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Thread: 2020 Tapping Season

  1. #191
    Join Date
    Dec 2015
    Location
    Weston, CT
    Posts
    473

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    Also found the following in my trees.

    Big trees peaked at 3.25% in late Feb
    Small trees peaked at 2.25% in late Feb

    Big trees dropped down to 2.25% in March
    Small trees dropped down to 1.25% in March

    My 1 Red Maple never seemed to get above 1%. While they make good syrup, I will never go near them again with a tap unless I have RO.
    If you think it's easy to make good money in maple syrup .... then your obviously good at stealing somebody's Maple Syrup.

    Favorite Tree: Sugar Maple
    Most Hated Animal: Sap Sucker
    Most Loved Animal: Devon Rex Cat
    Favorite Kingpin: Bruce Bascom
    40 Sugar Maple Taps ... 23 in CT and 17 in NY .... 29 on gravity tubing and 11 on 5G buckets ... 2019 Totals 508 gallons of sap, 7 boils, 11.4 gallons of syrup.
    1 Girlfriend that gives away all my syrup to her friends.

  2. #192
    Join Date
    Feb 2017
    Location
    Connecticut
    Posts
    149

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    Quote Originally Posted by Sugar Bear View Post
    Pulled taps today. Might be able to catch a small run next weekend but it is just too warm.
    I liked this year better then last year with the exception of the 1/2 gallon of syrup that jumped out of the finish pan on me. I am also glad I resisted temptation to tap early.
    I can understand why you and others are pulling taps. I did too.
    My question is, why do you say you're glad you resisted temptation to tap early?
    I didn't resist, more out of being small time and still learning and experimenting. The taps I put in early were some of the best taps I had all season, and kept up with, and surpassed most of the taps I put in later in February.

  3. #193
    Join Date
    Dec 2007
    Location
    Ashford, CT
    Posts
    918

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    My taps are still in. I'm collecting today and this weekend looks like several days with good temps. I think next week might be the last one but if the sap is running, I'm collecting it and I'll boil as log as I have enough. If I finish next week, that would be 1-2 weeks earlier than normal. From where I am in the season it's been a pretty good season. I've already made more this season than I did all last season.
    About 300 taps
    2'x6' air tight arch
    Semi complete 12'x24' sugarhouse in Somers, CT
    My YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/CapturedNature
    My eBook: Making Maple Syrup in your Backyard

  4. #194
    Join Date
    Dec 2015
    Location
    Weston, CT
    Posts
    473

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    Quote Originally Posted by Gord View Post
    I can understand why you and others are pulling taps. I did too.
    My question is, why do you say you're glad you resisted temptation to tap early?
    I didn't resist, more out of being small time and still learning and experimenting. The taps I put in early were some of the best taps I had all season, and kept up with, and surpassed most of the taps I put in later in February.
    I tapped on Feb 16 and I had 4 boils that ended on the following dates with the given amount of sap boiled.

    2/20 75 gallons
    2/27 152 gallons ( Second place for amount into my barrels for a boil )
    3/5 166 gallons ( Record amount into my barrels for a boil )
    3/9 55 gallons

    So I feel in my region the best two weeks of the season were the last week of February and the first week of March.

    I would suggest to anyone that the ideal time to tap with gravity is 1 week before the best two weeks of the season. Not certain how to suggest finding them other then "resisting temptation" BUT as Dorthy once said their is no place like home. As a southern New England small time sugar maker I would say their is no place like a sap run in the last week of February and the first week of March. While we all think the seasons are going away they are not. Not that I know anything about it scientifically, but they will still be here for thousands of years. The odds that I am correct about that are heavily in my favor. Two years from now we may have our record cold or record snow. While the climate is clearly trending warmer without a doubt, I believe the trees are "STILL" programed by the ages to do what they do best at a "REASONABLY" tight and fixed point in time. 9 years out of 10 easily. And even pretty much so on the 10th year like this one, and my numbers above and below support that.

    Last year I boiled 508 gallons in 8 weeks of season. On 7 different boils. Made 11.4 gallons of syrup. A great season but a lot of work.

    This year I boiled 448 gallons in 4 weeks of season. on 4 different boils. Made 10.5 gallons of syrup. ( lost 1/2 gallon due to brain cramp ) A better season then last year because it was half the work.

    So for the first two weeks of February I was able to tie salmon flies for my salmon fishing in Maritimes this summer and now for the back half of March I to tie more salmon flies. And I have nearly the same amount of syrup as last year to bring with me on my salmon fishing trip.

    I hope that explains why I am glad I resisted my temptation to tap early.

    This year was by far the most educational to me. And while Bernie Sanders may have a different opinion, education is already free! It always has been. Ever since the first brain cell was conceived.

    Cheers to tapping on time.

    Cheers to tapping on time.
    If you think it's easy to make good money in maple syrup .... then your obviously good at stealing somebody's Maple Syrup.

    Favorite Tree: Sugar Maple
    Most Hated Animal: Sap Sucker
    Most Loved Animal: Devon Rex Cat
    Favorite Kingpin: Bruce Bascom
    40 Sugar Maple Taps ... 23 in CT and 17 in NY .... 29 on gravity tubing and 11 on 5G buckets ... 2019 Totals 508 gallons of sap, 7 boils, 11.4 gallons of syrup.
    1 Girlfriend that gives away all my syrup to her friends.

  5. #195
    Join Date
    Dec 2018
    Location
    Willington, CT
    Posts
    20

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    Started cleaning up the sugar shack this week. Despite the strange weather we think we did pretty good. 38.5 gallons of syrup bottled. Adding more 3/16 lines next year and doing half in cv taps. Tapping those early next year.
    Willington CT
    2020 - 220 taps bags and lines in newly thinned Bush
    2019 - 80 taps bags. 11 gallons syrup
    RO - NGMP
    CDL 9” vacuum filter
    Lapierre mini pro

  6. #196
    Join Date
    Jan 2020
    Location
    Connecticut
    Posts
    159

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    Quote Originally Posted by Sugar Bear View Post
    My trees have been running quite a bit one and two days or even three days after it has not fallen below freezing the night before. Has anybody noticed this also this year?
    I pulled my taps last weekend, but for the last week before I pulled them, there were a few days when I expected a good run, due to appropriate temperature swings, and didn’t get diddly, or didn’t expect much of a run, and came home to buckets overflowing. Weird! I know everyone has their own micro climate, but it was not what I expected!

    On another note, I may try soaking the pan before cleaning. But I don’t have anymore sap, so I’m just going to fill it with water and see what happens, unless that’s a bad idea?
    2017 - 20ish taps on buckets, boiling outside in two baking pans
    2018 - 70+ taps, 14-buckets, 50+ on tubing, homemade arch from oil tank in my barn, 17 gal syrup
    2019 - same set up, 20 gal syrup
    2020 - less taps, short season, but RO kit was fantastic! 6 gal syrup and a maple cat!
    2021/22/23 - expanded into the neighbors yards! 50 taps on buckets and 40 taps on tubing

  7. #197
    Join Date
    Dec 2015
    Location
    Weston, CT
    Posts
    473

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    Quote Originally Posted by therealtreehugger View Post
    I pulled my taps last weekend, but for the last week before I pulled them, there were a few days when I expected a good run, due to appropriate temperature swings, and didn’t get diddly, or didn’t expect much of a run, and came home to buckets overflowing. Weird! I know everyone has their own micro climate, but it was not what I expected!

    On another note, I may try soaking the pan before cleaning. But I don’t have anymore sap, so I’m just going to fill it with water and see what happens, unless that’s a bad idea?
    Good to know it was not just me with that same kind of season.
    If you think it's easy to make good money in maple syrup .... then your obviously good at stealing somebody's Maple Syrup.

    Favorite Tree: Sugar Maple
    Most Hated Animal: Sap Sucker
    Most Loved Animal: Devon Rex Cat
    Favorite Kingpin: Bruce Bascom
    40 Sugar Maple Taps ... 23 in CT and 17 in NY .... 29 on gravity tubing and 11 on 5G buckets ... 2019 Totals 508 gallons of sap, 7 boils, 11.4 gallons of syrup.
    1 Girlfriend that gives away all my syrup to her friends.

  8. #198
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
    Location
    Kent Ct. USA
    Posts
    369

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    On another note, I may try soaking the pan before cleaning. But I don’t have anymore sap, so I’m just going to fill it with water and see what happens, unless that’s a bad idea?[/QUOTE] The water won't do anything to loosen up the crud - better to put a few gallons of vinegar in the pans, swish it around a few times a day.

  9. #199
    Join Date
    Jan 2020
    Location
    Connecticut
    Posts
    159

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    Quote Originally Posted by Mike Van View Post
    On another note, I may try soaking the pan before cleaning. But I don’t have anymore sap, so I’m just going to fill it with water and see what happens, unless that’s a bad idea? The water won't do anything to loosen up the crud - better to put a few gallons of vinegar in the pans, swish it around a few times a day.
    Ahh - okay. I was thinking would adding some sugar to simulate sap (and then bacteria) work?
    Last edited by therealtreehugger; 03-14-2020 at 08:53 PM.
    2017 - 20ish taps on buckets, boiling outside in two baking pans
    2018 - 70+ taps, 14-buckets, 50+ on tubing, homemade arch from oil tank in my barn, 17 gal syrup
    2019 - same set up, 20 gal syrup
    2020 - less taps, short season, but RO kit was fantastic! 6 gal syrup and a maple cat!
    2021/22/23 - expanded into the neighbors yards! 50 taps on buckets and 40 taps on tubing

  10. #200
    Join Date
    Feb 2017
    Location
    Upper Valley, NH
    Posts
    146

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    At the end of the season I do a 50/50 vinegar/permeate water mix in my evaporator. Bring to a rolling boil. Walk away. Come back a few days later and the thing shines like it is brand new with minimal scrubbing. If possible, cover the pan after it is boiling and the evaporation condensate will coat everything and make it even easier to clean.
    2023: Award Winning Maple Syrup and Honey!
    2023: 200 Taps on 3/16" "natural vac"
    2022: 150 Taps on 3/16" "natural vac"
    2022: Lapierre Vision 2x6 with Preheater & Marcland Autodraw
    2022: Brand new post and beam sugar house
    2022: 4"x40" RO
    Kubota L4701, Kubota BX2380
    2 Black Rescue Dogs, 2 Livestock Guardian Dogs, Many Bee Hives, A Flock of Icelandic Chickens
    30 Acres of Wooded Bliss
    vikingmadeforge: Artist Blacksmithing & Bladesmithing
    https://blackdogbeesandmapletrees.com

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