Just wondering if some of the more experienced sugarmakers know anything about the how the drought conditions we're experiencing can/will affect the upcoming season?
Drought effects on upcoming sugaring season
Just wondering if some of the more experienced sugarmakers know anything about the how the drought conditions we're experiencing can/will affect the upcoming season?
Sean
2013-1st year...94 taps, 12x24 sugarhouse, home built evap. Gast 2065 pump with bender
releaser.
2014-30x36 sugarhouse, 2.5x10 "Jutras" evaporator, 1200+ taps on vacuum, sap brothers RO. 2 sihi 2 stage pumps, 440 gal.
2015- 1000gph memtek RO, 3250 Taps, 1200 gallons
2016- Modified grimm 4'x12' evaporator with auf and aof with air preheater. Home built airtight arch front. 4250 taps?
2017- 2400gph. Lapierre RO, 10" filter press, 5000 taps
Generally the sugar content is quite a bit higher following a drought year, usually one summer or fall of dry does not harm the trees. If its a multi year thing, then its a different story.Originally Posted by madmapler
Mark
Where we made syrup long before the trendies made it popular, now its just another commodity.
John Deere 4000, 830, and 420 crawler
1400 taps, 600 gph CDL RO, 4x12 wood-fired Leader, forced air and preheater. 400 gallon Sap-O-Matic vacuum gathering tank, PTO powered. 2500 gallon X truck tank, 17 bulk tanks.
No cage tanks allowed on this farm!
Last summer in ne Ohio we had lots of rain and very little sun and the sugar conent ended up being terrible. Lots of sun with little rain this year. I think we will have higher sugar content, but I see stress on the trees like branch dieback from this near-drought.
1000 taps on vac down to 100+ buckets 99% sugars
2x5 SL Hi-Output Raised Flue Corsair evaporator
SL Short bank press with CDL diaphragm pump
Leader Micro 1 RO for 2024
Constantly changing
2010:36 gal 2011:126 gal 2012:81 gal 2013:248 gal 2014: 329.5 gal 2015:305 gal 2016:316 gal 2017:258 gal 2018:147 gal 2019:91 gal 2020:30 gal 2021:30 gal 2023:50 gal Total since 2010: 2047.5 gal
Tapping the same trees my great, great and great grandfathers tapped.
We have been dry summers for a few seasons now and it seems to have little affect. This season is drier than last as the pond is below where it was mid August.
But on the other hand the swamp is still damp and the sugar bush looks fine from the road. If trees are rooted deep enough they are still in good water content; but if you are on shallow soil structure then they are likely pretty dry.
Corn will store energy from sunny days and jump when they get a shot of rain. I would think that the trees have the same ability and are storing up all this sunshine in sugar and the rain we get this fall will make for good sap flows next season.
Our poorest years seemed to be when it was dry and cloudy during sugar season...if the roots are dry then the sap is slow to flow was an old timers comment in our area.
I recall him showing me how the snow around the maple would melt on a warm day and it seemed to run right into the bucket. But on a no snow season flows were slow at best.
I am seeing a few sugar maples on my road that have some leaves changing color. Little snow last winter and -6 or 7"s of rain this year can't be good for the trees. Like every year, we will just have to see what happens.
2002 Summer was a lot like this one, drought finally broke in October, Had the big Valentine's Weekend Snow Storm Feb. 2003, over three feet of snow off a noreaster. Only took 33 gallons of sap to make a gallon of syrup, hoping for a repeat performance in 2017
Mark 220 Maple
1100 taps on low vaccum, 900 on gravity.
900 plus taps leased and on high vacuum
35 cfm Indiana Liquid Ring Vacuum Pump
80% Sugar, 20% Red MAPLES
http://s247.photobucket.com/albums/g...Maple%20Syrup/
I'm beginning to see trees losing leaves near the tops...green leaves that have dried and died. I can't imagine that this drought is good for anything but tomatoes.
Water the garden, but the trees are in good shape as long as the roots can get moisture from 3'+ down. We've had lots of sun so the sugar will be higher. All we need then is good fall rains and decent snow this winter followed by a spring of many freeze thaw cycles.
Dave Klish, I recently ordered a 2x6 wood fired evaporator from A&A Sheet Metal which I will be converting to oil fired
Now have solar, 2x6 finish pan, 5 bank 7x7 filter press, large water jacketed bottler, and tankless water heater.
Recently bought another Gingerich RO, this one was a 125, but a second membrane was added thus is a 250, like I had.
After running a 2x3, a 2x6, 3x8 tapping from 79 taps up to 1320 all woodfired, now I'm going to a 2x6 oil fired and a 200-425 taps.
We dug a hole yesterday here in Potsdam. It was five feet before we found any water at all. One of the things that is severely impacted by this drought are the very small saplings in the woods...about half of them have perished this summer as their roots don't yet go deep enough to keep in contact with groundwater. I had a Butternut blow over last week, and the stump came out of the ground without any soil attached at all...just dust.
Try to dig a hole just 3' deep and look at it a day later. While it will not show up right away, it will slowly seep in overnight, (at least it does for me). Maybe you are drier than I am here.
Dave Klish, I recently ordered a 2x6 wood fired evaporator from A&A Sheet Metal which I will be converting to oil fired
Now have solar, 2x6 finish pan, 5 bank 7x7 filter press, large water jacketed bottler, and tankless water heater.
Recently bought another Gingerich RO, this one was a 125, but a second membrane was added thus is a 250, like I had.
After running a 2x3, a 2x6, 3x8 tapping from 79 taps up to 1320 all woodfired, now I'm going to a 2x6 oil fired and a 200-425 taps.
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