We had 2 days, last Saturday and Sunday when it was warm enough to get some sap flow, but not enough to boil. Could not save it. Then it went do far too cold some more. We might again see a little sap but still a no go this weekend.
Then, if the long range forecast is any where near accurate, we will get perfect sap weather starting March 11. Starting then and for the following 3+ weeks it should be real good sap weather. I hope so. Others who have gotten some sap in my general area are reporting higher sugar in the sap this year than in the last 2 years, however there are not very many who have gotten much sap yet. One friend got enough from 1500 taps to boil 1 time, for a short boil. I’ve heard of no others locally who have boiled at all yet.
A few do test sap in smaller batches, but I only test when I fill a tank at least half full (about 200 gallons). I only got about 35-40 gallons so far and I need about 300 to do a first boil so I can get the pans sweet enough to prevent them from freezing enough to damage the pans. That might not happen until March 11 this year. That’s still better than some years, not too far back my first boil was on March 27, and it ended on April 10.
If the forecast doesn’t have any major changes as of now it shows warm days and cold nights every day from March 11 and continuing for 28 days, but the last 7 days in that forecast only need 2-3 degree warmer overnight and it could end at 24 days. At any rate, if we get over 21 days of ideal sap temperatures it usually ends up as a good season.
Until next time, have a great day and enjoy nature (and maple syrup).