2018 Season

[sticknstring]

Went to ground this morning. Only about a gallon from 3 trees since tuesday. Pretty big bummer. Two buckets were clear, one was a lil yellow. Will go up friday after some good looking temps this week and if i dont have a few gallons at least, thatll be it for this year for us.

[Paddymountain]

suffering from extreme sap deficit disorder here in Union county

[Dennis H.]

HowardR, even with an RO I think .5% sap would do it for me.

Sticknstring, I was really hoping for this week to get us one more good run but I don't think it is meant to be.
Still holding out a little hope that in the morning the sap tank will be holding a nice supply of not so cloudy sap.

Paddymountain, how short are you compared to years past?
I finally got as much sap as last season but with a week more of collecting and don't get me started on the sugar content. I think the highest I got was something like 1.2 or 1.3.

[helptheold]

The gallon I got yesterday seemed ok, clear but a little yellow. Can't say how it did boiled because I forgot it on the stove, oops. Got a pot to scrub clean today.

[HowardR]

HowardR, even with an RO I think .5% sap would do it for me.

How could I stop? The sky is too blue. Not a cloud in sight (low 18 high 41 today). In the words of "Hallelujah I'm a Bum":

Why can't you work
Like other men do?
How can I work
When the sky is so blue?

[Dennis H.]

I just could not do it, I could not turn off the vac yesterday.
I wanted to run up in the morning but just to tired so went up in the afternoon. Sap was flowing nicely and it looked clearer than it has been in over a week.

SO I pumped it over to the truck tank and headed home.

Vac was running a little low so did a leak check and found 2 small leaks, solved that issue but found a tree that had broken off and came down on a mainline. Some how it did not do any damage to the mainline or lat's. Fixed a few side ties that broke and back into business.

This weeks weather is looking better and better. 40's in the day and 20's at night, this looks like the best weather we will have all season. Just hoping that the sap I am getting now is not buddy.

[Plutoman15]

How do you know if your sap is buddy? Some of the buds on the Norways I am tapping aren't as firm as they were but the sap is clear and tastes good. The sugar is also decent at 2%.

Does it get cloudy or is it clear but tastes bad? Does it have a smell?

Joe

[GeneralStark]

How do you know if your sap is buddy? Some of the buds on the Norways I am tapping aren't as firm as they were but the sap is clear and tastes good. The sugar is also decent at 2%.

Does it get cloudy or is it clear but tastes bad? Does it have a smell?

Joe

Yes buddy sap will have a smell when you boil it. Some describe it as the smell of dirty socks....

There is no way to know other than boiling it, though some claim they can taste the off flavor in buddy sap...

[HowardR]

My maple syrup season is traveling backward in time. Usually, as the season goes along, the sap worsens. Now it's improving:

1. Back up to 1% sugar from just 0.5%.
2. RO filters running longer without needing to be changed.
3. No cloudiness -- and the new syrup is getting lighter in color.

I attribute the improvement to cold nights, cool days and, finally, several days without rain.

[sbedilion]

My maple syrup season is traveling backward in time. Usually, as the season goes along, the sap worsens. Now it's improving:

1. Back up to 1% sugar from just 0.5%.
2. RO filters running longer without needing to be changed.
3. No cloudiness -- and the new syrup is getting lighter in color.

I attribute the improvement to cold nights, cool days and, finally, several days without rain.

Nice!!!

I fired up a little bit ago. Only have 60 gallons to boil down tonight. Probably another 50-75 that needs collected but I will do that tmw after work.

Forecast looks good!