Tapping for winter 22–23

[canaanmaple]

Dont scare me with the daffodil thing! Ive seen em poppin up here because of that warmer than average February - early march I guess! They dont have flowers but they are poppin out of the ground. Luckily the deep freeze and snows came back the past few weeks to hopefully keep things going! Had really good sap yesterday and made a light tasty amber still. Gonna be 10 degrees tonight and 16 rommorrow night before some runnable temps again. Didn't you say Dr Tim told you that buds reset at 15 degrees or something?
Very few trees show any sort of increase in bud swelling compared to normal winter domancy yet tho, but after Monday there isnt a freeze in the forecast and a couple 60 degree rainy days so could be it here.

My little test boil from 5 trees I tapped Tuesday proved that the sap was bad, 2% sugar Crystal clear, no buds visible on any of the trees, buddy syrup , I didn’t believe it would be good because of the daffodils, ground warm enough to get them to bloom then tree roots to warm also! An older producer than me told me years ago when them daffodils start growing you better move fast! The end is near!
Mark220maple

[220 maple]

Darkmachine
The Crystal Clear 2% sap had no odor! Off smell cooking, then buddy taste!
I’m glad I proved to myself and my friends at FGU that the sap was bad on top of the bacteria that was being produced in the dirty pipelines! If I would have made good syrup then I missed a lot! Bitter Sweet ending to 2023
Mark220maple

[220 maple]

CanaanMaple,
I believe there was discussion on mapletrader years ago about what temperature it would take to reset the trees, I believe the magic number was 17 degrees, but it may have been a required time it had to stay below 17 degrees that I don’t remember, as far as the daffodils, my old buddy at Corigansville, Maryland, Leo of S&S Maple said when the daffodils are starting to grow the season will soon be over, he has 60 years of experience! I visit him every Summer he connections up north and always knows how much syrup was made and what bulk price is.
Mark220maple

[220 maple]

I visited two producers Saturday at The Highland Maple Festival, both had shutdown when I did, one has 12000 taps made half crop! They both heard of producers retapping, also heard syrup was off flavor! I believe some think it’s metabolism, and it can be fixed! Good luck! Better chance it’s Buddy, there is only one way to fix buddy syrup and that is illegal!
Mark220maple

[canaanmaple]

Today could be the start of the last run up here! Hoping for a big one with that deep freeze of multiple single digit nights and ground frozen solid again!
A week of no freezing with a few days in the 60s (although rainy 60) but still....
Ill keep going as long as it does and doesn't have off buddy flavor....

[canaanmaple]

wow, what a run that was! got 25% of my crop this past week, the sugar was boosted too. 15" snow, multiple days of single digits is just what the doctor ordered.
I did retap (new holes) on a bunch of the the old big sugars that had really shut down because of old drops and that mild late february.... I know it's taboo for some, but a local bigger producer did the same apparently so at least I have company in my crimes The location will all new drops never declined, so I figured the old drops were the culprit in shutting down the flow. A great lesson year in the importance of sanitation of drop lines!

I've heard the peepers 3 nights now, so the end has got to be near. Syrup started getting real dark last two boils, and nitre changing composition, but definitley not buddy. There are 3 nights coming up in upper 20's but in my expierience thats not really enough to juice em up again like a multi-day freeze that freezes the ground. Guess Ill keep going as long as the good lord sends me sap and it tastes good...

[DrTimPerkins]

...also heard syrup was off flavor! I believe some think it’s metabolism, and it can be fixed! Good luck! Better chance it’s Buddy, there is only one way to fix buddy syrup and that is illegal!

Yes, most likely buddy at this stage of the season for them. Metabolism more frequently happens early-mid season. And yes...while you might decrease the intensity of the buddy off-flavor through diluting and reboiling, it tends to come back after a little while. And yes...other ways to fix it are illegal.

[220 maple]

I heard many stories of people retapping, maybe some bumping holes, all basically a waste of time! When daffodils bloom good syrup season is over, peep frogs is the warning, earth worms crawling and daffodils in bloom! Let it go! But what do I know! Only been making for the 25th season!
Mark220maple

[DrTimPerkins]

Only been making for the 25th season!

Yeah Mark...I had you figured for a newbie.

Stopped by my uncle's place (formerly my grandfather's farm) where I helped during sugaring season as a kid (lugging buckets or wood). Found my initials that I'd carved into the sugarhouse walls back in the early-1970s. Way preferred sugaring to milking or haying for sure.

[DrTimPerkins]

I heard many stories of people retapping, maybe some bumping holes, all basically a waste of time!

Not only a waste of time, but really bad for the trees. At some point it is time to hang up the tapping hammer for the season.