out the tap holes unnecessarily, but you can bet that I'll be watching the forecasts closely.

Oh, and one other trick....keep an eye out for the snow to recede in a ring around the base of the trees. When you start to see a 'lawn donut' around the tree then the wood is definitely warm enough to release sap.

[paulflikkema]

Thanks for the great tips Karen. I am just itching to get going. I want to put the new stove and pan to work... hahaha

[Run Forest Run!]

Paul, did your new pan arrive yet? Post some pictures if you can!

Update:
The weather forecast has changed for the better. You may be tapping sooner than you think - but not just yet.

[paulflikkema]

Hi Karen,

I am still waiting for the pan to arrive. I should have it early next week. I will upload a pic as soon as I get it. It does look like the weather is warming up so might do a few taps on the weekend just to see if things will start running...

[Run Forest Run!]

Hi Karen,

I am still waiting for the pan to arrive. I should have it early next week. I will upload a pic as soon as I get it. It does look like the weather is warming up so might do a few taps on the weekend just to see if things will start running...

Paul, I was going to suggest that you could drill a few tap holes just to scratch your itch. If there are any trees you have that are large enough to take two taps, just drill one now and then drill the second one in a couple of weeks. That will go a long way to extending your season and make the sap flows more manageable. I'm dying to try out my Denali. It better work as well, if not better, than the propane fryers! I can't wait to get all of them fired up.

[brokenjaw]

New (home built arch) and pan in place. Test boil last night got us ready to scratch the itch here as well...

[Galena]

Looks great!

[mwpreston]

The extended forecast has me puzzled! Don't know whether to start this weekend or wait till next, or wait even longer lol! What's everyone else thinking? I'm north of Belleville. Thinking of maybe putting a dozen or so taps out this weekend to test the waters