Jefferson County - My First Boil Ever

[Ray_Nagle]

I don't have a pressure washer, so I'll probably just keep cleaning it the old fashioned way. I still have a little sap to boil that I collected before I untapped, so I'll get to clean it one more time before I put it away for the year.

[Goggleeye]

I still have to clean my pan. I will have to try that soap idea next year. Thanks Karen. Has anyone tried to use a pressure washer to clean off the pans? I am thinking of giving that a try.

A pressure washer will do a fair job, but not great. Basically it just knocks off the loose carbon soot build-up. After I've cleaned the inside of the pans with vinegar, I'll take them off the arch and pressure spray off the syrup and flue pans. Gets down to the metal, but like I said, you'll still see black.

We had our last boil Sunday - turned out to be our best year ever. Made 217 gallons on 460 taps. Not bad for gravity tubing, eh? Weather was near perfect.

[RiverSap]

I finished and bottled my past batch Saturday. I ended up with about 3 total gallons of syrup, all in all a good year. I am in the final stages of cleaning up and putting everything away and getting ready for a bon fire this coming weekend. Mushroom hunting is next on the agenda followed with opening up the pool. Spring is here.

[Ray_Nagle]

Ah, mushroom hunting would be great. Sadly I've never seen them on my property. Have you checked out http://www.morels.com/forums/forum/missouri/?

[RiverSap]

I am not a member of any mushroom forums. Thanks for the link. Morel hunting is still a few weeks away. I went to Pelican Island which is just behind my house out in the Missouri river last weekend to do some preseason scouting. Things are greening up but not there yet. I noticed out on the bluffs last night that the may apples are poking up. That is the first sign that the ground is warming up nicely.