wanting to tap

[Tickle]

i live in Niagara county NY and am seeing a warm up this Wednesday with temp of 38 degrees and rain was wondering if i should tap this weekend so im ready to go or is it still to early with cold temps we have had and the fact that its the only day above freezing in the 10 day forecast, only my 2nd year sugaring so still learning any advice would be great thanks

[Shaggy acres]

i live in Niagara county NY and am seeing a warm up this Wednesday with temp of 38 degrees and rain was wondering if i should tap this weekend so im ready to go or is it still to early with cold temps we have had and the fact that its the only day above freezing in the 10 day forecast, only my 2nd year sugaring so still learning any advice would be great thanks

I am no expert but if you have new spiles (new plastic is less than 20 cents each) your taps should stay open for a good 8 weeks. 8 weeks from now the trees will be budding so I prefer to be tapped before the warm day so I don't lose that first run. Waiting will not buy you anything but a warmer day to tap.

[Tickle]

great thanks for info will head out today and start tapping

[COMSTOCK MAPLES]

I have most of mine in now. Some guys are all tapped buy mid feb. Its all depending on how many you have to put in and how fast you can be all tapped. 8-10 weeks is a good estimate of tap hole life. Good luck to you this season

[maple flats]

I'm looking at 1 day warm up (maybe 40) then cooler again. I don't believe enough sap will flow in 1 day because the woods are so deeply frozen. I'll start tapping a week from today. That will give the snow a little time to settle (hopefully). Besides, today is mom's 94th birthday. We're going to visit her.

[Urban Sugarmaker]

I'm planning around 25 taps Tuesday afternoon 3/3. I figure it can't hurt to do it just to see what happens, then I can tap the rest later. Weatherspark.com has a continuous line that shows forecast temps and it looks like mid 30s 1-2AM on 3/4 and approaching 40 all the way to late afternoon. I'm using brand new 5/16" stainless steel spiles so I'm not too worried about early drying. I'll cancel if the long-term forecast is revised much colder by Monday night.

[Tickle]

hi everyone thanks for info just came in from some deep snow walking wish I had some snow shoes , put in 10 taps and may do 10 more on Tuesday looking to have total of 30 -40 taps

[Loch Muller]

I'm in the Adirondacks at about 1500 feet elevation and I'm thinking the same as maple flats, about a week from now if the forecast holds true. Seems like my trees always start running a week or two later than most places in the state. After the cold winter last year it took a couple warm days to get anything going, probably be the same this year. Good luck.

[wnybassman]

I'm in the Adirondacks at about 1500 feet elevation and I'm thinking the same as maple flats, about a week from now if the forecast holds true. Seems like my trees always start running a week or two later than most places in the state. After the cold winter last year it took a couple warm days to get anything going, probably be the same this year. Good luck.

We had a lot more frost in the ground last year. The deep snow kept the frost from getting too deep this year. When I shoveled out my tank platform in the woods last week, the ground was just as soft as could be.

[Loch Muller]

I think your right about the frost not being deep this year, at least in the woods. I just saw a guy plow off part of his lawn today and the ground seems pretty soft. Its just too cold here right now and next week only has one day forecasted above freezing, which is supposed to rain/sleet and windy. If I lived 30-40 miles south of here or in the Champlain Valley I'd be tapping tomorrow, but I don't so I'll just have to wait and hope I'm not wrong.