Sap was running then quit

[Jim Foster]

First week of Feb here in southwest Neb We had temps 50 to 60 during the day and upper 20’s at night. Great flow. Couple days ago same. But the last two days the daytime temps were mid to upper 60’s and roughly 32-34 at night and hardly any sap at all. Temps too warm at night? Too warm during the day? Biden’s fault?

Jim

[4 Paws Sugar Shack]

Definitely Biden's fault

[mainebackswoodssyrup]

Temps in the 60’s really get the bacteria going. And that’s not cool enough at night for a recharge. My guess is the holes have dried up on you as much I would like to support the latter….

[Jim Foster]

Temps in the 60’s really get the bacteria going. And that’s not cool enough at night for a recharge. My guess is the holes have dried up on you as much I would like to support the latter….

The holes are definitely still open. I was leaning on it not being cold enough at night.

Jim

[misterclassic]

We’ve been pulling sap since the last week in January here in Northeast Nebraska. It’s been a good season so far but is getting close to being done. Most years we’d just be getting started. We boiled yesterday and are test boiling a quart daily so see if it’s getting buddy, so far so good. As far as the no sap days, the trees need some sub-freezing nights to recharge, even going down into the teens would be good.

[DrTimPerkins]

Whenever (wood) temps get above about 50 deg F, microbial growth in tapholes is rampant and the process of taphole drying occurs. Taphole drying is not the same as taphole closure, but does result in sap flow slowing down as the vessels clog up, a natural tree healing response that prevents infection from spreading within the wood tissues.

With gravity flow ( as opposed to vacuum), freezing temps are needed to recharge the tree system to reinitiate flow. If you’ve had much warm weather, the flows won’t be as strong (due to microbial induced clogging) and tapholes may have dried up altogether

[JEH]

When the taphole drys up, I have heard people refresh the taphole just a little. Would that hurt the tree?

[berkshires]

When the taphole drys up, I have heard people refresh the taphole just a little. Would that hurt the tree?

Yes. Tons of info about it on this site, much of it posted by Dr Tim.

GO

[DrTimPerkins]

When the taphole drys up, I have heard people refresh the taphole just a little. Would that hurt the tree?

Yes. Retapping, reaming, bumping, whatever you wish to call it creates a much larger internal wound in the tree. Sap volume gain is highly variable from very little to a decent amount, generally a factor of the weather.

Until and unless you get a solid freeze, you won’t get much of any sap.

[tapdrinker]

Yes. Retapping, reaming, bumping, whatever you wish to call it creates a much larger internal wound in the tree. Sap volume gain is highly variable from very little to a decent amount, generally a factor of the weather.

Until and unless you get a solid freeze, you won’t get much of any sap.

Thank you for proving it's not Biden's fault Tim. That comment about it in the post above- person should be banned from site. This is no place for politics like this.