Tapping in Clayton, IN

[JohnM]

40 taps in Monday afternoon. I will put in my other 15 in about a week.

They are larger diameter and dried up about a week before the end last year.

Ready for a good run! :D

[DougM]

John,
we are having our open house on the 18th. If you're not too busy boiling stop by.

[JohnM]

Not much going on here. Freezing up, snowing.

Hope this primes the pump for later in Feb. :) :D 8)

[Father & Son]

That same weather system is supposed to change our rain to snow tonight. The 7 day shows lows in the 20's and the high of 31 or 32. hopefully they're right for a change 8O

[JohnM]

Added 16 more taps this afternoon. Running pretty well.

Mix of sun and flurries, high near 40.

First boil this season about 70 gallons of sap and bucketbergs. :D

[JohnM]

60 plus and tornado warnings yesterday, dropping to 10 tonight Gathered about 100 gallons before the latest weather plunge.

A little break here waiting for the next thaw.

Going to finish first batch of syrup this weekend. :P

[JohnM]

Great weather for second good run this season.

Boiled about 150 gallons today. A third of that was ice from temperature plunge last weekend.

Looking for another freeze up this weekend. :)

[maplehound]

John.
I was jsut married last April and my wife is from Indiana, the fort wayne area, Where abouts are you from.
she doestn't reconize the city name.
Also I tried to look at your pictures and couldn't get it to let me in to see them.
Ron

[DougM]

I can't imagine why she doesn't recognize Clayton, there has to be 200 or so people there :)

We are northwest of John near Coatesville, it's about the same size, if not smaller. They are both generally west of Indianapolis, in Hendricks County.

[JohnM]

Hey now Doug,

Clayton is a little bigger than that. :lol: :lol:

[maplehound]

I see your both smaller producers. I myself have about 6-700 taps out which isn't big but big enough. Is ther others in your area with as many taps as I have? I don't think I will ever move to Indiana but I have been looking to see if there are any sugar bushes out there jsut in case.
Ron

[JohnM]

Hey Ron,

From where we live to the west there are two counties with sugaring camps. In Parke County(Rockville) there are three with 5-800 taps and two with 2000-2500. In Putnam County(Greencastle) there is a producer with 5000+.

We are headed to Parke county today for their Maple Syrup Fair.

Have a nice weekend

:)

[DougM]

Interesting you should ask... I just heard last night that there is a guy in Parke Co. interested in starting a new operation. He says he has 2000 trees, hard telling how many taps that would work out to at this stage.

[maplehound]

Well I guess It all means that it is still possible for me to move to Indiana andstill produce syrup. I know of a couple people who htink I should move there and are looking for a sugar bush for me to buy. I don't know if they know the diffrence between reds and sugar though. I only like to use sugar maples.
Hopefully it will be some years till I need to worry about it.
Ron

[JohnM]

Taps out this morning after 3 inches of rain Thursday. Boiled last 50 gallons.
Forecast is three inches more by Sunday morning.

Grass getting greeeener.

[JohnM]

Weather Channel 10 day forecast shows 60 degrees a week from today. I'd say will get started tapping with the thaw this week!

[JohnM]

Put in about 40 taps this afternoon, 30 tubing to buckets, 10 tubing to tote.

Breezy from the west at 45 degrees, thin clouds. Most running fine as the taps went in.

Our forecast is 3-4 days freeze/thaw, then thunderstorms on Saturday.

My notes from last year, about two weeks earlier mentioned "tornado warning".

[JohnM]

Hung 15 buckets on the north side of the creek today. That is 57 altogether. Enough to keep me busy.

Most trees running good this afternoon.

[JohnM]

Finished about two gallons of light syrup today from what was gathered last week. Buckets frozen this morning.

Freezing rain this afternoon changing to rain after dark.

Looking for another run mid week.

[JohnM]

Boiled about 100 gal today. Trees stopped running yesterday after cold front came through. Plan to finish and can some this weekend!

[JohnM]

80 degrees today. Pulled my taps on the 11th last year due to flooding.

Trees still running a little. bout 80 percent of my crop finished. Lighter syrup.

Would like to make some really dark and mapley at the end if Mom Nature provides!

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

John,

Supposed to get a little cold this weekend here and hoping for a small run first of next week. Hopefull the same for you.

Is the pan and setup still working good??

[JohnM]

Hey Brandon!

Your old pan is still doing a great job at about 20 gallons per hour. Planning for next year includes a post framed roof so I won't have to dodge the rain.

We are at 74 degrees today and thunderstorms likely as the next cold front moves through. Taps have not been in long compared to last year so I think we will get a little more before this season ends.

All the best to you and your family.

[JohnM]

Pulling out taps here and getting cleaned up for next season.

A very good year. Finishing last 4 gallons, will put me at 1 qt+ per tap.

Greener by the day......planted peas this week, ready for spring!

[JohnM]

Put in 23 taps today, about half that of last year. The lot where I tapped in years past is up for sale.

May need to hunt elsewhere for more sap!

Wishing a great 2008 season to all Maple Traders.

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

John,

Good luck this year and you had better get hunting fast to pick up some more trees. It syruping time in IN!

[DougM]

John,
Sorry to hear that you have lost access to trees. Hopefully you can find something nearby before too long.

We are back in action this year and really looking forward to it.

We had a little setback a couple of weeks ago with the loss of our Gator "collecting system" but have acquired a 4x4 Mule to replace it.

We also tapped Saturday and got in around 100 taps. I lost track while trying to keep track of three kids and tap at the same time so we have to go back & count to get an accurate number.

If you're free on the 23rd we're planning our open house that day, stop by and hang out for a bit.

Doug

[Dave Y]

DougM
Glad to here that you are back in action. I though maybe you dropped off the face of the earth. Hope you have a good year. If it wasn't so far I would drop by your open house. Dave

[JohnM]

Put in another 26 taps today on the lot for sale. It is due to change owners in April, so the neighbor's family agreed to let me go ahead this year. Will probably gear up for some roadside/yard taps in 09.

Great to hear from you Doug!

You are on my calender for Feb 23.

Went to the IMSA meeting in New Castle in December. Good presentations.

Rec'd this from Dave Hamilton yesterday:LONGTIME SUGAR MAKER AND FOUNDER OF THE INDIANA MAPLE SYRUP ASSOCIATION, KENNETH SHIPLEY, HAS PASSED AWAY. KENNY WAS THE FIRST PRESIDENT OF OUR ORGANIZATION AND LONG TIME TREASURER AND DIRECTOR.

CALLING HOURS ARE 4 - 8 ON WEDNESDAY, FUNERAL ON THURSDAY AT 11:00. GANT FUNERAL HOME IN DOWNTOWN GASTON, INDIANA. LET YOUR FRIENDS KNOW WHO ARE NOT ON THE E-MAIL LIST. DAVE

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

John,

The new neighbors may be willing to let you tap. Most people like receiving syrup in exchange for tapping there trees. Might have to give them a taste first as they may have never tasted it??

Are your trees running as good as the Old Guys??

[JohnM]

Hey Brandon!

The trees in my yard are north of my neigbor so they see less sun and come on a little later. The ones I tapped today were running good with the rain coming down steady.

Creeks are running full since the ground in frozen. We are supposed to see near single digit temps this weekend. Will start to run good pretty soon!

[DougM]

John,
thanks for the info about Kenny, that's sad news. we haven't been able to make the IMSA meeting the last couple of years but I enjoyed spending time talking to him at a couple of IMSA events.

Saturday goes to show what tapping with three boys 9 & under does for keeping track of what you're doing...we counted taps yesterday & we have 122 out, with at least 7 more to put out. We could probably get close to 150 if we wanted to work hard at it. As my partner says, one boy helping is worth one boy, two boys are worth half a boy, and three are no help at all. :) But they're a lot of fun to have around.

Man is it wet around here...we have water everywhere but the trees are running pretty well. 135 gallons from about 100 taps from Saturday afternoon to Monday plus 85 from the rest and a few others that had run overnight. We left a couple inches in a lot of the bags to try and weight them down a little due to expected 25mph winds. Cold temps this weekend, so it'll be mud season for a while.

We were a little concerned about the Mule being able to handle the load & conditions, but it's living up to its name. Get it in 4x4, lock the differential, put it in low & it grinds right through the soup.

We're working on a "sap sucker" to put on the back of the Mule & dump in to, instead of having to reach up high to the middle & go directly into the tank. I'll put up a picture when we get it done.

We do have a small blog started, but I haven't had time to get it up to date. It has some pictures of when we first started, but no recent ones yet.
http://maplecreations.blogspot.com/

[JohnM]

Sound like you are off and rolling Doug with plenty of help.

Boiled about 60 gallons Wednesday afternoon. Cool breeze coming from the south.

Looking for weekend freeze to harden the ground enough to bring in a trailer load of firewood.

Maple Fever.

[JohnM]

I put in about 40 taps Thursday and some of the trees ran over a gallon.

Getting a slow start this year due to family time and economic issues.

It is great to spend time outdoors as the weather has been a little harsh lately.

I will add about 15 more taps in the next week.

Looking forward to another great year here in the Hoosier State!

[JohnM]

I have a few under 60 taps in. Good run up through Wed.

Boiled 100 gal last night before the temperature plunged.

[mfchef54]

John,
how's the sugar percent?

[JohnM]

I don't test the sap.

Pretty much boil everything I can get.

Cheers to a great year!

[ericjeeper]

I am like John. I just boil it til it becomes syrup. Or like I did Wed. boiled til I got sugar.,. LOL
If the weather ever breaks I will just heat the gallon up and blend it back in with my next batch of sap.

[JohnM]

Nice run in Clayton Wed/Thur. 110 gallons boiled this morning. Getting ready for the next cold front.

THINK SPRING!!!

[JohnM]

Buckets were running over when I gathered Thursday morning, less so as the temps peaked Friday. Lots of moisture in the ground and more rain on the way. Has to be largest run I have had in my 5 years, well over a gallon per tap per day.

Riding the Hoosier weather coaster for at least a few more weeks!

[DougM]

Hey John, how did you do last weekend?

We collected 710 gallons of sap on Friday and started boiling at 10:15 PM.

We were at it all night and had pretty much everything boiled off by 11 PM on Saturday night...I lost track of how much we made, but should have been around 14 gallons.

We're hoping for some more sap after today when it cools off again, but we'll see what happens.

Doug

[JohnM]

Hey Doug,

Good to hear you had a great run.

I had buckets running over Thursday. Gathered a little over 300 gal Thursday thru Saturday. Boiled about 15 hours over 3 days

Low on firewood so went for another load Saturday.

All this while fighting what the Doctor called norovirus, Friday to Sunday.

I am fairly rested now and ready for more fun!

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

John,

How much syrup are you at for 50 taps?? Sounds like you and Doug are having a good year.

[JohnM]

Hi Brandon,

I have 56 taps out this year. 8 are Leader 5/16 to hung buckets, the rest are 5/16 ecolo spouts tubed to buckets on the ground.

I am still finishing, but should yield 12 gallons from my two batches. 75 percent of that came in three days last week, kind of like what you had in WV.

Always interesting this time of year.

Trees ran some this afternoon. This is the fourth week in for my taps. I will hold out for a few more gallons if it is to be.

[JohnM]

AccuWeather is showing 8 days of sugaring temps starting Wednesday.

I think I will tap some trees this week.

[The Birdman]

Going to start tapping this week, whether starting to look good.

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

Seems you guys are tapping awfully early?? John didn't tap until middle of Feb last year.

[JohnM]

I have tapped in February the last 3 years using the weather as a guide.

Temps reached the mid 70's by March 7th, 2009 and ended the season at about 4 weeks.

I will try to get some of this if the trees will run.

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

John,

I knew you tapped around the 1st of Feb as I start tapping sometime around the 1st or after too. Be interesting to see if you do any good this early. I imagine the trees and ground are frozen pretty good and will take a few warm days just to get things unthawed.

[lpakiz]

Actually, here in Wisconsin (lot farther north than Indiana and colder too) I strung wire and 1" plastic pipe for a pump out line to the town road. There is ABSOLUTELY NO frost under our snow. I stuck steel posts into the ground by hand and drove them with a sledge hammer. (couldn't find the post driver)

[JohnM]

I put in about 30 taps today. Slow going in the snow turning to slush. The south facing taps were running good about 3pm.

[JohnM]

Put in my 73rd tap this afternoon.

Need to build a boat now to keep afloat in the river of maple juice coming out soon!

[Bemis]

I hope you're right. This has certainly been an odd season. Hope we don't go from winter straight to summer.

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

John,

Funny what difference a year makes. This time last year you were probably getting close to being finished I would guess. Hope that spring is about 3 to 4 weeks late this year as I am in the same boat, too cold to make syrup.

What kind of gph are you getting with your pan??

[JohnM]

Hey Brandon,

Yes the weather has been different for Indiana. More snow if February than we have seen in years. Trees are giving us some sugar water now.

Your old flat pan will boil about 25 gallons per hour burning recycled pallets and a small blower in the ash door. Same set up as last year.

Wishing you sweet blessings this season!

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

John,

Sounds good and that is a good gph rate as you have it set up nicely. good luck with this season and keep us posted. Hope you make a ton of syrup this year, maybe even hit 25 gallons with 73 taps.

[DougM]

Looks like we're going to have a one-week season, if the forecast is anywhere near right.

The trees were running great yesterday and we FINALLY made some syrup. The rest of this week looks like it will be good, too, but next week's forecast is for no temps below freezing. We'll see.

[Bemis]

I think in hindsight I'll be glad I tapped in mid-January. Hoping for some cold nights next week.

cheers

[Black Willow Maple]

Hey All new to your site and cannot quite figure where to start a new thread.I'm wondering if I can cut an oil tank down to make an evaporator. But do not wish to blow myself up by using a blow torch or zip cut from my grinder. This is one of those 900liter tanks for storing heating oil. Any one out there done this. Thanks
Anthony

[Bemis]

http://mapletrader.com/community/showthread.php?t=7501&page=3&highlight=cutting+oil

[JohnM]

Put taps in warm trees last Sunday, about 60 total. Added 30 more this week.

Updates for this year:

-One dump station(100 foot step saver).

-Small roadside tank and pump for my S-10 pickup.

Wishing a great season for all Maple Traders!

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

John,

Good to see you on here and had been wondering where you were. Keep us updated and with that many taps, hope you have a great year!

[DougM]

Hey John, I was wondering about you when we were boiling Saturday.

We put out 142 taps on February 11 in the woods SE of the barn (expanding without getting much further away, guess I need to update my signature) then added the west neighbor's 5 on the 12th. We still have about 20 to go, but we're trying a different style (at least for us) stainless bag spout from CDL, so we're waiting for those to get here to tap the rest.

We did try some new bag holders that we won at the IMSA meeting...those were supposed to work with a plastic spout and short length of tubing, but they were horrible and we were ready to throw them away after about two days. We were really glad we won them and didn't pay anything for them.

So far we've made 9.5 gallons, some nice medium and some a bit dark from getting a little too warm in the evaporator. Fortunately it tastes OK. We're planning our open house day for March 5, hopefully the weather will cooperate another couple weeks - at least.

[firetech]

John I agree with the rest of the guys. You've been quite down there. Glad to see you are making improvments and growing. Have a great season. Herb