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Taps are in and the Weather Forecast is Promising

by Peter 3/5/2015 2:05:00 AM

Two weeks ago, we marched through the woods and installed all of the taps with the help of family and friends.  After getting the taps in, the work slowed down because it has been too cold to do the next projects.  As soon as we get some temperatures above freezing this weekend, we will turn on the vacuum pump and start looking for the leaks in our plastic tubing.  There are always a lot of repairs to do.  Squirrels, birds and falling branches can really do a number on the tubing, which has to all be connected in order to deliver vacuum pressure to the trees and allow the sap to flow to the tank.

Next week is looking like it will be a very good week to get the season started.  Highs are forecasted to reach the upper 40's, which will hopefully get the sap moving in the trees.  It is always very hard to predict sap flow and I think that early season flows are the hardest to predict because if the ground remains frozen for a long time, it can take a while before the trees have access to some of the soil moisture.