My best season so far. Was only tapped for 28 days and made most of my syrup in the last week. Made 21 gallons off 63 taps this year for .333 per tap. High sugar content this year sure helped.
My best season so far. Was only tapped for 28 days and made most of my syrup in the last week. Made 21 gallons off 63 taps this year for .333 per tap. High sugar content this year sure helped.
2x3 Patrick Phaneuf Divided Pan
Homemade arch
RB20 RO Bucket
121 taps total
Sugar Shack in future
Wife into it as much as me
Also do homebrew
http://s928.photobucket.com/albums/ad121/ZMANSYRUP/
Now I see that there are very different results from different people. Some are saying they had a terrible season and others are saying it was there best. Now what state or province are you guys from saying that it's good or bad? I want to see if there is a relation with how far north you are.
I'm in Loudon, NHOriginally Posted by Mr. Red Maple
Russ
"Red Roof Maples" Where the term "boiling soda" was first introduced to the maple world!
1930 Ford Model AA Doodlebug tractor
A couple of Honda 4 wheelers
Four chainsaws and no chickens!
I think everyones location is already there - top right corner of posts.
Our area has always had lower production than most everywhere else - and we have never seen anything close to the production that most of the NE area has, I could only dream of some of the figures I see posted. Historical records show this. Mostly climate related, but also somewhat soils too I think. But this year was our worst ever.
Rob...I know the state you are in.
I have been in maple since I was 5 (1971),when dad first started the adventure. He died 2010 with no sugaring that season.
Middle son 15 at the time, 2-2011, begged to fire up the Maple operation. We have a beef farm and a commercial feed mill, three sons that do soccer 12 months a year and school seasonal sports. And 4-H and snowmobile club. that oldest and I groom trails.
Family vote was three sons with me on yes and wife was a NO! All the equipment was there, we just needed to pull up the lines...hahaha right. The wife was right again.
Lines were useless. One main that I tried to use, imploded so it was off to Bascoms...2 hour ride for mainline and I alreaady had plenty of tubing, spouts and tees. That season we did 230 or so and it was great. .47 G per tap. Next season was not so good. Last season sucked with the cold and we expanded and fired up the RO...New vessels and membranes were a major expense. So the book keeper informed me.
So this season we expanded some more as the middle son and I had done some great marketing and sold nearly all the syrup in glass in retail outlets. Our marketing plan was requiring a larger supply to grow more so we aimed at 850 and thought we had made that but when washing lines found 2 bundles of drops that had been dropped while tapping in the deep snow and we only washed 737. From that we only made just under 200 gallons for another poor season.
On the bright side it was nearly double the season before and the wife reluctantly didn't stop our plans for hitting 1200 in the main bush. Hooking up the top bush of another 350 will need to wait for another season. And we are already past 25% of expense payed back to the book keeper.
The bright spot is the middle son was excepted to Siena College for Marketing & Business Double Major. Wants to live on campus and has a truck to expand the Sales even more. Oldest son is at Morrisville with his long time girl and they plan to come back to the operation part time also after 2017 season.
So keep working on those money management skills with the kids...it really does pay off; and they get to see the reward for a sweet job well done. So after two more seasons we will be expanding at a faster rate to see what the operation can handle. After the marketing son graduates who knows.
Youngest son is into science and is thinking of teaching but he enjoys the maple also so who knows...he is 17 this year.
My wife doesn't mind the majority of sugaring. But this season I had several break downs so we are planning backup plans and expanding storage. We will be ready for a banner season but will be fine if we have another poor season.
Remember the important dates in her life and all will be good...Mothers Day is around the corner so pancake breakfast with your maple is a great idea!!!
Reason for poor season the last seasons: the main bush is sloped slightly to the east and south so we need early sun to thaw quickly
Open fields to the west limit production on windy days,
the extreme cold of the winters have made for a slow start to the season and then we get high temps in the 50-60 range that popped out the buds.
Snow cover helped to freeze at night this season but previous two seasons we had none.
We had one good run and had two three day runs that were fair. Several poor runs with cloudy days and wind on sunny days. The one good day we pulled in just over 2.5 gallons of sap per tap.
Sugar house is in NY and majority of bush is the border and east...everything is vacuumed to the sugar house.
Our valley trees did a great job for use this season as they as protected from the wind and that line rocked this season nearly ever run. This area is where we will finish tapping this season with a small section on the border line. Don't expect much from those as the wind is a killer; but end of season those trees usually come on fast and hard on those warm days.
Good Luck!
My best season yet!18.5 gallons in one month,north west New Jersey,some new 3/16 on 7 taps was unreal,added to the about 50 taps! I will take a season like this always short n fast not dragged out! My 5 batches image.jpg
2021 95 taps all on 3/16' natural gravity 2018 home built 4x40 RO 2017 1000 sap 15gal syrup 4 runs of 3/16 natural vac 1 of 5/16 2016 775gal of sap made 12gal syrup 2015 18.5 gal about 55 taps. Have the best wife! cub cadet volunteer 4x4 sap hauler
Here in southern Indiana
Had 44 days that sap ran from 31dec 2014 till 14mar 2015. Had a short run with sugars from 30 mar to 2 april on 7 .
Production, very poor sugar content 1.1 %. Finished season at .075 gal syrup per tap.
Dwight
Just over .5 gpt, in Southern NH (north facing hill in Temple). Family and friends will be very happy this year!
Jamie Jones
2017 - 120 taps, 68G syrup - automated pumping from collection to head tank
2016 - 118 taps (about half on 3/16"), 60G syrup
2015 - 115 taps, 58G syrup - new wireless blower switch and remote pump switch from tank to shack
2014 - 120 taps, 53G syrup - hobby vac
2013 - 120 taps, 40G syrup - Sunrise Metal 2x6, 12x14 sugarhouse
2012 - 44 taps, 6G syrup -gravity tube, 4 steam pans on block arch, plastic greenhouse shack - (I'm hooked!)
I'm in Southwestern New Brunswick, just to the east of Calais Maine.
Technically this is my best year ever....but it is also my first ;-)
2014 - 6 buckets, 4 coffee cans and a propane burner - almost 40L of sap and 1.6L of syrup
2015 - 103 taps on gravity. Homemade oil tank arch and a Smoky Lake 2' X 5' hybrid. - 2.66 gallons of syrup
2016 - 101 taps, 550 gallons of sap, ~10 gallons of syrup all dark.
2017 - 138 taps, 225 gallons of sap, 5.55 gallons of dark syrup, still procrastinating on the vac.
2018 - ~150 taps, I lost track of the sap it was incredible!, over 20 gal of syrup, all dark.
I'm in Northeast Pennsylvania.
2x3 Patrick Phaneuf Divided Pan
Homemade arch
RB20 RO Bucket
121 taps total
Sugar Shack in future
Wife into it as much as me
Also do homebrew
http://s928.photobucket.com/albums/ad121/ZMANSYRUP/
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