Southern Ohio 2021/2022 Tis the season

[DrTimPerkins]

It was a brand new run last year and it's 80% damage now.

Did you clean the lines with chlorine bleach perhaps?

[buckeye gold]

Did you clean the lines with chlorine bleach perhaps?

No I used calcium Hypochloride, the same as my other 5 laterals and flush. This lateral went through a primary oak section and a lot of understory. It got chewed off in a couple places mid summer and I just left it. Once on the ground then all the critters hit it. I'm only saving the part that is still up. You just have to ubderstand how many **** squirrels I have. Any given day I can step out and count 6-10 just from my porch. We have a constant war with them. They eat the fruit off our trees as well. They just keep coming. There's probably 2,000 acres of unbroken timber behind my woods and it is just like a head tank constantly feeding them to my property. I paint my trees with siracha sauce once I put lines up and through the season and then quit. This get's me through season, but Summer and fall is when they get my lines. I imagine all totalled I probably had 100 chews or bites this fall. Just repairs so far have used about 400 foot roll of tubing.

[SevenCreeksSap]

So it seems pretty early to tap,and I'm just north of you a bit. The weather is perfect right now, more like the early March usual tapping weather. Surely we'll get a good solid freeze for a couple of weeks? I'm going to get everything ready and shoot for mid January if it stays like this.

[buckeye gold]

sevencreekssap, I guess I should explain. Many who have known me on here for years know I do some early tapping. I have a set of 50 taps I always tap around Christmas to make some early syrup and boster my year. My regular bush is 110 taps I tap mid to late January. So I am not going all in, just starting a set early. There have been a few years those early taps made my season. If they quit running I will pull them when I do others.

[SevenCreeksSap]

Right, I've noticed before you tend to have some early taps, hope it works for you this year too. With the weather we're having now I'm considering going really early too, just figuring as soon as I do we will get a good long regular freeze and they would close up sooner. I've settled down to about a steady 70 or so taps for the last couple years and not ready to get bigger again. Just need to be patient I guess. If it stays in this pattern though we'll definitely tap in January. Such a guessing game.

[buckeye gold]

Well I been sitting waiting for about 10 days for the feeling I should put out my early taps. Yesterday I just said the heck with it and tapped the 50 early taps. Had a trickle of a run today, but not enough to flush the lines. Maybe tomorrow, but at this point I am guessing the early taps won't mean much this year. Let's hope for a good regular season.

[buckeye gold]

Got the first run of 2022 today. Sixty gallons of mice clear sap. Pumped it in the shack and built a fire. Figured I'd just sweeten the pan but low and behold I got a small draw of a quart of syrup. Looks nice and seems to taste good. After it cools I'll check the taste. It running good as I shut down so I will have at least a short boil tomoorow before the freeze. Sugar was low at 1.2%.

[esetter]

Got the first run of 2022 today. Sixty gallons of mice clear sap. Pumped it in the shack and built a fire. Figured I'd just sweeten the pan but low and behold I got a small draw of a quart of syrup. Looks nice and seems to taste good. After it cools I'll check the taste. It running good as I shut down so I will have at least a short boil tomoorow before the freeze. Sugar was low at 1.2%.

Sir , that's awesome! Hope to get some taps in this weekend or first of next week! Congrats!

[DrTimPerkins]

Got the first run of 2022 today. Sixty gallons of mice clear sap.

Always nice when your sap is clear of mice (or squirrels or wildebeest).

Good luck with the rest of your season.

[buckeye gold]

Yeah, that's true Dr tim. Now squirrels you just ring out and go on, but a mouse you gotta dump. I had flushed my lines with hot water last week, just to find any leaks I missed so I hooked it right into the collection tank thinking I'd only get a few gallons overnight and I'd dump it. So I was surprised when the tank was full and I was also happy it was clean of line crud (that's what I meant). So I cooked it. My wife still set it aside to cook with, we won't use that first quart for true syrup, maybe maplennuts. Last nights short run gave me another 35 gallons of sap this morning and I made a better draw off today of about a half gallon. SO my early taps are starting out well. From here on out it ought to be all good table grade syrup. I always set aside the first gallon or so as utility syrup. I just feel better the system is fresher after the first run and boil.