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Thread: 2018 Missouri Tapping Season

  1. #51
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Location
    SE Missouri
    Posts
    289

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    50 gallons so far, sap running at about 1.5%, maybe a little more. Hopefully it increases with the next runs. Syrup has good flavor this year, not a lot of niter on the pans, but they are soaking in vinegar right now. Hopefully we get a bigsap tomorrow. Feel like we're very behind. Several years ago, we had made 90+ gallons in January alone. But then the year we made 200+, we only had 25 at the end of January. As long as the temp graph looks like the stock market over the past week, we should be good.
    Now I have an outdoor hobby for all 12 months. Like I need anything more to do
    About 1000 taps on gravity tubing, MicRO2 RO, 2.5 X 8 Leader King, and a 1953 Willys Jeep to run around the maple woods with.
    http://www.gihringfamilyfarm.com/

  2. #52
    Join Date
    Feb 2014
    Location
    Defiance, MO
    Posts
    13

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    Collected 80 gallons off my 50 taps last night. Setting up my evaporator and getting everything ready today for cooking next week. Sap was crystal clear should be some good syrup hoping for good runs next week

    John
    50+ taps mix of sugar maples, blacks and reds
    Home built oil tank evaporator airtight w/Auf blower
    2x4 flat continuous flow pan
    Steam pan filter bottler
    Honda big red and 6gal containers for sap collection
    55gal blue barrels for storage
    Looking to build sugar shack for equipment storage

  3. #53
    Join Date
    Jan 2015
    Location
    hills west of Jeff City Missouri
    Posts
    134

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    colossal sap flow this week in mid missouri and the trees were flowing well today at 70 degrees. we have made 13 gallons of great syrup so far. we are in our 4th batch boil now. should get about 4 gallons from this batch. plus i collected about 100gallons of sap today and we will do our final collection on saturday 2/17 and then pull taps out then have boil #5. we anticipate running out of jars and firewood after batch #5, at about 20 gallons. lets hear from other Mo producers!
    2020: 220 trees, most smaller than 20" diameter, made 25 gallons
    remote location in western Cole County
    5/16" plastic spiles, drain into plastic buckets or sapsaks
    haul sap out of woods using atv & trailer
    wood-fired pans on concrete blocks
    one Leader Half Pint 24 x 33" plus 24 x 30 ss pan from a junkyard
    cook batch process then finish in the kitchen;
    we dont sell our syrup; its for family & friends
    see website www.mosyrup.com

  4. #54
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Location
    SE Missouri
    Posts
    289

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by unclejohn View Post
    colossal sap flow this week in mid missouri
    Now that's an understatement. We averaged 6 gal of sap per tap over the past 48 hrs, a few trees I have on buckets at the school I teach overflowed 5 gallon buckets, twice! And those are only tapped once. All I can say is, WOW. Never have I seen the sap push that hard. Now the race is on to get it processed before it goes bad. Hopefully the wind and rain is cooling all that 70 degree sap. Haven't checked the concentration, but we've been at about 35 gal of sap per gallon of syrup so far, so the sugars seem to have really concentrated.
    Now I have an outdoor hobby for all 12 months. Like I need anything more to do
    About 1000 taps on gravity tubing, MicRO2 RO, 2.5 X 8 Leader King, and a 1953 Willys Jeep to run around the maple woods with.
    http://www.gihringfamilyfarm.com/

  5. #55
    Join Date
    Feb 2014
    Location
    Defiance, MO
    Posts
    13

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    been doing this for 12 plus years and this is a record for us. we tapped 2/8 and already have 400gallons off 50 buckets. its going to be a long weekend and i hope i have enought wood.

    john
    50+ taps mix of sugar maples, blacks and reds
    Home built oil tank evaporator airtight w/Auf blower
    2x4 flat continuous flow pan
    Steam pan filter bottler
    Honda big red and 6gal containers for sap collection
    55gal blue barrels for storage
    Looking to build sugar shack for equipment storage

  6. #56
    Join Date
    Mar 2014
    Location
    NW Missouri
    Posts
    5

    Default

    Just put in 12 taps yesterday afternoon and they are all dripping. The 2 big mama trees are dripping heavy so hopefully it keeps up.

  7. #57
    Join Date
    Feb 2017
    Location
    Boonville
    Posts
    10

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    With my collection today, I am over 100 gal of sap collected. Definitely a record for me with only 10 trees tapped. I have over 1-1/2 gal of finished syrup. Currently boiling sap and still have buckets full and waiting. What a year!
    2016: 5 taps. 5 gal of sap. 1 pint of syrup. Hooked on syrup making!
    2017: 12 taps. 50 gal of sap. 1 gal of syrup. 1 cup of brown sugar. Turkey fryer evaporator
    2018: 25 taps. 120 gal of sap. 3 gal of syrup. 2 burner propane evaporator. Bought a Brix meter.
    2019: Planning to tap 25 trees. Building a concrete block evaporator.

    I use 7/16" aluminum spiles connected to 3/4" plastic tubing and draining into covered 5 gal buckets.

  8. #58
    Join Date
    Jan 2015
    Location
    hills west of Jeff City Missouri
    Posts
    134

    Default

    congrats to all of us missouri producers....yesterday we removed all taps and collected 120 gallons of sap and added it to the boil started on saturday. had to get up in middle of night to add sap and firewood. today i watched over the boil while cleaning totes and buckets and dodging raindrops. we took batch 5 off the arch this evening and brought into the kitchen before the big rain hit. this batch looks really dark but tastes great - will probably be over 5 gallons after finishing, bringing our total to about 22 gallons. im exhausted but happy with our harvest.
    2020: 220 trees, most smaller than 20" diameter, made 25 gallons
    remote location in western Cole County
    5/16" plastic spiles, drain into plastic buckets or sapsaks
    haul sap out of woods using atv & trailer
    wood-fired pans on concrete blocks
    one Leader Half Pint 24 x 33" plus 24 x 30 ss pan from a junkyard
    cook batch process then finish in the kitchen;
    we dont sell our syrup; its for family & friends
    see website www.mosyrup.com

  9. #59
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Location
    SE Missouri
    Posts
    289

    Default

    We began clean-up as well. Still need to finish out some syrup, but it looks like we should end up with about 130 gallons. And ours got dark at the end, too, but the flavor is still good. Ditto on the exhausted. We're going to have to do something different next year. Probably an RO.
    Now I have an outdoor hobby for all 12 months. Like I need anything more to do
    About 1000 taps on gravity tubing, MicRO2 RO, 2.5 X 8 Leader King, and a 1953 Willys Jeep to run around the maple woods with.
    http://www.gihringfamilyfarm.com/

  10. #60
    Join Date
    Feb 2010
    Location
    Cape Girardeau, MO
    Posts
    125

    Default

    Sap flowing like crazy now. Actually I never taped this year. Because I'm still working on my house and having to take care of my mother's trust.
    I've had surveyors out surveying mom's trust, (which I'll be getting about 35 more acres of woods.) Thursday they cut a 2" limb off a scrubby 6" maple trying to get a GPS reading. The sap came out at very steady drip.
    No swelling of buds on sugars, in spite of that silvers have bloomed and dropped blooms. I may give thought to only taping part early and then save some for later.
    2012 200 taps on buckets,,, Built me a 2' X 11' arch,,, hope to put most on tubing next year.

    2011 100 taps on buckets, 30x 60 flat pan

    2009 63 taps on buckets,,,, 30x60 flat pan

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