Anyone tapping in PA yet?

[Sugarmaker]

Folks,
Sap has kept coming. Wood gathered from family and friends. Currently at 174.5 gallons of syrup. Class is Dark Robust. Sap was pretty cloudy today and the syrup flavor is a little tart. Getting very near the end of 2020 maple season. Cotton Candy to make and then get ready for the maple weekend!
Big thanks to Brent H and Father and Son, Jim today for helping too! Also to our daughter Kelly for letting me use her big white Ford it while my Ole RED is in the shop.



Keep Boiling!
Regards,
Chris

[Father & Son]

It dropped to 27 degrees here last night. Pump on for 8 hours today only got 1 gallon of sap per tap. As of 11:00 pm trees not running at all. Extended forecast shows freeze Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. If that doesn’t reset something we might be done here in NW PA.

[Gary R]

We did finish boiling last week. On Sunday we filtered and canned the rest of the syrup. We ended up with 24 gallons for the year. On Sunday we also pulled taps and cleaned the tubing. Then we acid cleaned the pans. All cleaned up. On Tuesday I was able to stop at Yeany's Maple. He just got done making 100 gallons off his 3700 taps. It was great to catch up with him. Today I took my co-worker/ backyarder up to CDL PA. We bought a few items at the store then walked over to watch Patterson Farms boil. The 6X18 was running strong. 86,000 taps! I think my whole season came out of their draw off in a few minutes

Good luck to you Taste and Tour sugarmakers!

[Sugarmaker]

Folks,
As of right now the NW PA Maple Taste and Tour is still on schedule for this weekend March 14 and 15.. It see that panic has set in all around us. Maybe for good reason, but we will see how it goes.
I picked up 250 gallons of sap today. the temps were near 60 F. Sap looked better than the last time which made into dark robust. Will boil in the morning and then make cotton candy when the granddaughters come over.
Keep boiling!
Regards,
Chris

[Sugarmaker]

Folks,
I am done for 2020! A better than average year in NWPA. started the season with 650 taps, neighbor added his taps mid season so we had about 700 ish total. Made 183.5 gallons of syrup and delivered 525 gallons of sap to the neighbor. (which would have been another 10 -11 gallons) Half the crop was Golden Delicate (FIRE & ICE brand) syrup then we made Amber and some dark and the last was very dark due to simmering for 2 days over the Maple Taste and Tour Weekend March 14 and 15th, just before PA shut down. FYI We had a few less folks on the Taste and Tour but it was still a very good event!


Two young men that visited during the Taste and Tour:


We even had a tractor mini tractor show too:


Have back flushed the 5/16 lines and drops with water. Pulled the taps, picked up the containers and the skids. The evaporator and steam away have been filled and heated with 8 gallons of vinegar, scrubbed, drained and rinsed. Canned another 12 gallons of Amber and Dark syrup for stocking the shelves. Containers to clean yet and lines to take down next week. Found a couple squirrel chews in the lines too. Hope every one had a safe and good season.

Regards,
Chris

[Sugarmaker]

Folks,
Sugarhouse is now ready to accept the 650 taps on the rolls of 5/16 short run tubing. Weather is dreary and still wet. Will begin the take down process for the lines. Its a lot of moves, not really hard work just takes a day to get the 30 locations rolled up and tagged.
I have my roadside sugarbush route divided into 3rds. Will mark each set of lines within each of the 3 groups, with a different color of electrical tape to ease the sorting process at the beginning of the season next year. Hope things are good! Looks like the season may be over in our area. Temps are not showing a freeze for at least a week. Soft maples are heavy with buds. Several sugarhouses may be preparing to boil today for the final time. It has been a good year.
Stay safe out there.
Regards,
Chris

[Sugarmaker]

Folks,
Sugarhouse is now ready to accept the 650 taps on the rolls of 5/16 short run tubing. Weather is dreary and still wet. Will begin the take down process for the lines. Its a lot of moves, not really hard work just takes a day to get the 30 locations rolled up and tagged.
I have my roadside sugarbush route divided into 3rds. Will mark each set of lines within each of the 3 groups, with a different color of electrical tape to ease the sorting process at the beginning of the season next year. Hope things are good! Looks like the season may be over in our area. Temps are not showing a freeze for at least a week. Soft maples are heavy with buds. Several sugarhouses may be preparing to boil today for the final time. It has been a good year.
Stay safe out there.
Regards,
Chris