Southwestern Ontario

[JDP]

Boiled 30 gallons today and it only produced 3.75 litres of syrup. Had been getting 4.5 litres. Does the sugar content tail off when the season is winding down here in Mountsberg? ( Close to Milton)

Thanks for any answers. First year so still learning!

[Run Forest Run!]

It certainly can JDP. I have found that is usually the case, but it can bump up again if there is another freeze. Invest in a sap hydrometer during the off season so you will know in advance what to expect from your sap before you put in the hours of boiling. Mine is indispensable.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/0-10-Portabl.../231157961168?

[JDP]

Run Forest Run. Do you think we are done this weekend? You are not far away from me. Sap has really tapered of yesterday and today. No temps below 0 are forecast but double digit highs. Will we get another run or does it have to drop below 0.......and how do you know when the sap gets " buddy" ? Thanks

[Run Forest Run!]

Run Forest Run. Do you think we are done this weekend? You are not far away from me. Sap has really tapered of yesterday and today. No temps below 0 are forecast but double digit highs. Will we get another run or does it have to drop below 0.......and how do you know when the sap gets " buddy" ? Thanks

JDP, it's not looking great for us, but there is some chance that Friday night and Saturday night might be chilly enough to recharge the trees. Beyond that, the evening temperatures are looking like they will be too warm. It really does need to below 0 for anything significant to happen. If the temperatures stay warm the sap will stop and you'll not have to opportunity to collect any sap, let alone any buddy sap. Whenever we have a season that ends more slowly than this one, I boil a few cups of the sap that I collect before adding it to a larger pot of boiling sap. If the steam smells foul, then you know it's buddy and don't use it.

BTW, I'm jealous to see that you live so close to Sunset Villa in Puslinch. It's one of the only places in southern Ontario that serves traditional Danish food. I'd be there every night of the week if I lived in Mountsberg! I go every June for the big Danish picnic celebrating Constitution Day, and it's often our destination for special events. Nothing fancy, but it's my idea of comfort food. Any other time I crave Danish food, I have to make it myself.

[JDP]

Thanks for the info Karen. I'm collecting tonight I guess for the last time. Have 10 gallons of sap on hand and maybe 10 - 15 gallons to collect. Oh well it was a good run for a first timer boiling on a bathtub evaporator. It sure did the job though. Got it running at 8 GPH . Completed 15 gallons of finished syrup with maybe a gallon to go this weekend. Sugar shack gong up this summer with a new evaporator planned for next year. Running 35 taps. Don't need any more really. Just want to lesson our boil times each day we cook. Must say I got a lot of exercise cutting wood and collecting sap. Thanks to all on this forum for there help. What a great community! I'm hooked. Maple Syrup every year now. Off to Dominican Republic next Thursday. Thx again!

[Run Forest Run!]

You're very welcome. Have fun in the sun.

[daverobitaille]

Well it is all over for me. Pulled the pug yesterday. A total of 94 liters of syrup this year. I am very impressed with the 3/16 vacuum gravity tubing.
I will be selling my buckets including 2 gallons buckets , lids and spiles at 3 bucks per set if any are interested. I have 40 available.

[argohauler]

Finished off what was in the pans on Monday. Ended up with 948 litres or 209 Imperial gallons or 251 US gallons. 2116 taps this year. Lost 8 taps due to wind blowovers (November wind storm) and death, but I gained 4 new taps on the lines. So I averaged .45 litres per tap from my not very good running bush. I made 13 Imperial gallons more than last year.

Cloud cover killed us at night and we had a lot of small runs towards the end where it would just get to freezing. The trees still had high sugar and they wanted to go, but mother nature said otherwise.

Ended up with 4 flying squirrels this year and one mouse nest in the buckets.

Friday was a beautiful day for bringing buckets in. It was T shirt weather. It was nice until I found someone had stolen 10 buckets from the back end of the neighbours 5 acre lot. They took 4 aluminums, 4 of the 3 gallon blue plastic buckets, and 2 - 17L pails and their droplines. They took nine lids, but left some of the spiles still in the trees. I suspect it could be one of a couple neighbouring 5 acre lot owners, so I talked with them and nobody saw anything. I made a police report and the officer said thanks for the report, but there's nothing we can really do, except keep us informed if anything else happens. I wonder if they'll be stupid enough to tap their own trees next year because I'm going to be able to see. The lots are long and skinny. Also found 2 missing droplines in the neighbours bush that butts up to the back end of the the 5 acre lots. One still had the 5/16th reducer still in the tree.

Anyways all the buckets are in and I still have likely most of a day bringing in lids. Still have to pull lines and bring in the collection barrels, then haul wood. An ash tree blew over yesterday, so there's some more wood for next season.

[cat tech]

Late January 2016 and it looks like winter outside , maple season is right around the corner

[JDP]

Was out today preparing equipment and wood for upcoming season and couldnt believe the sap flowing from a branch I cut last fall. would have easily filled a bucket today. maybe an early season for us this year folks? Getting the itch I cant scratch yet!