Farm to Table

There's been a shift lately in people interested in farming. In recent years, consumers have been driving a change in the produce market by demanding to know and understand where their food comes from as a result, there's been an explosion in the demand for "organic" produce. Urban farms and co-ops have also seen a dramatic increase in participants and interest. Another impact of the organic shift? Urban farms and co-ops have seen a dramatic increase in participants and those interested. And that's where Prairie Heritage Farm comes in- "I don't come from a farming background in fact, I didn't really get into it until my early 30s," says Jacob Cowgill, co-owner with his wife Courtney. "I'd interned on a vegetable farm, and a larger scale organic operation up north. When we wanted to start our own farm, the easiest point of entry seemed t... Read more

Neighbor relations are an important consideration whether you're living on 100 acres or a city lot. Having a barking dog is probably the number one way of earning someone's ire, but bringing in a beehive, or two, might be a close second if you live with neighbors close by. While most people understand and appreciate the benefit of honey bees, and gardeners in the neighborhood will undoubtedly enjoy the results of their hard work, having fifty-plus thousand stinging insects taking up residence next door can cause issues. Having bees can make your neighbors love you, or hate you, depending on how you handle it. Need Beekeeping Gear? Check Out Our Selection Here. Talking to your Neighbors before going Full-bee As with most activities that impact others, if you're going to bring in honey bees, talk to your nearest neighbors before they see ... Read more

Waking up in the morning, stepping out onto your own property with no one around for miles- checking the weather and getting ready to run your own organic farm. For many people this is only a dream. Reality for most is a city life. A place where "outside the city" is a mythical place, and commuting is a second job. But a change is gonna come, and it's going to come from the organic sector, according to Doug Crabtree and Anna Jones-Crabtree. If you've dreamed of owning your own farm and producing all of your own food- while making a decent living- there's no time like the present to get into farming, and we sat down with the people trying to do get you to do just that: Vilicus Farm in Havre, Montana. Demand for Organics in the World Economy impacts Montana Farms  If you've been in your local grocery store lately, you're probably aware of... Read more

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    When we sat down with Nutrena this year, we know we wanted to do something different. But there was a problem. In today's society, if you want to learn about chicken farming, there are a million resources available at your finger tips, a million "how-tos" and "best-practices you get with one simple search... "Chicken farming" on Google returns 23,500,000 entries. How could we maintain our position as a cutting -edge farm and ranch store and stay ahead of our competitors and the at glutted market... when chickens have been around and written about since 5,000 B.C. Easy. We bring you content you cant' get from Google. N40 Coops delves into chicken life beyond Google, into the stuff you can't get from a Google search. Human creativity is the only thing that can keep pace with human information, so we went out to find the most... Read more

We had many amazing entries last year for N40 Coops, but after much debate we narrowed it down to these top two coops, six in total, from Washington, Montana, and Idaho'“we aren't saying you should be envious, but some of these coops were out of this world. When it comes to raising chickens, we know its not just the brood lights and chick starter kits that you bring your new chicks home to'“it's about the attention to detail, the love and the foundation you lay for your chickens that will set them up for a full life in your flock. The chicken owners below went fully custom, from the feed and watering systems they installed, to the artwork that adorns their coop walls'“these coops are truly one of a kind pieces of functional art- and we are proud to bring them to you. We hope that no matter the scale,  these coops can inspire y... Read more

When we started this bee project last year, it was with a mind to really get into the product lines and experience what it was to be a beekeeper. For the Homestead Honey hive last year, it was a productive year, we were able harvest 25 pounds of honey (we've got everything you need to get started beekeeping online here). The hive check is the last step in a beekeeper's first season- to see if your colony survived winter, to see if you still had bees to work with in the second year. With Mr. Roger's statement to expect 50% hive failure during winter, we were a little trepidatious especially considering we opted to take the hands-off approach over winter and left an entire box of honey for the bees to eat no sugar water or additives, just natural wintering of the hive. When we went out to check the hive, we cracked the propolis seal, and ... Read more

That's right: Farmstock is free to vendors. It's our way of helping to build a better community and saying thank you. It's been mentioned before, but it's important to mention again. Farmstock is about giving our customers a place to "come full circle with us." Perhaps you bought chicks in the spring and found yourself with too many eggs (is there such a thing?), or perhaps you got a little overzealous with the number of tomato plants your put in the garden. Maybe you bought some horse shoes or used rope for a crafting project and made one too many wreaths. Where can you sell your wares or produce to like-minded people? Farmstock was our solution! So what is Farmstock? Chances are you've been to at least one farmer's market in your life. Last year at North 40, we hosted our version of the farmer's market, called Farmstock- we're doing... Read more

What should you do when you want to get rid of bees (wasps) for good? Let's look at this question a little closer "how do you get rid of bees?" This could be a loaded question for anyone not really into bees- like we obviously are at North 40 Outfitters. If you are INTO bees (then you need to check out our beekeeping supplies online), you know there are many honeybees you'd never want to get rid of because they are amazing gold producing, garden enhancing little pieces of sunlight- but if you are NOT into bees, they can all appear to be the same kind of buzzing, stinger wielding pests. The Bee Break Down If the "bees" you are seeing around your house/property are of the glossy variety- that means you are now proudly cohabitate with a wasp species. That's not good. Wasps are predators and eat other insects. That means they like meat. The ... Read more

What are some good fruit and vegetables to grow in north-central Washington? We get a lot of different gardening questions at North 40; we have stores in many different zones, and each one of our stores has a special relationship with the growers that supply our fruits and vegetables. One of our suppliers in the area is a husband and wife team who've been providing plants to N40 for 2 years. They have mucho experience in the growing game, and are 15 year veteran, Bonnie certified suppliers. Check out their full interview N40 eMag: Garden Edition. Want to know their specialty (and a great fruit that will do well in north central Washington)? Tomatoes. And the Bonnie tomatoes we stock are known to thrive in these areas. "Our plants are grown hardy and acclimated to our environment. We grow them pretty cold," she tells me, laughing. The Bo... Read more

"What are some vegetables that are good to grow in North Central Montana other than tomatoes?  We've tried squash and it hasn't been very successful."--N40 Customer, Kirsten Amy Grisak from Amygrisak.com had this to say: "We have to work with the weather- We have cooler nights, which is why sometimes tomatoes and squash don't like to grow here, but lettuce, radish, onions, potatoes will flourish during the cooler springs. Once the soil warms up, you can grow almost any type of beans or peas. Cabbage or kohlrabi will flourish in our regions. It's all about doing your homework and working the weather." Side note for Kohlrabi I had no idea what this was- apparently according to Sam, you can get them at most farmer's markets across Montana and, "It's like a watery apple." So I dug a bit deeper and found out it's much like broccoli or cabba... Read more

I think I may have some sort of innate connection to honey bees due to the Winnie the Pooh décor that hung in my room as a child. Now as an adult I find myself deeply interested in the beekeeping process. Could this be related to Pooh Bear as well? Today was the first day I've checked the hive since Al and I did a queen inspection a couple days after introducing the colony to the N40 hive. And after today's N40 hive inspection I'm now even more amazed at what these little bees can accomplish.   Going out today Jake and I (yes, Jake, the kid who is deathly afraid and allergic to bees) were hoping that the frames would be mostly filled with brood, pollen, and honey. This would indicate that it is time to add another box for our bee buddies to start mass producing honey. That was our hope, but of course I didn't know what to expect... Read more