Monthly Archives: November 2013

Tis’ the Season for Homesteading and Giving Gifts

Homesteading Supplies make the best gifts for everyone!

The holidays are just around the corner and traditionally are a time for reflection and gratitude.  But it’s also a time when we have to figure out what gifts we will need to give.  We at Homesteader’s Supply appreciate your business especially knowing that many of you have experienced hard times this past year.

thanksgiving web pictureHomesteader’s Supply is a home-grown venture, offering friendly customer service just like an old-fashioned store. You deserve to be treated well when you spend your money!  We were just selected as a 2013 winner of the Talk of the Town Customer Service Awards with their top rating!

Our store always tries to provide the best prices on our quality products, all year round, not just Black Friday or Cyber Monday, so keep checking in for our special sales!

So read on and get an idea of some of our homesteading supply products and best sellers.  Because of what is happening in our economy today, it’s a great time to buy functional gifts for your family and friends… gifts that can actually used for a self-sustaining endeavor, no matter how big or how small. And best of all, this is a good time to pick up a good offer for your own homesteading venture.

In General WE OFFER PRODUCTS FOR:

  • Encouraging self sufficient, self sustainable living and homesteading of all varieties… family farm, urban homestead, country homestead, or even in NYC!
  • Environmentally friendly products, U.S.A. made and manufactured whenever possible
  • Dairy Milking equipment and supplies!
  • Livestock care.
  • Poultry, equine, bovine and even pet supplies!
  • Canning / Preserving / Processing of Fruit, Veggies and Meat!
  • Heirloom Gardening
  • Cultures and supplies for Cheese Making! Even our own kits!
  • Variety of items for the homestead kitchen and so much more!

Check out some of our current best sellers:

Our own in house designed and manufactured Ultimate Cheese Press, almost two years in the making and go strong with overwhelming great feedback. cheese press

Very easy to use, ergonomically designed, presses your cheese the same every time!

 

And we also carry all the cheesemaking supplies you need to make just about any favorite cheese.   You will find only our HS Cheese Kits such as our best selling  Best Basic Cheesemaking Kit  and our Supreme Cheesemaking Kit which are flying out the door!   We designed all of our kits to contain the same supplies professionals use, and only the supplies you will actually use.  supreme_kit_2

basic_kit_updateSM

 

 

 

 

 

Interested in fermenting supplies?  We offer our own designed and manufactured Pickle-Pro Lids to fit both wide mouth and regular mouth sized canning jars.  Lacto-Ferment all your veggies and fruits into delicious foods which are better for your health.  We even offer fermenting cultures and the Polish Crocks!   PP05

4gal fermenting crock

 

 

 

 

 

What a great time to get a good deal on Meat Processing Supplies!  All of our smokers are on sale.  Homesteading folks and others just love the Country Smoker… smoker inside

 

 

 

 

 

 

And then another best seller is our Stainless Steel Manual Meat Grinder…

10 SS meat grinder

 

And we have everything else you might need like jerky and sausage making supplies, meat tenderizers, meat mixers and patty makers, and more.  Don’t see what you are looking for, give us a call.. We carry the three main suppliers products… Weston Products, TSM, and LEM…  and we can probably get what you need.  Want to bargain for a better price or better shipping charge… you know website software is not always accurate and we want you to pay exactly what is charged to your home. So give us a call if you have any questions about a product you want.

Here is a great peek at some of our other best sellers for your homestead.  We have used many of these products on the HS homestead and put our stamp of approval on them.  How about the Squeezo Strainer and Sauce Maker  which we believe is the best strainer out there and will last a lifetime… hs squeezo4sm

 

 

 

 

The WonderMill Electric Grain mill wondermill

 

 

 

 

 

WonderMill Junior Manual Grain Mill  … the delux model has both burrs and stones and so it can do just about anything.  Dry and Wet grains… even your coffee beans!wondermill_junior_deluxe

 

 

 

 

Now would be the perfect time pea sheller newto get the Electric Mr Pea Sheller!  Most folks wait until their crop of beans come in and then need a sheller yesterday, Get prepared and be ready! This unit will last you a very long time.

 

And a few of our other best sellers….

wine press stainless Stainless Steel Wine Press… these go very fast!

 

Everyone needs a Stainless Steel Dehydrator! It’s the way to dry and preserve a good part of your bounty… veggies, fruit, jerky etc.  ss dehydrator

 

 

 

 

 

Not everyone needs one of these, cherry stonerbut it sure comes in handy if you have a large crop of cherries to pit.  This Cherry Stoner is all Stainless Steel and at a great value. Will last a lifetime!

 

 

 

 

 

And of course, let’s not forget our furry friends!  Eco-Naps-w-Dog luxury_cat_beds_greta Organic-Bumper-w-Dog-OttoWe now carry Pet Beds made here in the United States with natural materials.  We decided to carry these products because of the company standards in providing a great natural product to ensure our pets will be healthy and happy! And of course, a great way to support another American Small Business!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well folks, we hope you have enjoyed our presentation of suggestions for gift giving this holiday season.  We wish everyone a time full of peace and happiness!

Have questions or concerns, or just want to say hey… give us a call.

From all of us at Homesteaders Supply, we wish you all a wonderful and safe holiday season! jerri HS_logoNewSm

Beyond Sustainable – Advice on Homesteading and Chickens

Beyond Sustainable … a weekly blog from Homesteaders Supply.  Here we will highlight articles from homesteaders and related helping organizations blogging about their experience and insights for creating a sustainable lifestyle. Many of these articles will demonstrate their creative ingenuity for income, insights into the care of the land and their animals, and how to effectively grow, preserve, and prepare the foods we need for a healthy lifestyle.  We will also highlight articles from organizations that are helping us in our efforts toward a healthy and sustainable lifestyle.

Homemade Non-GMO and Organic Chicken Feed Mix

By   on the website blog for gnowfglins.com

Homemade-Chicken-FeedHomesteading starts usually with having a couple chickens and enjoying the bounty of their wonderful eggs.  But what about what we feed them?  Read Tracey’s store and the recipe she shares for making organic and Non-GMO chicken feed!

“After plunging into backyard chickens to rid our yard of chemical laden pesticides, we began enjoying the great benefit of having chickens: the eggs! That was until we read what we were feeding them. Handfuls of words we couldn’t pronounce, nor did we have the faintest clue what they could be. Certainly, I thought, our eggs were better than ones in the store, yet in my mind remained a nagging doubt. Were they really?”  Read more for her homemade NON-GMO recipe for chicken feed…

Homesteading advice from the master… an interview with Joel Salatin

by Carol J. Alexander, photographs by Amber Karnes, originally published in the June/July 2013 From Scratch Magazine

salatin-for-web

“FS: Living a sustainable lifestyle is a trend. Never in my life have I seen a more powerful thrust to provide for one’s own family, live off the land, reduce one’s carbon footprint, eschew chemicals, cook whole foods, etc. And everyone wants a front-row seat on the green bus. But is everyone cut out to grow their own food? Share with us the traits the successful, modern homesteader possesses.

JS: Everyone can’t grow their own food, but everyone can live as if they were. And everyone can do something, even if it’s just a vermicomposting bin under the kitchen sink and using cloth diapers instead of disposables. The point is that every single act should be a physical manifestation of our thought process, a conscious decision. Mindless acts have no place in our lives. Even wanting to do something mindless like watch a silly movie should be for a reason: “I need a break from the 120 percent I’ve been giving all day to such-and-such an activity.”   While I appreciate the desire for self-reliance, I’m much more in favor of mutual inter-dependence. Sometimes we can become so independent we do things we’re not good at or deplore, and then burn out or fail miserably. Part of self-reliance is building a resilient community of hard goods and soft goods (spiritual, emotional, educational) around us, proximate, and relationally-oriented. All that said, here are some traits to think about:   ”  Read more…

fields_of_farmers

Get Joel Salatin’s newly published book Fields of Farmers

 

 

 

 

 

Chicken Treat Chart The Best Treats For Backyard Chickens

by Buff Hooligans  posted on Backyardchickens.com

chicken and lobster

“This is a list of everything you can feed a chicken. However, everybody’s chickens have their own tiny brains full of likes and dislikes, so while one person’s chickens may come running for grapes or watermelon, another person’s chickens may turn up their pointy little beaks at it. Anything on this list is worth a try. AND …  Don’t feed the following things to your chickens:”  Read More for both lists….

Is there a best time to harvest and consume your vegetables?

Is there a best time to harvest and consume your vegetables?

Is there a best time to harvest and consume your vegetables?

 

Is there a best time to harvest and consume your vegetables? The concept makes sense if you remember that vegetables are living entity. But what about after they are harvested… are they still able to change their nutritive dependent upon the time of the day, lighting, darkness, and other factors?

I decided to search for more information on the topic of the timing of when to harvest and eat vegetables based on the best nutritive value and found there really is limited information.  And this most likely is because the research is really just beginning.  Here is what I found on recent research by Janet Braam.    If you know of more information, please comment and share with us.

Is there a best time to harvest and consume your vegetables?

Is there a best time to harvest and consume your vegetables?

Vegetables Respond to a Daily Clock, Even After Harvest

Interview by Ira Flatow on NPR  June 21, 2013

“Vegetables plucked from grocery store shelves can be made to respond to patterns of light and darkness, according to a report in the journal Current Biology. Janet Braam and colleagues found that cabbages change their levels of phytonutrients throughout a daily cycle.  Read More…