Tapping for 2021

[Sugar Bear]

Nowadays people get angry at just about anything.

Especially a winter that somewhat resembles a normal winter.

Lets look at the bright side ... at least a few of the animals that should be hibernating this time of year actually are.

That's a good sign for a promising sugaring season to come and if the tank may not be half full with actual sap, at least it is still completely full with the spirit of things to come.

[Woodsrover]

Not for nothing but I'd be willing to bet I'll have sap flowing when I get home from work tonight....
Maybe some the next three days as well.

[berkshires]

Yeah, I work in New Haven, and I bet the trees around here are flowing like crazy right now. Certainly the snow is all melting fast. And tomorrow and Sunday are both supposed to break 40. Good luck to anyone around here who's tapped already - away you go!

Gabe

[bryankloos]

I managed to get my second COVID shot today, so depending on how I feel I may tap tomorrow...
I need a run to rinse/clear my lines. It may happen tomorrow.

[Gord]

Nothing running here in the North East corner. I tapped a cluster of reds back in January. I wanted to run my new RO to see and fix any problems that might have come up. Ran 55 gallons through and all is well. Also wanted to check out all the new toys and gadgets I added to my evaporator and filtering process.
I don't see too much good sap running temperatures in my area for quite a while.

[berkshires]

Yeah, I work in New Haven, and I bet the trees around here are flowing like crazy right now. Certainly the snow is all melting fast. And tomorrow and Sunday are both supposed to break 40. Good luck to anyone around here who's tapped already - away you go!

Gabe

Woodsrover, I didn't notice that you are way up in the Berkshires. Very different from coastal Connecticut! Did it turn out you got any flow, or did things stay all frozen up?

GO

[Sugar Bear]

So my memory from tapping in the early 1970's is coming back to me this year.

Sap will not run so well on the first few promising days if they immediately follow a well frozen ground with a good size blanket of snow over it.

I guess we can all surmise ( need no proof ) that the ground condition and roots has a say in the matter of sap flow.

And give us all the more reason for us to be predicting record sap flow rates for this year. Perhaps at least for our region.

But life brings no guarantees, not even that there will be a this year or the entirety of it. For anything or anybody.

So more importantly then anything ... just make sure you have fun with ... and tie some good salmon fishing flies if ya got no sap to watch or equipment to set up.

And pray that the Canadian Border in navigable by late June so that one can even get to the salmon.

[DrTimPerkins]

After a fairly cold spell, the water in the stem will be somewhat depleted due to sublimation of water vapor out of the branches into the air, so the moisture content in the tree starts out low, so flow will be minimal the first time or two there is a thaw. The soil in the woods rarely freezes solid more than a few inches at most, but if the snow is packed around the stem of the tree, the stem will be solidly frozen and water in the soil cannot be pulled up into the stem and branches until there is enough melt to get the snow away from the stem a bit. Once this happens, during a freeze water will be drawn up into the stem and branches and will flow out the next time there is a thaw. Kind of like priming the pump...it takes a little while for the process to really get going well.

[Sugar Bear]

After a fairly cold spell, the water in the stem will be somewhat depleted due to sublimation of water vapor out of the branches into the air, so the moisture content in the tree starts out low, so flow will be minimal the first time or two there is a thaw. The soil in the woods rarely freezes solid more than a few inches at most, but if the snow is packed around the stem of the tree, the stem will be solidly frozen and water in the soil cannot be pulled up into the stem and branches until there is enough melt to get the snow away from the stem a bit. Once this happens, during a freeze water will be drawn up into the stem and branches and will flow out the next time there is a thaw. Kind of like priming the pump...it takes a little while for the process to really get going well.

Are you saying the roots that are below frost line will always be available for decent water/sap flow, but that the stem itself may not be? Especially if the frozen stem is insulated by snow surrounding it.

[Woodsrover]

Woodsrover, I didn't notice that you are way up in the Berkshires. Very different from coastal Connecticut! Did it turn out you got any flow, or did things stay all frozen up?

GO

I've got 5 collection tanks 1/3 full of frozen sap. Looks like it'll stay that way for a while! Oh well, I'm not too worried and will see what happens when we start to thaw. It'll easily be the latest I've had my first boil since I began. I'm imagining a furious 3-4 weeks when the weather starts to warm....