Page 20 - Home & Garden

Why is this an "almost complete guide"? Part of the reason is that we are in the final stages of finalizing our chicken resources page where you can find all of our best tips, tricks, and even a helpful list to help guide what birds will be available at each North 40 location. We suppose the other part is because though we think of ourselves as experts in the chicken game, that also means we are humble enough to say we don't know everything. Seems like for every breed specific tip we can find and put out, there are two more "farm house remedies" we still need to learn- We still know our stuff though when it comes to little known chicken facts and help guides. Check out this awesome infographic we put together last year for "Tips to Sick Farm/Ranch Birds"- We are always looking to learn the latest (or the oldest) tips in the chicken game...

I grew up with horses. I got my first pony, a black and white paint Shetland named Chico, when I was 2 years old. I wasn't tasked with his full care till a few years later. I remember from a very young age bringing leftover frozen water buckets in to thaw and taking a bucket of fresh water out every morning and night. My two younger sisters also got into horses, and with more horses came a bigger water trough. Can Horses Survive on Snow? We would fill the trough with a hose then drain the hose over the rafters to keep it from freezing and make sure the tank heater was doing its job. If it failed, that meant chopping the ice from the top so the horses could drink. Not ideal as horses don't like freezing cold water. The first time I heard tell from an old timer that horses can survive on snow, I was a bit hesitant to believe him. I mean, I...

We asked around for people to share their horse knowledge and stories with us to be featured in the Equine Edition of our Emag this month. The following stories are from those featured in the N40 Knowledge Bits section of the Emag, showing us how they care for their horse friends. Kim Farman North 40 Employee - Spokane, WA Years of service 15 My horses are retired now; I've had two of them since they were six months old. They are 29 and 31 now, so they are my geriatric horses." Kim says this on our conference call in mid-December, and Drew and I both were blown away you hear about horse owners like Kim, but talking to them in person that's few and far between. "They are part of my family, my kids grew up with them, and now the kids are grown, so I get them up for easy trail rides around the land." As we had been writing about equine a...

Your horse's health is extremely important, but it can be hard sometimes to know how to keep them happy and healthy. However, you can see the health of your horse by evaluating his body condition. The state of the horse's body is a very good indicator of your horse's health. Just what is the prime horse body condition? POOR Animal extremely emaciated. Spinous processes, ribs, tailhead and hooks and pins projecting prominently. Bone structure of withers, shoulders and neck easily noticeable. No fatty tissues can be felt. VERY THIN Animal emaciated. Slight fat covering over base of spinous processes, transverse processes of lumbar vertebrae feel rounded. Spinous processes, ribs, tailhead and hooks and pins prominent. Withers, shoulders and neck structures faintly discernible. THIN Fat build-up about halfway on spinous processes, transvers...

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...

"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...

Is a sock liner a vestigial remnant (that means throwback) of a time when hiking socks were made of Brillo pad type wool, or do they have a place in the modern sock era? Wellllllll-- kind of, but not really. That's vague, true, so let's break it down. The Evolution of Wool Socks Wool has come a long way since the old days of Brill-Wool- Merino wool is stock and staple in most hiking socks and hiking/backpacking gear because it often negates the need for wearing sock liners. Check out these socks made with Merino. Plus Merino is even used in base layers like these. The purpose of a sock liner, like Luke says in the video, is to add a hydrophobic layer between your skin and the thicker, insulating layer on the outside. This will allow sweat from your foot to be wicked away from your skin and help prevent "hot spots," blisters or discomfor...

  Echo, tack lead from the Great Falls store had this to say: "Grass is the only natural source of omega 3s that a horse will get when out grazing or out at pasture. And our grass here isn't the highest quality and can lack the necessary omega 3s a horse needs to stay in top condition. Flaxseed is one of the safest supplements you can add to a horse's diet and has a very high concentration of omega 3s. Add it for weight gain or to improve your horse's coat and skin condition." Full equine nutritional article from Nutrena available here. Ahhhhh- flaxseed, my old friend. Really quick: linseed and flaxseed are the same thing, so if you use linseed oil for anything, you're already on the flax bandwagon. Welcome. So, flaxseed is a good addition to your horse's diet? Established. How much? In what form? If you boil it does it really produ...

I wanted to test these socks in a real atmosphere to see if they could live up anywhere close to their name "40 below." Not sure how many of you guys have been in 40 below ZERO weather but that's pretty cold. In fact, that's so cold that I did not get to test these socks down to that level, but I did get to test them in relatively cold working conditions at about ZERO degrees. In this test we were insulating an old shed, outside of town, at night, on the coldest night of the year from about 6PM to a little after 10PM. So- my point here is that it was cold. It's important to keep your feet warm in the winter. Warm feet keep your feet dexterous, and actually improves the ability for your immune system to function properly and fight of flus. The 40 Below socks are warm, and have 49% wool content, the best natural fiber for warmth, odor, and...

I've been carrying a gun around the mountains long enough now to remember and follow the "expert advice" to wear two pairs of socks inside my elk hunting boots for comfort and to prevent blisters. So, when I was introduced to Smart Wool (merino wool) several years ago, I had two immediate reactions. Darn Tough Socks: $20 for Socks?! First, I couldn't believe how comfortable they were and second, I couldn't believe the price tag! Who in their right mind would pay $20 for a pair of socks? After just one trip wearing them, I couldn't believe I'd survived this long without them and gladly budgeted "sock money" into my annual hunting/backpacking account. Want to know why these socks are so expensive? Besides the price (which I grudgingly came to accept), the only complaint I had was a lack of durability, manifesting with heels that would routi...

Who doesn't love a good recycled craft project? Being that we are in the "age of wasting things," I know I love to find things around my house to reuse and create something new with. Like any rancher or avid horse lover, you probably have a stack of battered ropes laying around in the barn. Don't have any laying around? No worries! You can buy them here. And now the fun starts what else could a used rope be good for? Well Gretchen and I came up with a few funky ideas today, so here are a couple fun wreaths to feature around your home using upcycled old ropes. Recipe for Upcycled rope SUCCESS: Used Rope (if you don't have one laying around, purchase one for $10 here!) Hot glue sticks Hot glue gun Heavy gauge wire Thin gauge wire Decorative elements (We just pulled ours from the fly shop supplies- you could do that, or just round up your ...