The weather looks good, so I tapped 12 of my trees today. Will see what the sap gods want to give me.
The weather looks good, so I tapped 12 of my trees today. Will see what the sap gods want to give me.
Hey rslun, maplecreek, kgingerich,stonehillridge, oldcabin, welcome to this site, I don't recognize your names from previous years. Why not go to your "profile" in mapletrader and create a "signature" that describes your operation and will appear with each of your posts? And please notify any other Missouri producers and hobbyists about this site. Ive sent the word out to some folks I know to visit this site regularly to see what the Missouri weather and production is like. Maybe if we get enough interest we can meet this summer to swap stories about the 2018 season or equipment.
Rslun, I don't know of any Missouri store that sells maple sap collection stuff. Perhaps you have some tubing or pipe around the house you can use; but there are mail order firms in Michigan and Wisconsin that with a credit card order will ship to you in about 3 days.
If you have questions, feel free to visit the many topics on mapletrader.com; you can learn a lot. John
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
John, Thanks for the info. I have updated my signature, so hopefully it comes through on this post. I would be up to get together and swap stories. I don't have much sap running yet, but my trees are in a valley by a creek so may need to thaw a few more days.
Last edited by Maple_Creek; 01-21-2018 at 05:53 PM.
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.
I got about 70 taps in today. Only 4 were running. Do you collect every day? If not how often?
What temperature range do you feel is ok for sap to stay out ?
gettin a big rain tonight in jeff city. gonna be muddy in the bush when i tap tomorrow, but the cold front is coming. i dont collect every day, only when we get a good batch worth the effort. its ok if sap freezes, it wont spoil and we can harvest it later. as for warm weather, i like to treat sap like i treat milk. if it gets too warm it will spoil. today it was 62 degrees and sunny which could be a problem but the sap got cold lastnight and cold sap was coming out of the trees and tonight will be down in the 40s so im not worried about it. several warm days in a row would compel me to collect and either chlll it or go ahead and boil it. not all of the trees were running today.
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
My signature is updated, too.
I installed 3 taps this afternoon. 2 of them started flowing (dripping) right away.
Based on a tip from someone on here, I got some 5-gallon buckets at Firehouse Subs for $2 each (including lids). I washed them and rinsed them with bleach water, but they still smell like pickles. I'm worried they're going to taint my sap. Any thoughts on getting the stink out? Or should I abandon those and grab some new buckets from Home Depot? (I saw online that they sell food-grade buckets.)
Hobbyist
2018: Finally decided to get in the game
I "blame"the Maple Sugar festival at Rockwood Reservations for my new obsession.
Use them. When I started out, I collected a lot of sap with pickle and bbq sauce buckets, cleaned much like you did. I'm rather picky on taste, and I never was able to notice the flavors bleed through into the syrup.
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/
When it gets above 45 or so, I try to get the sap heated to a boil within 2 -3 days. Above 55, 1-2 days. Below 40, I don't get too worried until day 4 or 5. Just make sure it doesn't get cloudy on you. If you notice cloudy sap, get it cooked ASAP. If it's starting to smell fermented, it's almost too late. Depends on your liking though. My brother and a few other customers take everything I make near the end of the season because they like the flavor of the syrup made from the semi-fermented sap!Originally Posted by oldcabin
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/
I tried the pickle buckets 2 years ago and after them sitting out and even using them for tomato plants they still smell like pickles. Best bet for 5 gallon buckets is to go to your local donut shop and see if they have any available. They get stuff like filling and icing and it cleans up easily. Plus it comes with a great lid with a rubber seal that you can remove. Easy to sanitize too. And they are food grade. Unlike a Home Depot or Lowe's bucket.
Last edited by oldcabin; 01-22-2018 at 09:42 PM.
Lots of trees, bees, rocks, firewood, and syrup.
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