The Official 2008 Maple Syrup Thread.

mwhit · #**221** 03/03/08, 07:56 AM

Since everyone is going to have syrup soon I thought I'd share these recipes I just found:

http://www.lcida.org/maplerecipes.html

Michelle

michiganfarmer · #**222** 03/03/08, 08:42 AM

Mr. Bullock’s 1940 interview stated that he and the boys hung over 11,000 buckets each spring.

http://www.edwardshistorycenter.org/tales/sugaring/

THank you michelle

michiganfarmer · #**223** 03/03/08, 08:52 AM

I have been thinking about ways to reduce costs. The squirrels like to chew on tubing. It is expensive to replace. I have considered going back to buckets, but I dont want to have to drag a trailor through the woods, so I came up with another idea.

I am thinking about laying 2" PVC pipe through the woods with a "T" every dozen feet or so, hanging buckets to collect sap in, and dumping the buckets into the open "T". I could use a funnel that I would carry with me, and I could keep the "T"s covered, or plugged when Im not dumping sap in them.

mwhit · #**224** 03/03/08, 09:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by michiganfarmer

Mr. Bullock’s 1940 interview stated that he and the boys hung over 11,000 buckets each spring.

http://www.edwardshistorycenter.org/tales/sugaring/

THank you michelle

You're welcome! I found it amazing too-- that's a lot of sap to haul in buckets

Michelle

MELOC · #**225** 03/03/08, 09:17 AM

if your time is not at a premium, maybe that would be better. i doubt that is the case. look at how much time and labor you save by using tubing. 1200 buckets is an aweful lot of buckets to dump daily.

seedspreader · #**226** 03/03/08, 09:18 AM

The squirrels chew your tubing for the month or so that you have it up?

mwhit · #**227** 03/03/08, 09:20 AM

Could you just somehow put the tubing through some pipe-- maybe the black kinda flexible stuff instead of PVC which is pretty stiff??

Michelle

mwhit · #**228** 03/03/08, 09:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by seedspreader

The squirrels chew your tubing for the month or so that you have it up?

Sounds like it might be time for some squirrel hunting and fried squirrel??

Michelle

MELOC · #**229** 03/03/08, 09:24 AM

hey...i have the answer. grow a big crop of hot peppers and spray the tubing with hot pepper squeezin's.

michiganfarmer · #**230** 03/03/08, 09:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by seedspreader

The squirrels chew your tubing for the month or so that you have it up?

I leave it out year round. Some guys do.

I havent been able to come up with a plan that allows me to get the tubing back to the same trees if I take it out of the woods.

I tried it one year,LOL that was an expensive mistake.

My wife had an idea for numbering, and color coding. Im not sure what Im going to do, but I kinds like the idea of buckets, and dumping them into a large pipe that would run down to a collection tank.

It is expensive if a new idea fails. You gotta replace tubing, and/or materials, or the stuff you used, and didnt work is now ruined. That is why I am so hesitant to try new techniques.

michiganfarmer · #**231** 03/03/08, 09:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mwhit

Could you just somehow put the tubing through some pipe-- maybe the black kinda flexible stuff instead of PVC which is pretty stiff??

Michelle

Thats an idea too!

michiganfarmer · #**232** 03/03/08, 09:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mwhit

Sounds like it might be time for some squirrel hunting and fried squirrel??

Michelle

my 11 year old, and I are going to do just that this summer

MELOC · #**233** 03/03/08, 10:47 AM

i guess you could color code the tubing like i sometimes give directions to my house...via the flow pattern, lol. to find me start at the atlantic ocean, enter the chesapeke bay, follow the potomac river to the antietem creek. follow the east branch of the antietem creek until you find deer lick run. i live halfway up deer lick run.

each branch off of the mainline could be a stream.

MELOC · #**234** 03/03/08, 06:36 PM

i am still boiling the 40-45 gallons i had in the barrel today. hopefully i will get at least three quarts. my sugar content seems to be at the low end for reds...probably 1.5% to 2%. thats ok...at least i know where it comes from.

i just had some extra fun...i had a chimney fire in my outdoor stove, lol. i had just finished adding sap and stuffing the firebox with pine when i looked up to see a 16 inch flame coming out the top of the chimney. this stove is dangerously close to the house and an old summer kitchen. i was sweating it for a few minutes, lol. it burned clean with very little sparking...thank goodness. i guess that's the price i pay for burning nothing but junk wood out there. as hot as i fire that thing, it is surprising i had any buildup in the chimney at all. i wish i had a way to harvest all of that lost heat, lol.

Happy7Farm · #**235** 03/03/08, 07:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sugarbush

Is the syrup getting darker yet? I think with the up coming weather things may start to dry up for you.

Although I did cut a maple down in May a couple years back and when the saw hit the sap wood so much sap came out I thought the chainsaw had a gas leak. Maybe it will flow that long for you!

Yes, the syrup is getting a little darker and yes, things are drying up. The only taps I'm getting anything from are at our neighbors. We didn't tap those until half way through the season and they are still flowing freely. I'm hoping that later this week when the temps are supposed to get down to 15 that I will get another good run from them. I think there are only 7 trees but we have 15 taps in them.........and we could have put probably another 4 in them.

Happy7Farm · #**236** 03/03/08, 07:13 PM

We boiled 25 more gallons this morning and got a little over 1/2 gallon of syrup. It still tastes pretty good although it is getting a little darker now. Tomorrow we are expecting rain so I guess I will take all that is in the fridge and filter and can it. We are out of jugs so I guess it will go in canning jars.

MELOC · #**237** 03/04/08, 02:01 AM

just finished clean-up a while back. i ended the day with three quarts. the temps climbed to 68 F today(monday)...after just thawing out saturday. i imagine my lines will trickle for a while and then slow to a drip until it freezes again. we have rain in the forecast for today(tuesday, lol...it's late). i guess i don't have to worry about boiling. maybe i will have enough to work with by wednesday or thursday.

a question for you southerners...how are your trees now as far as budswell? are they in blossum or close to it? i am just curious how far along your trees are compared to mine. do you normally stop tapping because you are not getting sap or because it is turning foul? i notice my silvers are nearly in blossum. i actually saw a few blossums open on my sister's silver maples about a month ago. a few of my reds are showing signs of budswell, so i guess i only have a week or so left.

Happy7Farm · #**238** 03/04/08, 05:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MELOC

a question for you southerners...how are your trees now as far as budswell? are they in blossum or close to it? i am just curious how far along your trees are compared to mine. do you normally stop tapping because you are not getting sap or because it is turning foul? i notice my silvers are nearly in blossum. i actually saw a few blossums open on my sister's silver maples about a month ago. a few of my reds are showing signs of budswell, so i guess i only have a week or so left.

The reds are definately swelled and I expect they will blossum with this warm weather.(72 yesterday and 65 on Sunday) Raining this morning............ maybe a better term would be pouring as the overflow from the pond sounds like Niagra Falls! I'm hoping to get one more good run from the sugars as it is supposed to get down to 15 degrees again in a couple of days.

I did have one batch that didn't taste so good and I'm not sure why. I boiled about 30 gallons. Which was 10 gallons from one neighbor and 10 from another and about 10 of my own so I don't know who had the bad sap. It seems the one neighbor has all reds that we tapped so I'm thinking it was because of that that the whole batch had a funny taste. It's hard to explain.......it tastes pretty good at first but seems to leave a funny aftertaste in your mouth. Would this be "buddy" tasting syrup? We will probably still use it for cooking purposes or maybe to make granola with.

michiganfarmer · #**239** 03/04/08, 06:28 AM

Meloc, how do you like your tubing?

ericjeeper · #**240** 03/04/08, 08:55 AM

I have had my trees tapped for over a month,Neighbor about 3 miles from me just tapped his Friday. They finished off their first 150 gallon batch Monday Morning. His is much lighter than mine.. maybe it was more because it was the first tap of the year as opposed to early in the season.