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Whether you’re looking to increase the robustness of your garden or you’re harvesting the honey flow, when you’re dealing with thousands of bees, you have to pay attention. Bees are sophisticated. (One glance into the core of a nest and you can see the layers of organization and the strategy it takes to build it.) At the same time, however, with some planning and research, bees are also really manageable, and we can help you get started.   The amount of honey you can expect to get from your beehive is going to depend on many factors. In this video, we explain how factors like environment, hive health, and winter stores can determine the amount of honey you can get from a hive.    Video Transcription How Much Honey Can You Expect One of the great parts of beekeeping is honey, of course. And everybody wants to kn... Read more

Whether you’re looking to increase the robustness of your garden or you’re harvesting the honey flow, when you’re dealing with thousands of bees, you have to pay attention. Bees are sophisticated. (One glance into the core of a nest and you can see the layers of organization and the strategy it takes to build it.) At the same time, however, with some planning and research, bees are also really manageable, and we can help you get started.   To get started in beekeeping you’ll need a hive, hive tool, smoker, frame grips, and protective clothing. In this video, we explain the tools and equipment you’ll need to get started, plus what they are used for and why they are necessary.    Video Transcription Equipment Needed For Beekeeping All right, another common question we get often is, "What equipment do I need t... Read more

Whether you’re looking to increase the robustness of your garden or you’re harvesting the honey flow, when you’re dealing with thousands of bees, you have to pay attention. Bees are sophisticated. (One glance into the core of a nest and you can see the layers of organization and the strategy it takes to build it.) At the same time, however, with some planning and research, bees are also really manageable, and we can help you get started.   The startup cost for going into beekeeping can vary, but keep in mind, once you spend the initial investment, you likely will not have to spend that again as you will already have the tools and equipment you need. In this video, we discuss the cost it takes to get started in beekeeping.    Video Transcription Basic Beekeeping Costs All right, let's break down what it costs to... Read more

By North 40 Outfitters and Thomas Hopkins Whether you’re looking to increase the robustness of your garden or you’re harvesting the honey flow, when you’re dealing with thousands of bees, you have to pay attention. Bees are sophisticated. (One glance into the core of a nest and you can see the layers of organization and the strategy it takes to build it.) At the same time, however, with some planning and research, bees are also really manageable. Have more questions about beekeeping? Get started here. Keeping that in mind, did you know that there are nearly 20,000 known species of bees and that honey bees make up only a small portion of that number? Here at North 40, we exclusively carry Italian Carniolan hybrid honey bees because these bees feature the best traits of both Italian and Carniolan bees. What are Italian Bees? Wh... Read more

Keeping Chickens Warm when it gets ColdWhen the seasons turn cooler, bedding in your chicken coop is important. Plus, chickens, even free range, need something to scratch for and giving them something like Purina Flock Block helps. Watch and learn as we share our best tips for getting your chicken flock ready for cooler temperatures.Video TranscriptionHi, I'm Jennie and I'm from North 40 Outfitters and I'm here to talk to you about the feed and care of your chickens. One of the things we want to do in the winter time is keeps the flock fresh or pine shavings or straw or something like that for bedding in your coop. And it gives the chicken something to kind of scratch through. Standlee Flock Fresh has alfalfa also in their product and that gives the chicken something to nourishment as well. This also keeps you ammonia down in your coop i... Read more

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By cleaning up the garden and hauling away debris this autumn you’ll create more time during spring for planting. So, grab a warm afternoon to remove spent vegetables and amend the soil, and you’ll end up with a great garden next year. Put away the hardscape While it’s akin to unpacking after a great trip, now is the time to put away the trellises and all the garden gear so you keep it preserved for another season. Empty the Wall-O-Waters—the water-filled plastic teepees that protect heat-loving plants—and hang them upside down. This allows them to drain completely before storing. If there is a significant amount of dirt or mildew in the tubes, use a two-inch brush and gently scrub each compartment, followed by a quick rinse before inverting it on a five gallon bucket to dry. Stack and store tomato cages, tossing any that are... Read more

When it comes to choosing the best meat for smoking, you’ll want to look for meat that has the same thickness and consistency throughout. Plus, you’ll also want to look for marbling which helps hold the smoke flavoring. Watch and learn as we share our favorite tips for choosing the best meat for smoking. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1eovjOts2yw Video Transcription What do I look for When Picking the Meat I would Like to Smoke? Hey, this is Alfonso with North 40 Outfitters. And today I'm going to talk to you about meat selection for your smoking purposes. When it comes to smoking and meat selection, what I really look for is a piece of meat that has nice presentation on it. What I'm really looking for is some consistency throughout the piece of meat. So, I just want things to be the same thickness throughout. O... Read more

Preparing pork for smoking in a smoker is easier than you think. Watch and learn as we share our simple step by step instructions for delicious and savory smoked pork. Video Transcription How do I Prepare my Meat for Smoking? Hey everybody, this is Alfonso with North 40 Outfitters. And today I'm going to show you how to prep pork for smoking on your grill. First thing we're going to do is going to take a look at our meat and do a little bit of trimming. Really what I'm looking for is I want to have good presentation to whoever I'm serving this. You want to have something that looks nice and is pleasant to eat. I'm going to trim a little bit of this fat on there. How do I Trim and Season my Meat Properly for the Best Smoke? This is a pork butt which is a pretty big piece of meat. As you can see, it's got a lot of fat on ... Read more

Ribs are a delicious summer grilling must do, but where to start? Watch and learn as Discount Meats helps us to better understand the difference between Spare ribs, Baby back, Country style ribs. Then, go get your grill on! https://youtu.be/VASqVIWxLgg Video Transcription Why Should I Choose Baby Back Ribs? There's three styles of ribs that come from pork. There is spare rib, baby back rib, and country style ribs. So starting out, we'll go with the actual baby back ribs. They're smaller, meatier. With your baby back ribs, they don't have the fat content as spare ribs do so they don't have that rendering of the fat to keep that moist. So they will dry out if you tend to cook them longer, faster. So something to keep an eye on when you do smoke them. They actually come out of this section rig... Read more

The Tomahawk steak is a show-stopper steak that every grill master should learn how to grill. But what is a Tomahawk steak? Start at the beginning, watch and learn as Discount Meats explains why the Tomahawk steak is so special. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1Rz1Ylh9lA Video Transcription What Cuts do I Need to Make for a Tomahawk Steak? What's going on guys. My name's Garet. I'm from Discount Meats. I'm here with North 40 today. I'll be showing you how to turn this bad boy here into a Tomahawk steak. This is called the wing rib. It's the midsection of a cow. You can get rib-eyes, rib steaks, cowboy steaks, but we're going to be focusing on the Tomahawk steak today. First thing I'm going to do is cut this bottom section off right here. That way you get your standard rib bones coming off of there... Read more