About two months to go?

[Tapping Wolf]

looking forward to my first year of syruping since i was A kid. I'm in northern Indiana about 12 miles SW of Laporte....when do things start flowing around here? I see some posts from years gone by that it's around the last week of Jan. to the second week of Feb. is that typical? whats your experince?

[maple flats]

Your best clue for that is multi fold. Check the last few years almanac records for your area. Also study the archives for Indiana Tapping on this site. You might also check another surrounding state but look for areas with weather close to yours.
Guessing starting dates is tricky at best. What I do is try to have things ready to go and watch the 5 day and 10 day weather forecasts, when that looks right start tapping. If you are just starting out my guess is that you can tap everything in an hour or 2, that makes you quite flexible. Producers with thousands of taps often start tapping a few weeks before the expected season, but that is not an option unless you are on tubing and a tight system.

[HAHA I 1]

We are getting ready down here, but will be tapping at around January 20th. I am getting a flue section made for my main 2' x 3' pan so I can increase the boiling capacity. We were at about 100 taps last year and would like to go to 150-175 this year. We have plenty of trees and just bought another 24 acres, so we have even more. We have plenty of firewood. I just need more storage and faster boiling to make me happy.

[Tapping Wolf]

We are getting ready down here, but will be tapping at around January 20th. I am getting a flue section made for my main 2' x 3' pan so I can increase the boiling capacity. We were at about 100 taps last year and would like to go to 150-175 this year. We have plenty of trees and just bought another 24 acres, so we have even more. We have plenty of firewood. I just need more storage and faster boiling to make me happy.

How cold does it get/stay down there in southern Ind? do the warmer temps shorten your season? how many weeks of cold do you need to make the trees go dormant and stay dormant until sugaring time? The reason I ask is we are having an a warmer winter so far....(apart from this weekend) we have had highs in the upper 30's/ and low 40's and lows in the upper 20's.....im hoping we'll get a few really cold weeks around the first of the year...before things start up here in feb.

[Cake O' Maple]

how many weeks of cold do you need to make the trees go dormant and stay dormant until sugaring time? The reason I ask is we are having an a warmer winter so far ...

You're worrying way too early. "When the days get longer, the cold gets stronger." Winter solstice is Dec 22, and by early January, you'll be shivering and relieved.


I've lived in various places in Michigan my whole life (I'm 45), and we've never had a winter too warm for the trees to go dormant. And Wanatah is spittin' distance from MI (w/ a good stiff wind). :lol:

[HAHA I 1]

How cold does it get/stay down there in southern Ind? do the warmer temps shorten your season? how many weeks of cold do you need to make the trees go dormant and stay dormant until sugaring time? The reason I ask is we are having an a warmer winter so far....(apart from this weekend) we have had highs in the upper 30's/ and low 40's and lows in the upper 20's.....im hoping we'll get a few really cold weeks around the first of the year...before things start up here in feb.

Well, in early January its usually in the 20s/30s during the day and 10s/20s at night (sometimes colder). Right now its in the 40s/lower 50s sometimes during the day and mostly 30s at night. We tap around January 20th or so usually. We get a good run for a 3-4 days or so, then we usually have a week or so off due to cold again, then it runs most of February and the first week of March. Then we pack it up and call it a season.

[Tapping Wolf]

You're worrying way too early. "When the days get longer, the cold gets stronger." Winter solstice is Dec 22, and by early January, you'll be shivering and relieved.


I've lived in various places in Michigan my whole life (I'm 45), and we've never had a winter too warm for the trees to go dormant. And Wanatah is spittin' distance from MI (w/ a good stiff wind). :lol:

I know what your saying is true, but when it's 57 degrees two weeks before Christmas it's a hard to belive it...glad it's a little colder now, and looking a much colder a few weeks from now