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Thread: Eastern Ontario 2019

  1. #91
    Join Date
    Mar 2016
    Location
    North Gower, Ontario Canada
    Posts
    244

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    Quote Originally Posted by BrutemanAl View Post




    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    I love that little trailer on skis.. did you make that yourself? I'm inspired now!

    Karen! I too was wondering when you'd make an appearance! How are things at your end?
    ______________________________
    2023 -30 trees -24 vacuum, 6 buckets. ~1,845 L sap; Syrup count: 49.25L
    2022 -30 trees -24 vacuum, 6 buckets. ~1,530 L sap; Syrup count: 48.65L
    2021 -29 trees -23 vacuum, 6 buckets. ~1240 L sap; 34.5L of syrup
    2020 -30 trees 32 taps. ~900 L sap; 27.1L Syrup.
    2019 -27 trees 31 taps. ~725 L sap; 22.2L Syrup.
    2018 -19 Trees 20 taps. ~750 L sap; 18 L Syrup
    2017 -4 trees 4 taps. ~60 L sap; 1.5 L Syrup

  2. #92
    Join Date
    Feb 2013
    Location
    Codrington , Ontario
    Posts
    257

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    Quote Originally Posted by paulslund View Post
    I love that little trailer on skis.. did you make that yourself? I'm inspired now!

    Karen! I too was wondering when you'd make an appearance! How are things at your end?

    Thanks, yes I did make it... kind lol. The skis came off a trailer used by a snowmobile, picked it up for 25 bucks off Kijiji and then I had the barrel, then just used scrap wood I had laying around the garage to sorta kinda piece it together, I don’t actually drag it around and collect sap in it though, that was my plan but it’s way to heavy and I have some hills I need to get up and it’s hard enough on the atv with another little sled I have that has the camping water cooler containers I use for sap. So this one has a hole in the top, that I filter the gather sap and pour it into it, then I have a small 12 VDC pump ( bought it for 2$ off WISH APP) that I hook up to a deep cycle battery and transfer it to my prewarmer on the evaporator. It is not ideal, but it works for now.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    2018 28 tree's, 32 taps... 1206 L collected, 19.6 L Finished
    2017 14 trees, 16 taps... for now 465.5 L collected, 10.5 L Finished
    2016 26 trees, 38 taps... for now 675 L sap so far, 10.5 L finished product
    2015 7 Trees, 7 Buckets
    2014 13 Trees,9 Buckets,5 Water Cooler Bottles,1 Turkey Fryer,ended up with 12 L syrup,light to very dark color
    2013 9 Trees ,13 taps and buckets,1 Turkey Deep Fryer,Close to 15 L of syrup , light to dark color

  3. #93
    Join Date
    Feb 2013
    Location
    Codrington , Ontario
    Posts
    257

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    Today I collected another 100 plus ltrs, boiling again. I forgot to mention that my little event tent has 12 vdc LED lighting in it so I can boil at night.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    2018 28 tree's, 32 taps... 1206 L collected, 19.6 L Finished
    2017 14 trees, 16 taps... for now 465.5 L collected, 10.5 L Finished
    2016 26 trees, 38 taps... for now 675 L sap so far, 10.5 L finished product
    2015 7 Trees, 7 Buckets
    2014 13 Trees,9 Buckets,5 Water Cooler Bottles,1 Turkey Fryer,ended up with 12 L syrup,light to very dark color
    2013 9 Trees ,13 taps and buckets,1 Turkey Deep Fryer,Close to 15 L of syrup , light to dark color

  4. #94
    Join Date
    Mar 2012
    Location
    North Grenville
    Posts
    1,476

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    Quote Originally Posted by MikeC82 View Post
    Hi Galena, For sure - we are very close. In fact, we used to live in Kemptville until about 2 years ago.

    We have a real mix of trees silver, red and sugar - some huge ones must be 75 years old + Others much smaller. Tried to limit to tapping only 10-11 inches or larger. It's mixed bush with a lot of big pines mixed in - so it seems the maples have to grow really tall to get at the light. This seems to cut down on their girth overall. It takes them years and years to expand in width - but they grow higher and higher every year. My dad tapped about ten trees here over 30 years ago and he left the spigots in after accidentally burning the sap. Those trees have only grown out barely 1/2 inch around the old spigots since then. Very slow to grow.

    We have a light problem here because the bush is so thick. Hard to get sun in- but I think you're right about the drainage. Most of the ones running early are right down near the creek/swampy area.

    Mike
    Hi Mike, sounds like it's your reds which are running first and of course they like swampier conditions....some friends of mine tap nothing but reds cause that's all they've got :-) Never tapped silvers, I hear they can be very capricious...either masses of sap or zilch. My bush is now all sugars - I did tap a couple reds but they never did much, so I stopped - and true to form my three little bush maples are taller more than wide. Don't have bush as thick as yours sounds, though, at least it doesn't affect the Surprises. My other trees are yard maples, the biggest tree needs at least two people to reach around her trunk. No tree takes more than 3 spiles. The bush sugars take only 1 apiece.

    Expect your reds to peter out a good 2-4 weeks before your other maples. Reds start first and usually have a pretty low sap content. If you have mostly young trees you might want to compare notes with LesPetras, whose bush is mostly young trees and on a slope too.

    Bet you're glad to have escaped KemptHaven....ugly little houses sprouting like mushrooms everywhere now :-( Glad the blight hasn't yet spread to my area too much *crossed fingers*
    Been tapping since 2008.
    2018 - 17 taps/7 trees...819l sap, approx 28l syrup
    2019 - 18 taps/8 trees...585l sap, 28l syrup...21:1 ratio
    2020 - 18 taps/8 trees...890.04l sap...gave away about 170l, 30l snafu'd....23l total for me from approx 690l
    2021 - 18 taps/8 trees...395l sap, 12 l syrup
    2022 - 18 taps/8 trees....7 sugars 1 red due to #2 having surgery so had the season off....582l sap, 18.5l syrup
    2023 - 18 taps/8 trees...all sugars again. 807l sap, so far approx 14l syrup

  5. #95
    Join Date
    Mar 2019
    Location
    Johnstown, ON
    Posts
    49

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    Quote Originally Posted by Galena View Post
    Hi Mike, sounds like it's your reds which are running first and of course they like swampier conditions....some friends of mine tap nothing but reds cause that's all they've got :-) Never tapped silvers, I hear they can be very capricious...either masses of sap or zilch. My bush is now all sugars - I did tap a couple reds but they never did much, so I stopped - and true to form my three little bush maples are taller more than wide. Don't have bush as thick as yours sounds, though, at least it doesn't affect the Surprises. My other trees are yard maples, the biggest tree needs at least two people to reach around her trunk. No tree takes more than 3 spiles. The bush sugars take only 1 apiece.

    Expect your reds to peter out a good 2-4 weeks before your other maples. Reds start first and usually have a pretty low sap content. If you have mostly young trees you might want to compare notes with LesPetras, whose bush is mostly young trees and on a slope too.

    Bet you're glad to have escaped KemptHaven....ugly little houses sprouting like mushrooms everywhere now :-( Glad the blight hasn't yet spread to my area too much *crossed fingers*
    haha - yes - very happy to be out of Kemptville and back in the wilderness where I belong.
    Hardly got anything yesterday - only 7Gals/26L and that out of maybe 12 trees - the rest of the 80 still doing nothing. Very weird too. I went out and checked this morning and most of the ones that were running have stopped. Can't believe it with these temps. Starting to get frustrated. Worried I tapped too early.

    M
    2018 - 65 taps - 494G Sap - 11.6G Finished Syrup (flat pan w. converted oil tank stove).
    2019 - 100 taps - 514G Sap - 19.2G Finished Syrup (flat pan w. converted oil tank stove).
    2020 - 137 taps - 735G Sap - 20G Finished Syrup (Continuous flow pan).
    2021 - 126 taps - 288G Sap - 8.45G Finished Syrup (Continuous flow pan).
    2022 - 120 taps - 811G Sap - 21 G Finished Syrup (Continuous flow pan).
    2023 -

  6. #96
    Join Date
    Mar 2016
    Location
    North Gower, Ontario Canada
    Posts
    244

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    I may have a combined 10 liters in my buckets when I checked late last night.. checked a few this morning and no change (although no big surprise there..temps stayed up overnight). Hoping when the temps drop this evening and overnight some flow will happen (although if it never went up, will it come down? ). High winds overnight too so that's not great. Next week is looking promising. I just got my new boiling pans so I'm anxious to try them out..but I don't think that will be this weekend.. May have to collect what I have and freeze it until next weekend. I'm a bit worried about the hanging buckets..they'll be sitting in +9 for a lot of the day today..not that there's much in there so if goes bad it's no biggie..the ground buckets are sitting in snow and what little is in those should be fine.
    ______________________________
    2023 -30 trees -24 vacuum, 6 buckets. ~1,845 L sap; Syrup count: 49.25L
    2022 -30 trees -24 vacuum, 6 buckets. ~1,530 L sap; Syrup count: 48.65L
    2021 -29 trees -23 vacuum, 6 buckets. ~1240 L sap; 34.5L of syrup
    2020 -30 trees 32 taps. ~900 L sap; 27.1L Syrup.
    2019 -27 trees 31 taps. ~725 L sap; 22.2L Syrup.
    2018 -19 Trees 20 taps. ~750 L sap; 18 L Syrup
    2017 -4 trees 4 taps. ~60 L sap; 1.5 L Syrup

  7. #97
    Join Date
    Mar 2019
    Location
    Johnstown, ON
    Posts
    49

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    2018.JPG

    I tracked yield last year vs. temp trends - last year was based on 65 taps in mixed bush, red, silver and a few sugars. Different sizes of trees. Mostly 1-tappers. Yield is in US Gallons.
    2018 - 65 taps - 494G Sap - 11.6G Finished Syrup (flat pan w. converted oil tank stove).
    2019 - 100 taps - 514G Sap - 19.2G Finished Syrup (flat pan w. converted oil tank stove).
    2020 - 137 taps - 735G Sap - 20G Finished Syrup (Continuous flow pan).
    2021 - 126 taps - 288G Sap - 8.45G Finished Syrup (Continuous flow pan).
    2022 - 120 taps - 811G Sap - 21 G Finished Syrup (Continuous flow pan).
    2023 -

  8. #98
    Join Date
    Mar 2012
    Location
    North Grenville
    Posts
    1,476

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    I wouldn't worry about having tapped too early, esp for this area. You've only tapped for one year so far, that's not enough time to get to really know your trees. Each time I collect I keep track of how much I get from each tree, each day...so now I can look back over 10 yrs worth of records and see what the historic record says for each tree. Mind, my bush is only 8 trees! :-)

    I've only got just over a gallon of sap so far but my big trees haven't even started yet, and generally don't really get going til a good 2 weeks in. My little bush maples are the ones producing the most so far, and stayed pretty consistent from start of the season to finish. Just be patient, this warm weather should help.

    If you like I can visit and take a tour of your sugarbush and give you the benefit of my experience.
    Been tapping since 2008.
    2018 - 17 taps/7 trees...819l sap, approx 28l syrup
    2019 - 18 taps/8 trees...585l sap, 28l syrup...21:1 ratio
    2020 - 18 taps/8 trees...890.04l sap...gave away about 170l, 30l snafu'd....23l total for me from approx 690l
    2021 - 18 taps/8 trees...395l sap, 12 l syrup
    2022 - 18 taps/8 trees....7 sugars 1 red due to #2 having surgery so had the season off....582l sap, 18.5l syrup
    2023 - 18 taps/8 trees...all sugars again. 807l sap, so far approx 14l syrup

  9. #99
    Join Date
    Mar 2019
    Location
    Johnstown, ON
    Posts
    49

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    The reasons we do so many is my mother-in-law does gluten-free, non-processed sugar baking and sells in the area. They were spending up to 1500 a year on maple syrup lol, so we decided to get it for free! By free, I guess I mean 1000s of hours of labour and 1000s of dollars in buckets, pans etc. I just have fun doing it.

    The trails are a bit dicey - we have about 75 acres here and I am thinking about moving farther back in the bush to where the trees are closer together. Right now everything is close to the house just for convenience, but there are better trees farther back on the lot. Once the snow melts, we will be able to get across the bridges to the back. It would be great if you could come check it out then and see if you think its feasible. Should be good to go by Mid-April.

    Thanks for everything.
    M
    2018 - 65 taps - 494G Sap - 11.6G Finished Syrup (flat pan w. converted oil tank stove).
    2019 - 100 taps - 514G Sap - 19.2G Finished Syrup (flat pan w. converted oil tank stove).
    2020 - 137 taps - 735G Sap - 20G Finished Syrup (Continuous flow pan).
    2021 - 126 taps - 288G Sap - 8.45G Finished Syrup (Continuous flow pan).
    2022 - 120 taps - 811G Sap - 21 G Finished Syrup (Continuous flow pan).
    2023 -

  10. #100
    Join Date
    Mar 2012
    Location
    North Grenville
    Posts
    1,476

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    Wow, that is a lot to spend on good ol tree blood...but like you see for yourself, the amount of time and work you put into it to get it for *free*...:-)

    Will be glad to pop by this weekend with my snowpants and most waterproof boots and go for a wade/walk and see what you've got...though I don't know if you want to wait til mid-April to tap those trees farther back. May be way too late. But this season has been wonky all along so maybe it won't make any difference! I am available most weekends, late morning to mid-afternoon works best for me. Let me know when would be good for you.

    ETA: Karen, just saw your post re using a disposable aluminum roasting tray for prewarming sap....how do you support the weight of it over the main pan?
    Last edited by Galena; 03-15-2019 at 05:23 PM.
    Been tapping since 2008.
    2018 - 17 taps/7 trees...819l sap, approx 28l syrup
    2019 - 18 taps/8 trees...585l sap, 28l syrup...21:1 ratio
    2020 - 18 taps/8 trees...890.04l sap...gave away about 170l, 30l snafu'd....23l total for me from approx 690l
    2021 - 18 taps/8 trees...395l sap, 12 l syrup
    2022 - 18 taps/8 trees....7 sugars 1 red due to #2 having surgery so had the season off....582l sap, 18.5l syrup
    2023 - 18 taps/8 trees...all sugars again. 807l sap, so far approx 14l syrup

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