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Thread: Weather question vs sap run

  1. #21
    Join Date
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    Ahhhh you may have to wait 40 years to tap those newly planted maples! I would look to the neighbors for trees if you want to expand your operation. Good luck.
    Regards,
    Chris
    Casbohm Maple and Honey
    625 roadside taps + Neighbors bring some sap too!
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  2. #22
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    Marion (South Central), Pa
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    You might be right but they claim with the RPM root system that the super sweet sugars are able to be tapped as soon as 8-10 years and the sweet Silvers in 7-10. I am sure even then things need to be optimal. They will be planted where they get full sun and zero tree competition. They will be in a straight row with some nice fall so someday I can string them together and pull some natural vacuum...at least that is the plan . Let's see how many birthdays I see between now and then.

    There is another thread that started in like 2011 that some planted some of these trees. I am hoping someone updates on how these trees have grown. Sweet Silvers claim 3-5% and the super sweet sugar claim 6-7%.

    "Cornell University’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences recently worked with the RPM process to develop the Super Sweet Sugar Maple. The new Super Sweet grows three times as fast as an average maple, and provides sap that could be boiled down into syrup, say Cornell scientists. The RPM system produced significantly larger Super Sweets in a short amount of time. Currently, Cornell’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences is conducting a study on the benefits of the Super Sweet in regards to syrup production and quality." http://www.scijourner.org/2012/11/17...ded-in-nature/
    Last edited by Plutoman15; 02-02-2018 at 04:27 PM.

  3. #23
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    Hey Joe, welcome aboard. I'm in Elizabethtown. I have not tapped yet. I am waiting for the sun to warm the trees and hit 40 for a few days. That would put tapping usually around Feb 10. I have tapped in the January thaw before but ended up with more ice in the lines and buckets. I always said I should just wait until the second Saturday in Feb. I tap Reds and Sugar Maples. As others have sais, the temps are not an exact indicator. Conditions very. When the trees are ready, they will flow. In this area, it is not a lengthy run. Three to four weeks, then they shut off from warmer daily temps and no overnight freeze.
    Ross
    Ross
    2009 8 taps one cup syrup gas stove boiling

  4. #24
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    Marion (South Central), Pa
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    Thanks Ross. Weather is pretty close to mine in Marion, PA. a 3-4 week season is fine with me since it is all for personal use.

    I have some more equipment coming Monday and time so middle of next week through the weekend I plan on making some more taps and testing every tree to see what I get. The little sap (.75-1% sugar) I got last week had an off green flavor.

    Joe

  5. #25
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    Jan 2018
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    Newville, PA
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    IMG_2836.jpg



    Hopefully the screenshot posted.... A couple questions regarding that forecast....A) this forecast looks favorable to get some sap flowing, am i correct?

    B) if so, is it too early still to tap? Ive read a couple places that the early sap can be very low sugar content, do u throw the furst little bit out, or just wing it(if u dont have a way to measure the sugar percentage in sap)

    C) if i do tap a couple trees, can i leave the bucket there and gather it mid week or will it over flow a 5 gallon bucket or possibly go bad in those temps left outside?

    I plan to tap a couple trees at our ground which is a 35 minute drive, and i will definitely be back up next saturday. Was thinking thats way too long a time period, so i'd like to maybe just plan to go up wednesday after work. Versus having to get up two or three times. With the schedule, thats just really tough. If 4 days is too long, i will just wait to tap until wednesday and then itll only be a couple days til i get up to collect. Thanks for helpin with info

  6. #26
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    sticknstring, I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that the early sap flow is a higher sugar content and it diminishes as the season advances. A simple sap hydrometer would answer those questions. I have had buckets overflow with sap and was overjoyed at first then mad that I did not have a larger collection bucket. You collect when you can. Sap sitting in a bucket for a week at this time of year is not going to spoil. It may freeze/thaw. Keep the rain out or you will boil longer. Like storing it in your refrigerator. Sap in a bucket later in the season when the daily temps are warmer and the sun is beating on it, will spoil or turn milky faster. Either way, it sounds like you will have a fun time making syrup!
    Ross
    Ross
    2009 8 taps one cup syrup gas stove boiling

  7. #27
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    Mar 2016
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    chester, ma
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    Quote Originally Posted by sticknstring View Post
    Attachment 17392



    Hopefully the screenshot posted.... A couple questions regarding that forecast....A) this forecast looks favorable to get some sap flowing, am i correct?
    Yeah, maybe a little Tuesday, some more Weds, and Sunday.

    B) if so, is it too early still to tap?
    That's a complicated question. It depends on too many factors for anyone to be able to say for you.

    Ive read a couple places that the early sap can be very low sugar content, do u throw the furst little bit out, or just wing it(if u dont have a way to measure the sugar percentage in sap)
    Never heard of anyone who throws out early sap because it's low sugar. Earlier sap tends (on average) to make lighter colored syrup. That's not the same as low sugar.


    C) if i do tap a couple trees, can i leave the bucket there and gather it mid week or will it over flow a 5 gallon bucket or possibly go bad in those temps left outside?
    If the forecast comes true, I doubt you'll overflow a 5 gallon bucket in a few days. Maybe if you had three or four days in the fifties, with overnight lows in the 20s. And no, with highs 35-40, it should not go bad in a few days unless your buckets are really dirty to start with.

    I plan to tap a couple trees at our ground which is a 35 minute drive, and i will definitely be back up next saturday. Was thinking thats way too long a time period, so i'd like to maybe just plan to go up wednesday after work. Versus having to get up two or three times. With the schedule, thats just really tough. If 4 days is too long, i will just wait to tap until wednesday and then itll only be a couple days til i get up to collect. Thanks for helpin with info
    Again, if your forecast comes true, I doubt you'll get a crazy amount of sap. I drive 2 hours each way to get to my sugarbush, so believe me, I understand the difficulties around scheduling.
    2016: Homemade arch from old wood stove; 2 steam tray pans; 6 taps; 1.1 gal
    2017: Same setup. 15 taps; 4.5 gal
    2018: Same setup. Limited time. 12 taps and short season; 2.2 gal
    2019: Very limited time. 7 taps and a short season; 1.8 gals
    2020: New Mason 2x3 XL halfway through season; 9 taps 2 gals
    2021: Same 2x3, 18 taps, 4.5 gals
    2022: 23 taps, 5.9 gals
    2023: 23 taps. Added AUF, 13.2 gals
    2024: 17 taps, 5.3 gals
    All on buckets

  8. #28
    Join Date
    Jan 2018
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    Marion (South Central), Pa
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    So the Norway on the open hill I meantioned earlier just tested 3.5% sugar! Very excited about that and way higher than the 1.25% some of the woods Norways are showing. Hopefully it produces a lot of sap as well.

    Also tested buckets last night that were 90% ice. The remaining liquid sap tested as high as 8% or higher.

    Weather looks good the next week or so.

    Update: i tested one of my woods norways and it is now testing 2.5%. I am wondering if Jan was just too early when it tested 1% or less or maybe I somehow got a bunch of rain water in my buckets.

    Joe
    Last edited by Plutoman15; 02-10-2018 at 09:03 PM.

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