Eastern Ontario 2023

[ir3333]

Put in some test taps Feb.8th. They have all been dripping very slow but only ran good on one day.
My trees are not ready yet but guys around me are reporting good runs...puzzling? I'm cutting back
this year, and only tapping the biggest trees.

[Fort Wisers]

Hey Wisers! Glad to see you back on board for this year! Yep looking at the 24th on, not liking those minus double digits at all. So gonna continue holding off til my usual tapping season of early March.

Hey Galena,
Good to be back on the board, we might skip again this year (tapped last year but skipped the year before) due to more renos and work.
But we will see, the warmer weather sure had me itching to hear a bucket dripping.

[jungmaria]

Put in some test taps Feb.8th. They have all been dripping very slow but only ran good on one day.
My trees are not ready yet but guys around me are reporting good runs...puzzling? I'm cutting back
this year, and only tapping the biggest trees.

I have a line that’s running like stink and another that’s just dripping. Think it’s the way the slope faces, amount of sunlight etc. But the ones that are running have been really running! Been boiling for the past 2 days and likely more this weekend. Haven’t finished & bottled it yet but hoping for some light syrup.

[ir3333]

Yup, you never know. Last year my best run produced very little.
I have tapped 4 huge trees at my neighbours for 5 years and have never gotten much out of them.

[limestone]

Last Saturday we made the decision with the weather looking good for the week to get started ASAP. With line repairs done (**** squirrels and deer ) we tapped Tuesday.
It ran great Tuesday,Tuesday night and ok Wednesday when it clouded over. We’re 26km northeast of Kingston and Lake Ontario and that’s enough of a climate factor to give us a strong start due to the lake not freezing this year.
No plans to boil yet until the real season starts. We should have enough sap storage room it’ll likely freeze so no spoilage worries
Ready for whatever mom nature gives us.

[Galena]

Put in some test taps Feb.8th. They have all been dripping very slow but only ran good on one day.
My trees are not ready yet but guys around me are reporting good runs...puzzling? I'm cutting back
this year, and only tapping the biggest trees.

Keep in mind that big trees take longer to thaw. My bush maples are small and so they will produce sooner than the biggest trees, which often take a couple of weeks to come up to speed.

ETA: also keep in mind that where your trees are located, what species they are, age, soil, climate, drainage etc all affect your run. After doing this 14 yrs now I can almost predict when my season will start, peak and end. Very glad I held off tapping, this current weather isn't horrible but enough to prove that it was a false spring!

[Coatesy]

Back for a new season took last year off as I hurt my back. Put up 18 buckets Monday yielded a bit over 20 gallons today is miserable weather but looks okay for the next 5. Not liking the end of the month forecast though Hope everyone has a good season

[Bushfrosh]

Total of 954L collected from 50 spiles from Monday through Thursday. Lots to boil now! Happy 2023 everyone!

Monday evening = 223.74L
Tuesday evening = 377.48L
Wednesday evening = 261.48L
Thursday evening = 91.32L

[Lanark]

I decided to put up 40 buckets on Wednesday, collected about 60 litres. One of my buckets did have a gypsy moth.

[ir3333]

Long range suggests my trees are gonna deep freeze again. I don't think my big
trees*will thaw until at least the 2nd week of March. Mid March or later is pretty is normal for me.
Good luck everybody!