2018

[RileySugarbush]

I’ll do that! We welcome everyone here too.

John

[lindnova]

I was up to Roseville today and surprised by how much snow is still there. I knew there was snow further north. Some difference in weather.

I am just a hobbyist and not trying to sell any, so I pulled all my equipment Saturday since the buds are getting big and looks cold for this next week. I'm done and my wife is pressing me to stop and spend time with the family. No one is really interested in sugaring with me.

4 gallons of syrup on 40 taps was great for me this year compared to the last 2, even with a mishap on the second boil - should have had 7 gallons. I can only eat or give away so much at Chrismas; have enough for 2 years of my usage.

Every time it would get warm enough for the trees to start opening up big time it would get cooler again, but a lot of 20/40 temp days for the last 3 weeks. Slow and steady here. I have a few trees that were just starting to run this week and others that have been running hard for 2 weeks depending on the location(frost on north facing slopes I figure).

[Islander]

So far on 10 taps we boiled 20 gallons to nearup and have maybe another 20 out on the trees. It was my intention to boil yesterday but everything was froze solid. This is only my 5th year syruping and this is the first year I have had taps in past the first weekend in April. In the recent past I tapped as early as February but this year it seems I should have waited until the second week in April. I am hopeful the tap holes do not dry up before my back yard really starts running this year.

[Keitha333]

I also believe I am going to pull my taps today. I finish with 7 gallons of syrup on 38 taps. It was a good year for me even though I know it could go much longer looking at the weather. It was about perfect for me this year is I didn’t get inundated with sap all at once and run out of storage. One other positive is with the cold I was able to pull ice in my jugs and storage barrels which really seemed to help with cutting down boiling time. What I did have left to boil seemed very concentrated as was getting two gallons on about 55 gallons of sap. Usually I run about 35:1. I also want to thank you others as I enjoy reading your posts!

[P7aler]

SO, I am just doing this as a small hobby about 25 miles East of Hinckley and this is my 3rd year. I am still trying to get everything figured out. I tapped about 80 trees 3 weeks ago and have about 100 gallons of sap boiled down. These trees have not ever been great producers by volume, but the syrup is fantastic. My question is that will the latest snow and now temperatures approaching 0 overnights and staying a freezing or below for the next 7-10 days can I just leave my taps and will they start flowing again after the cold spell?

[Keitha333]

Yes they should. It make take a few days to get them going again but in my experience they should without a problem.

[billschi]

I received a 2'x6' Stainless Steel pan in trade for a couple of quarts of syrup. I also acquired a 265 gallon heating oil tank and a few food grade closed top 55 gallon drums. I think I will take this time with this cold snap to build another cooker. I should be able to finish it this week and tap another 150 trees before next week when the weather is scheduled to warm up. This will give me a total of 250 this year.
So far, 7 gallons of sap collected. I'm getting a little worried we will just jump into summer. I put the 7 gallons on the wood stove in the house so I didn't waste it and has taken 3 days to evaporate. Hahaha
This year I want to try a rocket stove to finish a batch to see how well it works. This will bring my overhead cost down to almost nothing if it works well.

[SDdave]

Pulling the plug on Friday or earlier. It's been a great season so far, with close to 14 gallons so far on 39 taps. Never have had sap be in the 3's all year long. Noticed some trees starting the flowering stage, so the end is near if not done, all depends on Mother Nature.

SDdave

[MNMike]

I've got 27 taps in and have gotten very little out of my trees. Fortunately I work with a small school about 20 miles north that taps trees and only uses a little bit to give the kids an idea of how it works, so I've gotten a lot of sap from them. Finishing my second run on the stove top tonight and should end up with close to two gallons of syrup on about 70 gallons of sap, so not too bad. I'm going to take a risk on my ten years of marriage and try for one more run on the weekend of the 14th and then pull the plug. Hopefully my wife doesn't pull the plug on the whole thing before then.

[flyzone13]

I am still expecting/hoping for another run yet second weekend of April. Anybody think otherwise?