Checking what VT sugar makers are doing

[Andy VT]

Forgot the sap collection totals in my last post.
I replenish my feed pan with a 2-gallon pail. I track sap yield by tallying this bucket.
If you assume I'm filling my tallying bucket to 1.8 gallons, I'm at:
6.1 gallons sap per tap so far. If 1.9 gallons:
6.4 gallons per tap so far.

[spud]

Woke up to about 6 inches of snow this morning. As much as I hate snow, this should really help to keep the season going.

Spud

[PARKER MAPLE]

Still going down here in south central Vt. Making very nice amber rich and it’s going through the press well. Sap ran yesterday a little more then 1g per tap at 1.4 %. This week will be a slow week for us as we are in the higher elevation and very susceptible to the wind. Lots of time spent in the woods. Yesterday sap ran all day and hit 150gph a couple times. But mostly was just a smooth steady pace

[Andy VT]

I've added up some numbers for my city bucket operation.
.16 gallons syrup per tap so far. Goal of .25, though last year was something like .37
All tastes good. The lightest was amber, just shy of delicate. The darkest was in the mid-range of dark robust (this was from the end of that last long no-freeze period).
Sap so far is 6.78 gallons per tap.
So sap to syrup ratio is 43:1, and that's with some of that sap still partially concentrated in the evaporator, so I might be pretty close to 40:1 (these are big yard sugar maples and some yard norways.)
However, some trees were showing signs of drying up on that last run before this hard freeze.
This makes me think 2/27 may have been too early for bucket tapping, even with the crazy warm February.
But we'll see.
Next run Sunday.
I've been going to at least what the Murphy cup tells me, or a smidge more. The murphy cup is set up for 66.9 equivalent; the bare minimum in Vermont but seems to be the goalpost in most other places. So I try to get just barely beyond it and stop.

[spud]

Sounds like you’re doing well and having fun Andy. Have you considered reaming your tap holes for the upcoming runs? Do you plan to expand your tap count in the future?

Spud

[DrTimPerkins]

Have you considered reaming your tap holes for the upcoming runs?

Reaming is not a recommended practice due to the fact it greatly increases the size of the internal wound.

[Andy VT]

I am indeed having a lot of fun! This city sugaring thing is a fun twist on the hobby that I am enjoying enough to stave off any big sugarbush purchases so far, haha! I do see potential for up to 200 taps in very close proximity. It would have to be buckets; lines just don't work in the city! But if 3 neighbors got into it... 200 buckets could be quite manageable. 28 buckets big enough to last half a week (5 gallons per tap on the productive ones) have been very easy by myself. Love the productivity of these big old full-crown city trees, which at least partly makes up for the inefficiencies of buckets. Also love the captive customers. They love that this sugaring thing is happening in the neighborhood. We aren't and won't actually make money but selling to neighbors is part of the fun of it too, for them and us.

I did decide I won't redrill any tapholes after watching Dr Abby's presentation last year or so. I do wish I added more taps around March 5 or March 10 to compare notes with the earlier ones. But I've decided the ship has sailed on drilling more holes this late. Maybe I'd do it in the woods but not on other people's nice yard trees, although they'd probably let me. I don't have any woods.

But I'm taking a lot of notes on my results and all of yours too! Really having a blast with it.

[220 maple]

Dr. Tim,
Reaming a tap hole won’t work, maybe one good run! My father would pull the spile and move over an inch and drill a new hole, we had a nine week season one time with that practice! That is a wrong practice also! I would say to him he shouldn’t move spiles, his standard line I’m not going to be here much longer! So it was his trees as long he was the owner, as soon as they became mine, I quit reaming holes and never moved a spile! I did start bumping the tap hole to get extended production, had to participate in a panel discussion about what I was doing by bumping a hole at the the Southern Maple Symposium, Dr. Tim was there, walked up to me and said bumping a tap hole was a new term to him! I forced Proctor to get money to research what I was doing, good or bad. Research shows it’s not a good idea, creates a big stain by bumping, last two seasons it was a waste of time to bump a hole, therefore my trees never got messed with! If I would bump a hole it doesn’t matter, my son has zero interest in drilling a hole in a tree, so after I’m done the trees will happily celebrate that they won’t be messed with again! I have a picture somewhere of a tap hole almost healed on May 3rd, I had pulled that spile first week of March that year! Does your trees close tap holes like that? I’ve heard they don’t heal that quickly? Our growing season is much longer. I heard that there was some holes bumped in WV, also heard they have made 12 barrels extra so far? And will be making more this week because of freezing weather. Dr. Tim bumping is bad, but the question I’ve asked is bumping that bad compared to pulling a spile and drilling a new hole? I quess I’m like father by doing that to a tree!! Why it won’t matter in the future is climate change is going to march up through the maple belt in the next 25 years and bring you to your knees! Sorry to be Sugar maker bearer of bad news, we’re dealing with it now! So it’s coming your way! Sorry
Mark220maple
Mark220maple

[Andy VT]

Tapping another hole in the same tree in the same season is definitely worse than renewing the same hole! It's basically borrowing from next year to boost this year. Which could be OK if you at some point plan to take a year or years off. But I'm glad your Dad made maple syrup and that you do too!
(P.S., I don't think this was misinterpreted but just in case; when I say I wish I did some more later taps, I meant in trees that have not yet been tapped)

[spud]

Sap is running 275 gph since about noon. Tomorrow should be a big day.

Spud