Tapping 2025

[dcast99]

I'm sure everyone is already tapped but are you getting any sap? Our one location ran 2/23 to 2/25 but our main bush in Wantage barely wept. The ground there still was frozen. Hopefully the freeze tonight will recharge the trees and the season will actually begin.

[John-NJ]

Hi dcast

I tapped in early Feb, had some decent runs till the cold spell, not bad after that, but kind of slow the last couple of days, about 1 gallon of sap per tap on vacuum. We'll see what happens after this cold blast. I am a bit south of you near Flemington, so I guess a bit warmer here overall. I am kind of thinking that the end is near as I see the red maples just beginning to color up, but we may have a few frozen nights left to go. Best of luck to you!

[John-NJ]

Dave did you get a good run today? Yesterday things never shook loose, but today after lunch things seemed to open up a bit. Looka like a gallon per tap by about 6 tonight, and it is still coming.

John

[dcast99]

Still no good runs. Even today was a little more than a trickle. Still alot of frost in the ground. Hopefully tomorrow's warm temps and rain will get rid of the frost. Only brought home 280 gals of sap from 340 trees that were tapped on 2/24. Sap should be sweet since a bunch of ice is still left in each collection tank. Will find out tomorrow.

[John-NJ]

I guess you have a way to go to defrost those hills up there. I just changed tanks, as I filled a 275 gallon tote up a little while ago. So that is something like 2-1/2 gallons per tap in the last 22 hours. Ran all night with the higher temps. So that is my best run so far this year. If you're willing, I would like to see your operation sometime when I am up that way.

[dcast99]

The Denville taps ran good. Got 95 gal from 28 trees the last couple of days. All told we boiled down 400 gal yesterday. With the rain and only having about six gal of syrup we decided to not fire up the filter press. Put that in my buddies cooler till next time. Problem with my place is it's a western side of a mountain. The sun doesn't really hit it until noon. Will boil again on Sunday. You are more than welcomed to stop by anytime. The sugar house and about thirty trees are in Denville while my woods with 350 taps is in Wantage(within site of High Point). Unlike other years, With the weather this year we don't have a set schedule on when we boil. Will find out tomorrow if my place thawed out.

[dcast99]

I guess the sap ran Wednesday during the rain and maybe some on Thursday. Of course, it just trickled Fri and Sat while I was there. Still brought home 700 gal. With the other locations, will be cooking down about 800 gal tomorrow.

[dcast99]

John, are you still tapped?
Last week's weather forecast looked bad but they changed it now. A couple of warm nights here and there but mostly mid 20"s for nights. Hopefully the trees and taps will hold on. Only have a little more than 1/2 of our normal syrup amount so far.

[John-NJ]

Hey Dave

I am in the process of cleaning up and sanitizing stuff. I quit collecting sap a little over a week ago when the temp really came up. Its been really warm here, 70 yesterday, and I think only 1 night below freezing in the last 10 days. I am 100% red maples and I find once they are really blooming syrup takes a turn for the worse. Think the sugar maples bloom a little later. I haven't bottled everything yet so I don't have a final total but I should come in right about the same as last year, which was no record but ok. I have been having a lot of flies in the sugarhouse, which signifies the end for me, plus the spring peepers have been chirping at night. As you said temp profiles look ok going forward, but too late here. Hope you get a good bit more, its amazing to me the difference just a little latitude and altitude makes, guessing you are a bit higher up than me here.

[dcast99]

All sugar maple here. I'm at 850' of elevation for my place. Yea way to warm but I just brought home over 400 gal of sap for the week. Had no big runs this year. Just a day or two of runs. Had to run to NY state today to get more jugs. Bought the last All state pint jugs that they had. Vowing to go back up in May when they have their sale to get a year's supply instead of waiting to the last minute. As of now we should have what we made last year but we also lost at least two weeks last year because I had to take care of my mom. I'm not giving up yet.