Author Archives: Homesteader's Supply

New Product for Homesteaders Supply: Dynablend Blender with Unbelievable Options and Price Value!

We have just added a new product to our Homesteaders Supply webstore, and as most of you know we try to only have the best products out there. We want our customers to have a quality product that will function as advertized and not have to break the wallet to afford it.

Newly offered product from Tribest is the Dynablend Horsepower Plus Blender designed to provide the power and capability that all other high power blenders do, but with added features and a reasonable price.

Here is why we think our customers will really like this product:

Comes standard with a heavy-duty glass pitcher and a versatile stainless steel utility scoop that can be used as a tablespoon sized measuring scoop or an agitator. Other blenders on the market usually only feature these items in plastic these days.
It has a powerful 1+HP motor, unlike other small models with smaller motors that can’t keep up with tough jobs.
Motor provides for both variable speed control AND pre-programmed settings.
10-year warranty!
Unbeatable price point for such great value.

You really can’t beat the great low price with such high value on this product… the glass pitcher, the stainless steel agitator, the options of manual variable speeds AND the automatic settings! With the manual variable speed, from low to high, and the convenient automatic settings: 60 second blending, 30 second pulse, or 60 second blend and pulse combination, you can choose your blending speed.

Here are some of the features for the Dynablend Blender:

Max. 23,000 RPM
Does all things power blenders do for half the price of competitors
Heavy-duty Glass Pitcher
Durable Stainless Steel Scoop, tablespoon sized
Manual Variable Speed from Low to High
3 Convenient Automatic Settings
Plugged-in Warning Blinking LED Light
Programmed Action Ready Solid LED Light
On/Off Switch
10 Year Warranty
Model: DB-850
Weight: 11 lbs. (5 kg)
Dimensions: 6″ W x 16″ H x 6″ D

Now you don’t have to worry about the plastics, or whether it’s BPA free or formaldehyde free… even if it will stain or wear out. We were so pleased to see this product with a glass pitcher and stainless steel agitator. Now you can make your salsas, soups, protein drinks… and yes even to make your butter! Want to know how to make butter in a blender? Ask us!

Simple little seed is chock full of beneficial nutrition!

The season is upon us now where Pumpkins are a plenty! I couldn’t get a total count, seems there might be over 50 varieties of pumpkins that can be grown in your own garden from heirloom seeds. Within that variety are some amazing differences:

The most commonly known carving pumpkin, the Jack-O-Lantern, was not bred for eating.
The Smaller sweeter pumpkins are for eating.
Colors of pumpkins are just as diverse, such as the blue Jarrahdale from New Zealand and Queensland Blues from Australia.
Pumpkins are considered a fruit because it contains seeds.

Pumpkin can be used for soups, stews, bread, pickles, pies, puddings, ice cream, and even beer or ale!
You can even preserve pumpkin by canning (most advice is only as cubed, not mashed.)
Cattle, goats, pigs, chickens and turkeys all love pumpkins.

Here are some interesting facts about pumpkin seeds:

Most pumpkin seeds have hulls, unlike the Kakai Pumpkin seeds are completely hull-less.
Mexican mole sauce is made with pumpkin seeds.

Health Benefits of Pumpkin Seeds:

Contain lots of minerals such as zinc, iron, copper, magnesium, phosphorus, and manganese… for helping to optimize bone health and preventing osteoporosis.
Good source of B vitamins, Vitamin E, Vitamin K
They have been shown to reduce LDL cholesterol, improve prostate health, reduce inflammation related to arthritis, improve sleep and lower depression.
The only alkaline forming seed.
Contain high quality protein, and the content of protein actually increases with the age of the fruit.

Preparation and Use of Pumpkin Seeds:

Best to shell the seeds, then soak in water for 6 hours. Soaking make enzymes and other nutrients more digestible.
Bake them in the oven at 160 to 170°F for 15 to 20 minutes. You can even sprinkle different seasonings on them for a variety of flavors.
Many suggest dehydrating below 110 degrees F, will prevent of loss of nutritive value from over-heating.
Sprinkle them on top of salads, cereals, and yogurt.
Add them to soups, stews, and meatloaf.
Enjoy them raw as a snack!

Are your chickens ready for winter?

The nights are becoming chilly at this time of the year. We’ve heard that many places are actually starting to experience a freeze at night. So now is a good time to get down to the chicken coop, talk to the girls, sing them a song and make winter preparations for your chickens.

Here are some quick suggestions:

Time to clean the coop thoroughly, which means remove everything and wash the floor, walls and stands. We always spread some DE all around the coop. It is important to ONLY use food-grade Diatomaceous Earth for animal use, NOT the pool house supply! This will kill off any unwanted critters harmful to the chickens like mites and lice. We use DE all through the summer to keep the fly population down. This is a natural product that won’t hurt your animals.
Fresh bedding makes for happy chickens. We provide fresh bedding of straw after each cleaning. Straw bales are not too expensive. We open up the strings, remove enough to spread around, and then retie the strings leaving the bale available for the chickens to play with. We find chickens are happy when they have something to do. They are very industrious critters and the bale of straw keeps them busy. Come winter time we always leave them a pile of straw outside the coop too.
Check the coop for drafts. You do want some airflow, but large openings for drafts can make it too cold in the coop for the girls.
Prepare a source for warming the coop. Usually a good heat lamp works great. Make sure you use the kind of heat lamp with the metal guard, just in case it should fall to the ground the bulb won’t touch the floor. The only difference between the white lamp and the red lamp is how much light you want in your coop. Our chickens take their rest in late summer from laying eggs and to molt and are ready again to produce eggs come winter. Giving them extra light will help them produce eggs in the winter. We set our heat lamp on a timer to provide light after sunset for 2 more hours, and to go back on providing light about 2 hours prior to sunrise. When it is very cold, we will have two heat lamps, one white light bulb for extra light and one red bulb for heat that stays on when the white bulb for light is off.

Chickens need lots of clean water. We have found the best way to keep water the cleanest is by using poultry nipples installed in the bottom of a 5 gallon bucket. We hang this bucket so that the nipples are the height of the heads of the chickens. If you coop is heated in the winter, we find that this type of watering system won’t freeze. But if it does, no worries … it will thaw without breaking the nipples! Outside the coop, watering will depend upon how cold it gets during your winter. In more temperate areas where it warms up during the days, fresh water in a chicken waterer every morning does the trick. But if you are located in the areas of great freezing, you might want to get a heater for your waterer to sit on top.

Feed needs change for chickens during the stress of the colder months. We keep feeding the basic feed, but add a corn based scratch as a snack. We continue to give them alfalfa hay every so often as a good source of protein. And remember I said that chickens are very industrious? Give them some special food sources to keep them busy like a whole cabbage head or whole carrots. And then the special treats: cooked oatmeal, pasta or rice. Leftovers are great to give the girls, but we cook these treats especially for them. They will love you for all wonderful things you do for them!

Getting PREPARED for Meat Processing…

Here’s the most unique meat smoker. It’s the Country Smoker from TSM.

Many folks have asked us about our products for meat processing, pricing and availability etc. There’s nothing like a slowed economy, and a tight wallet, to encourage us to shop for the best deals for taking care of your organic meats, grass fed beef, buffalo, moose, deer, etc. You can find many of these in your Natural Food Stores. Now, even Costco is selling organic meats! Most stores are starting to think seriously about what the American consumer is purchasing these days.

And then of course hunting season is almost here and you probably will want to be ready with many of these same products. You can save money and taking good care of yourself and your family by processing and packaging your own bounty!

So, we have put almost all of our meat processing equipment on sale! And working on even more! We are hoping to keep these sales going for awhile, as long as the manufacturers don’t raise prices again. And on the heavy items, we only have the sale price listed… we will give you the shipping quote separate from the sale, and also give you an accurate shipping quote right to your front door. There are all kinds of sales tricks… online stores are all fighting for your business. Don’t be fooled though… sometimes free shipping is figured into the product price and it’s large enough to cover a wide range of shipping destinations. So we’ve decided to just give you a quote to your door! We hope that will make you happy… the best price on the product and the best shipping price to YOUR door! If you ever feel any of our shipping charges seem too high…just give us a call and we will check.

We also have Meat Mixers from three manufacturers available and on sale… from Weston, LEM, and TSM. There are small ones from 20lb to 50 lbs, and then there is the LEM 25 LB Stainless Steel Tilting Meat Mixers. Talk about making a job much easier by having the tub tilt away from the frame and actually remove it for cleaning! And with this big puppy you can attach it to an LEM Commercial Grinder (sold separately) and have an electric meat grinder. What can be better?

Ever try sausage making? Try it with this Sausage Stuffer from Weston… pack up to 5 lbs of meat using this all Stainless Steel Sausage stuffer with Stainless Steel Stuffing Funnels!!

We will be working more on our webstore… getting more of these products available to you at sale pricing… like Grinders, and Meat Tenderizers, and Jerky makers, etc.

As always, we haven’t learned to read minds yet… so we depend upon feedback from you… our customers. Tell us what you think, what you want, inquire about products you don’t see, etc. We are always happy to answer your phone calls and emails! We at www.homesteadersupply.com are here to make your shopping experience a pleasure, and you will want to come back time and time again for your product needs!

Always looking for new and better…

… that’s our theme with the store, for which we spend a lot of time on. Quality these days is hard to come by. As you probably already know, most products come from other countries, and many are poorly made. Then there is the cost issue…where so many companies are selling the same products, everyone lowering the price to beat out the next guy just to make a buck…. Don’t know what the answer is for the general issue, but for Homesteader’s Supply we check out as many products as we can, and then ask our customers for feedback. As always, if you feel our price is too high or even the shipping is to high… give us a call and we’ll see what we can do for you!

Here is one recent product update on our webstore:

Boots for the farm, garden, ranch, etc… We now carry a new brand called Reed Boots. They are exactly like the Bogs boots we use to carry. We use them here at Homesteaders Supply, and LOVE them! The reason why we chose to change to Reed is that they are more readily available for immediate shipping, better prices, and they are just as well made as the other brand. And in fact, they have one improvement we have not seen in other boots… a removable ventilated insole with built-in arch!

Check out this wonderful looking Reed Mid-Calf Trail Boot (also comes in a taller version):

They are 100% waterproof! Very comfortable, provide warmth in winter and keep your feet dry in the summer! It has reinforced toe and heel areas. Self cleaning rubber outsole.

Personally, I like the comfort, almost like being in slippers, but yet great traction here in Arizona summer monsoons where the farm is slick as ….. I’ll let you fill in the blank!

Like something more aggressive, check out the Reed Force Boot …

Or for those of us wanting something shorter and less boot looking check out the Reed Romeo Slip-On:

You can see all of our boots in the Barn Yard Section.

We would love to consider other quality products you know about and would love to see us carry. Just let us know!

Fresh Herbs – Healthy Option within Your Reach

Upon searching the internet you sure can find so many options for taking steps to help ourselves to better health. But how do we know what works and what doesn’t? Sometimes we just have to try some things, but I’ve found it’s best to find a good resource.

Shoshanna at the www.bulkherbstore.com is one great resource for natural healthy herbal solutions from improving your health to improving your recipes for cooking. I’ve used the arrowroot powder as a thickener when making real ice cream! Some of the other herbs I’ve used as teas to calm myself after an intense day of work, and others to improve my cooking recipes, and even others just as great soothing teas. Over a year ago I interviewed Shoshanna and her mom on my radio show Beyond Sustainable and learned so much about the use of herbs, and of course about how they carefully select and purchase their products to sell to the public.

The reason I decided to share this info with you today was because I received their catalog in the mail and read the article about making my own tinctures. I really didn’t realize how easy it was. And there are lots of how-to’s on their site and in the catalog. Here’s a looksee onto their site… Isn’t this just inviting… Thanks Shoshanna for all you do!

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