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Thread: 2019 Missouri Tapping Season

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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Mar 2014
    Location
    Florissant Missouri
    Posts
    137

    Default 2019 Missouri Tapping Season

    II have been out in the sugar bush doing some early season preparation. Has anyone else gotten started?
    Crazy River Sap
    55 sugar maple, 15 walnut taps on plastic buckets and tubing
    Block arch on driveway

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Mar 2014
    Location
    Florissant Missouri
    Posts
    137

    Default

    55 Deg F today. We need a cold spell. I am going to get my taps and down tubes and boil them this week. Tapping looks like it is still a few weeks off. While working around the sugar bush last weekend I accidentally nicked a few sugar maple tree roots and no sap was running.
    Crazy River Sap
    55 sugar maple, 15 walnut taps on plastic buckets and tubing
    Block arch on driveway

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

    Default Missouri weather certainly is confusing this year

    Brian, Its been much too warm to generate any good sap flow. Long range forecast for Missouri may offer some hope, though. I am cleaning buckets, taps, and assembling all supplies. In the last 5 years we tapped between Jan 16 and Jan 22. So we still have a while to wait. 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

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Mar 2014
    Location
    Florissant Missouri
    Posts
    137

    Default

    I set up my concrete block arch thia morning with a friend. I still need to make some finishing touches. I put out a main tubing line but have not tied in the laterals yet and have not tapped any lines along those lines. I did tap 4 trees with buckets and two of those trees were dripping quite well. Rain and snow tomorrow then turning cold tomorrow night. I hope to get the taps and laterals put in tomorrow along that line I put in. That will give me a total of 10 by tomorrow night. We will see with the rain. I need to take some pictures. I hope you collected enough sap on Friday John so that you can do that first boil over the weekend.
    Crazy River Sap
    55 sugar maple, 15 walnut taps on plastic buckets and tubing
    Block arch on driveway

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jan 2015
    Location
    hills west of Jeff City Missouri
    Posts
    134

    Default

    Brian, we ended up with 160 gallons of sap. Will begin boiling tonight. I hope you collect enough to boil. 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

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Mar 2014
    Location
    Florissant Missouri
    Posts
    137

    Default

    Maple Creek if you look in my gallery you can find a few pictures of block arches. They might help you out a bit.
    Crazy River Sap
    55 sugar maple, 15 walnut taps on plastic buckets and tubing
    Block arch on driveway

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Jan 2015
    Location
    hills west of Jeff City Missouri
    Posts
    134

    Default

    I tapped the remaining 60 or so trees today. Have a lot of sap in frozen bags, and need a couple moderate days to collect before the big freeze arrives. In the sunny afternoon at about 40 deg, the sap resumed flowing and some melt started in the bags. Our slopes are getting muddy so I may not be able to pull the trailer (that holds 24 totes) all the way up our hills, will have to haul sap out on the ATV, that only holds 5 totes. Will collect tomorrow and possibly again Monday with highs projected for mid 30's. Its a strange year, but we're getting enough sap to make it interesting. John
    Last edited by unclejohn; 01-27-2019 at 10:49 AM.
    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

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    Holts Summit, MO
    Posts
    119

    Default

    We are trying something new this year. Tapping trees on a friends place and giving 3/16 tubing a try. Currently, have 86 taps on 4 lines going to a 65-gallon tank. Collected 120 gallons of sap this weekend and cooked it down Monday night. Looking to get another 25 to 50 taps in yet this year. So far the tubing is working great and the weather looks promising!
    Matthew
    Highly modified Leader Half Pint with Smoky Lake 2 x 4 Raised Flue
    14' Grain Bin Sugar House
    152 taps on 3/16 tubing
    MES Dolly 100 RO
    Homemade filter/canning tank with an electric water jacket
    Kubota RTV 1100
    http://s272.photobucket.com/albums/j...Maple%20Syrup/

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Jan 2018
    Location
    Franklin County MO
    Posts
    29

    Default

    I have not. The guy down the road from me a few miles has not either, and he has made syrup for a long time. I hope the snow we are getting here will help with production this year.

    RiverSap, do you boil your taps and lines when you put them away or just rinse them?
    Lots of trees, bees, rocks, firewood, and syrup.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Jan 2015
    Location
    hills west of Jeff City Missouri
    Posts
    134

    Default

    Hey Old Cabin, nice to hear from you. Maybe you can attach some photos of your syrup activites to your profile? Im trying to collect information about syrupmakers in Missouri, to swap equipment, labor, advice, who knows what. Maybe get together in the spring for a pancake feed or something. So far I have communicated with about 25 syrupmakers. Could you send me a private message with your phone number, and maybe info on how to contact the guy down the road from you. To send a private message to me, just left click on my name Unclejohn and go from there. That way only I can see the information you send.

    Lots of snow coming down here in mid MO. Its gonna be muddy when I tap next week. But temps might look pretty good. All Missouri readers: please share with us your tapping status! Thanks. Unclejohn
    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

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