Tapped in Charlemont
Tapped Feb 16, the weather outlook was originally looking great. But the next time I looked i see lows in the single digits a couple nights this week. Bummer but if you ask the weatherman, next week looks great too. We will see if I really jumped the gun.
I’m in the same boat, in Harvard. I tapped a week before you, had 2-3 good days and made 3 gallons of syrup. The trees haven’t bounced back yet apparently from last weeks freeze. I thought Sunday - Monday would run well, but not so much. Might have to wait for next weekend warmup.
Tom
2022 is season 7
2016: 20 taps on buckets, 4 gallons on a borrowed 2x3.
2017: 32 taps on buckets, 8 gallons of syrup, on a "loaner" Lapierre 19x48.
2018: 80 taps. First time tubing. New 10x12 sugar shack, Lapierre 2x5. Made 17 gallons
2019: 100 taps. 22 gallons. Added a small RO 50 gph.
2020: 145 taps, 30 gallons, sold half. Murphy cup is a great addition.
2021: tapped Feb 23, 150 taps, 35 gallons.
2022: 200 taps. I lost 50, added 100. Having fun but short season?
I'm in that same boat as well. Definitely got suckered in by the long-term forecast of warmth. I tapped on Feb tenth, and I haven't even bothered to drive up to my sugar shack since then. All I'd have is a few inches of solid ice in the buckets. Going to hope for some kind of a warmup next weekend, because the forecast for this week looks cold again.
Sheesh, January was warmer than this!
Good luck!
GO
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
I'm in the same situation as you guys, I tapped Feb. 16 and have had nothing but ice. Does anyone also have dry taps even today with a good cold night and almost 50* day today? I'm tapping a final few trees today and those are running before I get the drill bit out, but ones I've already tapped are dry.
Edit - I'm in Charlton
Sent from my SM-G973U using Tapatalk
Home made 30x48 divided pan
2021 60 taps, home made 400gpd RO - 7.25 gal
2020 45 taps, home made 150gpd RO - 2 gal
2019 40 taps, built 30" x 48" arch and pan - 3 gal
2018 25 taps, barrel evaporator - 1.5 gal
2017 17 taps, wood stove with a hole and a steam table pan - .5 gal
So far in the last two weeks several of my trees have done exactly nothing. A few of them have between an inch and three inches in them, and just one is mostly full. And I know exactly why. I was scrambling around in the woods to consider a running run and the ground in the woods is hard as a brick. Just too frozen up to release moisture, even on a warm day. The one tree that is running is on the edge of a sunny clearing where all the snow has melted because it's clearly warm there.
But tomorrow should get the trees moving. (I hope)!
Gabe
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
We tapped yesterday (Sunday 24th). Good strong run. Hoping for another strong run today before the warm weather blows in midweek and then it freezes up for the weekend.
60ish taps on buckets
D&G Sportsman 18x63
Turbo RB15 RO Bucket
On Saturday Feb 22 some of our trees started running but i believe it was little to no accumulation. Good thing for me. Did a quick test boil using vinegar yesterday to clean the pans for the season and noticed two of my drop flues were dripping right in the front corners. Bringing them to get soldered today, I hope they can patch them ok without making it worse. Otherwise I'm heading to basoms to pick up a leader supreme 2x4 pan.
I hope I am not hijacking this thread, if so someone let me know! Yesterday (2/24) I ended up with about 25 gallons, but most of that only came from about 20% of my trees (~15). I noticed that aside from one outlier the producers all happened to be uphill toward the edge of the woods while the slackers were all in a lower-lying area deep in the woods. These slackers are all new trees to me so I don't know how they react just yet but it seems more than a coincidence that they are all in the same area. Is it possible that they are still frozen after 2 days of 45*+ weather? If they are frozen can they run after a day and night cycle above freezing? I am wondering if it is worth my time to have them tapped if they are only going to produce a pint of sap each on a 60* day.
Although with the way this season is going maybe I should take every ounce of sap I can get...
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote