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Thread: How long do temps have to be below freezing for sap to flow?

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Mar 2021
    Location
    Michigan
    Posts
    21

    Default How long do temps have to be below freezing for sap to flow?

    For example, i got down to 30 deg F for 3 hrs last night and the predicted high is 48 deg F today. Do you think sap will flow or was this not a hard enough freeze?

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Feb 2011
    Location
    Temperance Mi
    Posts
    411

    Default

    It will run some, but not to hard or very long. My dad who was a pretty good ole time sugarmaker said that it needed to get down to 27 and that it would run good only as long as the length of freeze the night before.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    May 2009
    Location
    UVM Proctor Maple Research Center, Underhill Ctr, VT
    Posts
    6,420

    Default

    Depends...how warm was it before the freeze? How cold did it get and how long did it stay below freezing? Are we talking the north or south side of the tree (they can and often are very different). Air temperature isn't the important thing....wood/branch temperature is. Wood takes a good bit longer to change temperature (up or down) than air does.

    This article might be helpful. https://mapleresearch.org/pub/mn2021earlyflow-pdf/
    Dr. Tim Perkins
    UVM Proctor Maple Research Ctr
    http://www.uvm.edu/~pmrc
    https://mapleresearch.org
    Timothy.Perkins@uvm.edu

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Feb 2011
    Location
    Temperance Mi
    Posts
    411

    Default

    Did you get any run at all yesterday? I don't see a freeze until this weekend. With all the warm temps we've had I don't know if the tapholes will be still viable. I think the syrup would be still good even where I'm at in southern mi.

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