Tree sap gathering and syrup making

[duluthralphie]

I think there would have been a good run today here. Hit 40 coming of 2 below last night

 

[mowin]

Tomorrow things should start flowing. 40° for the high temp, but our north facing sugarbush is going to take till mid day to thaw out enough to flow. Should be in full swing this weekend.

 

[mowin]

Mother nature has not been helpful this week. Lots of lines down. Almost every line that was down was chewed through.. .
Today and tomorrow are well below freezing, with Saturday morning in the single digits. Highs Saturday 45°. Sunday 55° and rain. Most of next week should be perfect weather. Thinking it's going to be a short but hectic season.

 

[itsasmallfarm]

should have the sap running this week. crazy weather, was minus 30C (-22F) like a week ago now where going above freezing during the day.

 

[duluthralphie]

Good luck. Take lots of photos to share..

I want to be tapping.

 

[mowin]

Ran well past several days. 1500 gal of sap. 33 gal of syrup. No cold nights till Saturday. This might be the end. We'll see if the sap is clear or cloudy this weekend.

 

[SheaLoner]

Was planing on trying to tap some trees this year, an injury made that impossible. But that means I have another year to prep/find more trees.
Are all maples tapable?

 

[mowin]

Was planing on trying to tap some trees this year, an injury made that impossible. But that means I have another year to prep/find more trees.
Are all maples tapable?

Yes, all maples are trappable. However, hard maples are what you want, as the sugar content is higher. It takes about 40g of sap to make one gal of syrup. Soft maples are around 55/1.

 

[SheaLoner]

Thanks Im not 100% on my tree Ids.

 

[duluthralphie]

Yes, all maples are trappable. However, hard maples are what you want, as the sugar content is higher. It takes about 40g of sap to make one gal of syrup. Soft maples are around 55/1.

I disagree, but not with the sugar amounts that is about right.

I find my Manitoba maples give almost twice as much sap as my hard maples (red). Which means you get as much syrup as from the red maples. Hard maples are called red maples around here. With the use of reverse osmosis it makes little difference what the sugar content is.

I think the syrup from Manitobas is far superior to that from the hard maples for the first week or so. After that they all taste the same.

Silver maples make more sap than reds and the sugar content is only a few tenths below that of the reds. Also where the trees are effects the sugar content. Yard trees run higher than forest trees.

Lastly, syrup making is a strange combination of art and science IMHO. It’s the art part I am missing most this year.