Anyone tapping yet?

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  • February 25, 2010 at 10:15 pm #41417
    Does’ Leap
    Participant

    We’re planning on putting out 250 buckets this year and the weather is looking ripe for tapping. Anyone tapped out yet?

    George

    February 26, 2010 at 12:04 am #57895
    dominiquer60
    Moderator

    We’ve collected our first 300 gallons and it is currently being boiled off as I write this 1500 miles away from the sap house.

    February 26, 2010 at 12:20 am #57887
    Michael Colby
    Participant

    My expert tells me — or is that just my finger in the wind? — those with buckets should wait at least another week.

    P.S. I’m in North Central Vermont.

    February 26, 2010 at 3:14 am #57907
    mitchmaine
    Participant

    i think your expert is right. ordinarilly, a bucket tap has a six week life till it heals over. tubing seems to get another couple weeks. with buckets, if you want to be sugaring til mid april, you wait to tap 1st of march. hard to believe we will still be sugaring in april the way the weather is now. we will all be wiser in two months, but for now, guessin’s the best we can do. our expert told us that that we always get a syrup season, one way or another, rain or shine. hope he’s right.

    February 26, 2010 at 8:56 am #57917
    jac
    Participant

    Would any of you guys be willing to price up what it would cost me to get a can of your best syrup shipped over to Scotland. My daughter and me have a real taste for maple syrup but I suspect we dont get the finest stuff in our stores:(.. and it only comes in 1/4 pint plastic bottles for “drizzling”.. dont want to drizzle.. want to GLUG the stuff over my pancakes:D Cheers…

    John

    February 26, 2010 at 9:23 am #57897
    OldKat
    Participant

    @jac 16127 wrote:

    Would any of you guys be willing to price up what it would cost me to get a can of your best syrup shipped over to Scotland. My daughter and me have a real taste for maple syrup but I suspect we dont get the finest stuff in our stores:(.. and it only comes in 1/4 pint plastic bottles for “drizzling”.. dont want to drizzle.. want to GLUG the stuff over my pancakes:D Cheers…

    John

    GLUG! That’s a good word. I like GLUGGING syrup on my pancakes! I did exactly what you are suggesting, I found a guy in New York State and had him ship some to me. Probably easier to ship from upstate NY to Texas than to Scotland, but it probably can be done. Get someone to ship you some black strap molasses, too. Makes wonderful molasses cookies.:D

    February 27, 2010 at 3:39 pm #57908
    mitchmaine
    Participant

    hey george, any sap running over there yet? we hung a few hundred first of the week, then got rained out weds. thurs. 6″ rain. friday was nice but the brook was up so we couldn’t get in. penny and i forded the crossing this morning and there is about 300 gallons 2% sap in there but nothing running. tuesday it was 31 degrees, the last freeze. we have had three weeks of high 30’s weather tho’. and frost coming out of the woodsroads. hard on the horses. if i ever get my hands on that groundhog…….

    March 1, 2010 at 1:22 am #57900
    Ed Thayer
    Participant

    We tapped 250 today, mostly buckets and some tubing. I hope to be all tapped out by Wed.

    The sap was running like crazy today. The temps look favorable for the next few days.

    I still need to put up the stack on the evaporator and then rinse out the holding tank, hope to be boiling by the end of the week.

    March 1, 2010 at 1:47 am #57888
    Michael Colby
    Participant

    I tapped today too. I tested a few taps this morning and was pleasantly surprised by the flow. So off we went to get the job done. There’s nothing like a day of tapping with family, friends and neighbors. Ah, spring…

    March 1, 2010 at 2:53 am #57884
    Mark Cowdrey
    Participant

    Tapped most of my 100 this afternoon & it was running well. We’ve got probably 3/4 of our 1000 done. Fired up Saturday night. We’re off…

    Mark

    March 1, 2010 at 11:06 am #57889
    Does’ Leap
    Participant

    I’m still waiting. Sugarmakers who hang buckets around here seem to holding off. I have a friend who hung a few test buckets and hasn’t had much. John, I don’t make syrup, just sell sap to a neighbor. So I am not the guy to sell you syrup.

    George

    March 2, 2010 at 9:33 pm #57910
    mitchmaine
    Participant

    hey george, jumped a swollen stream today and got out 275 gallons of week (weak?) old sap. theres more there to get but the horses were pretty pooched with the stream and frost coming out of the roads. penny’s boiling now. pulled off a couple gallons yet, not to bad for the age. have you boiled yet? good luck, mitch

    March 2, 2010 at 11:25 pm #57890
    Does’ Leap
    Participant

    We don’t boil, only sell sap. My wife put out 40 buckets today while I was cutting next year’s firewood. We’ll put out the rest of the 250-300 in the next few days. Sap was running with some exposed trees.

    George

    March 4, 2010 at 2:36 am #57901
    Ed Thayer
    Participant

    I finished tapping yesterday and have gathered twice so far.

    I boiled last night for the first time this season. We had a really nice run the last couple of days.

    Here are a couple of pics.

    Good luck to all of you. Sap seems a little light in the sugar content, I hope that improves.

    ED

    March 4, 2010 at 11:23 am #57885
    Mark Cowdrey
    Participant

    Whoa, Ed, nice rig! Is that a 3×10? Airtight doors I notice.

    Boiled about 6 hours each the last 3 days. Caught up now. Made 16-18 gallons of medium. Sap is light, we are showing just under 2%. The NOAA forecast is showing some good looking weather Fri-Tues. We’ll see.

    Mark

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