[Syrupmakers] Dale almost ready in the Chattanooga Area

[Raymond Weaver]

Greetings syrupmakers, it is really DRY in SE Tennessee ! My Dale was
planted on the 26th of June. It is about ten feet tall. I thinned it to
about four inches apart while it was 4-6 inches high and pulled the tillers
( suckers ) when it was about 18 inches high.                 It is now in
the milk stage, which means it is approaching the best time ( dough ) to
make syrup. October is almost always our driest month. The mornings are
pretty cool and the afternoons are mild. The weather is the best of the year
for making syrup. It is rare to get a frost before mid-October even here on
the Cumberland Mountain ( 1800 ft ).

I don't quite understand planting cane in May or even early June.