sap season

Let the Sap Flow!

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We got tapped in a couple weeks ago with a blip of warmer weather, but we are officially in production mode now.  A bit of sun yesterday afternoon and temperatures nearing 40 got enough sap moving to start a system flush which we completed this morning.  7 hours of hunting leaks later and we’re in the green with sap filling up the tank as I type.

It is hard to know what the season will hold, but it sure feels more “normal” than the past several seasons.  Our growing degree days are still at ZERO, the 2-week forecast looks favorable, and we’ve got a good system that will be running even tighter after we search Line 3 for leaks in the morning.

We Are Tapped!

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We had a great turnout of folks to help tap maple trees on Monday and Tuesday at the OSU-Mansfield sugarbush.  A big thank you to Anthony Tambini and Rachel Coy – both former students who worked in the maple woods and returned for a fun day of tapping!  My gratitude to Marne Titchenell who appreciates maple amidst the larger sphere of wildlife, her Extension expertise.  Thank you Chelsea and Kris, current students who are working for me this semester.  Of course, Carri and Jake were there helping as always, and it was great to have Katie Gerber, one of ODNR’s State Service Forester, who came to get some hands-on maple experience too!  Many hands make light work and we are planning to shut the sap tank valve first thing in the morning and officially start our production season.  Happy sugaring to everyone already tapped, and may your crystal ball of weather forecasts and prognostications be clear if you are still trying to decide when to tap.