Iowa County WI Tappign 2023?

[sublime68charger]

Thinking I may tap trees tomorrow? Iowa County Wisconsin any body else tapping yet?

Weather looking good for the next week.

I only tap 20 trees so not a huge amount by any means.

[MajorWoodchuck]

Crazy early year. I have two large silver maples at my house in Waukesha I might try tapping this morning with 2 taps each. My real wood is 3 hours north so I don't think I am ready to make the drive yet. I'll post if I get anything.

[MajorWoodchuck]

Two of my holes had sap dripping out while the drill was being removed the third hole had a drip before I could get the spile in. I was getting rained on with sap from an upper branch weep hole. Maybe I should start collecting with a funnel instead of with a spout.
20230207_060131.jpg

[littleTapper]

I'm over in the SE corner (Wind Lake). Tapped Saturday. Took off last night with the warm south wind. I usually end up tapping around Valentine's day, so I figured with the forecast leading up to then being warm I'd get it done. Hope to boil this weekend.

[Mr Sugar Maple]

Hi little Tapper, I live just north of Madison and tapped our back yard soft maple this afternoon it was also dripping.But my sugar bush is 80 miles west, still plan on Feb 25th -26th to tap.God Bless.

[littleTapper]

Hi little Tapper, I live just north of Madison and tapped our back yard soft maple this afternoon it was also dripping.But my sugar bush is 80 miles west, still plan on Feb 25th -26th to tap.God Bless.

Hope you have a great season!!!

[sublime68charger]

I have run 2 weekends already and normally would be tapping the trees about now but since I have the indoor sugar shack I tapped early this year instead. I wanted to have a few light duty runs to get my shack dialed in and working how I want it to. I have 20 trees tapped on buckets and at best get 80 gallons on a great week run. I have 5 stoves that I run for boiling and can due the 80 gallons if I have a good day of boiling but so far I've had to due some tweaking on the sugar shack to make it work how I want. Week 1 was 4 buckets of sap and 4 buckets of Ice. Which was nice pitch the Ice and just boil the sap. Week 2 on a 5 day run was 32 gallons of sap and this weekend will be my 3rd boiling but the weather has only been good for 3 days of sap making so hard to tell what will be in the buckets but it will be a 9 day soak but with it still being colder not worried about the sap being spoiled at all.

So far shack has had to have a few tweaks as 2 wall got a little bit hot and had to revamp them a bit.
first 2 pics of the burnt walls on week 1, Last pic is Week 2 with all stoves going and new wall coverings.
Barrel stoves are now both brick lined as well. Week 1 only left barrel stove was brick lined Right stove was empyt barrel Hence the back wall starting on fire I think.


Barrel Stove wall fire 1.jpgburnt wall basement stove.jpgAll Stove boiling.jpg

[sublime68charger]

For 2024 I tapped trees on 2/9/24 and thought I should have been tapping a week sooner based upon the what the weather was doing.

just adding this note here so I can look back in future years.

thanks