Originally Posted by
DrTimPerkins
Often that is the case yes. Once you're more than a few inches below the ground (especially if there is snow cover), the soil/roots will not be frozen. However water in the stem above ground, especially with snow packed tightly around the trunk, is frozen. Sap can't move up from the soil though the frozen section into the stem until it thaws out some. Generally that happens when the snow starts to melt back from around the base of the tree.
Soooo??? .... being that we have many sugar makers in the region who are angry that winter actually has the nerve to show up this year, can we alleviate their pain at least a little bit by telling them that if they spend this "lock down time" by shoveling the drifted snow away from the trunks of their maple trees that they may get expedited sap service when the atmospheric conditions for decent sap flow do arrive?
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.