Articles - Backwoods Home Magazine

Building and Using Wattle Fences

By Kathryn Wingrove Issue #139 • January/February, 2013 Wattle fences are made by weaving material in and out of posts in the ground. They were often...

How safe is your electric fence?

Build an Old-Fashioned Hotbed and Start Your Seeds in Style

Mid-season planting

By Jackie Clay-Atkinson As the saying goes “Life happens…” Maybe events have kept you from getting your garden planted early in the spring. When we...

Gardening in the Desert Using Only Rainwater

By Hook or Crook: A Billhook is a Handy Homestead Tool

For Extra Production, Try Mound Gardening

Who were the best…and worst U.S. Presidents?

By John Silveira Issue #49 • January/February, 1998 It was one of those days I love. We were between deadlines and Dave, Bill, Mac, and I...

Habeeb Salloum — Poet, Traveler, Recipe Writer

James Polk — A model for modern presidents

Biological and chemical weapons through history

Hunting, processing, and serving black bear

The best apple pie you’ll ever bake

For safety’s sake, homestead fuel storage must be handled properly

Preparing for a Temporary Catastrophe

Phantom solar — The crucial invisible system needed before you install solar

Grid-tied, Grid-connected, Off-grid. What’s the difference?

Solar Power 101 — Batteries: Part 1

Battery powered weekend retreat

How big a gun do you need?

By Massad Ayoob Issue #99 • May/June, 2006 We Americans like to do things in a big way. Big houses. Big cars. Big boats. And, yes,...

Firearms handling refresher Part II: Shotguns

The light at the end of the gun

Subduction zone tsunami — What the residents of the Pacific Northwest...

By John Silveira Issue #94 • July/August, 2004 I was sitting in my cubicle poring over a map of the Oregon coastactually, just that...

In time of war — The Israeli answer to terrorism

The false argument about defending our freedom

Looking back on 20 years of BHM

Beekeeping basics

Issue #88 • July/August, 2004 Bees have been managed for their honey production for about 5000 years or so. Especially for the...

Dorper sheep — Revolutionizing the meat sheep industry

By Darlene Polachic Issue #75 • May/June, 2002 If Henry Soderberg's predictions are right, Dorper sheep could revolutionize the meat sheep industry. A South African breed...

Llamas guarding sheep? — Not such a far-fetched idea

How to buy your first sheep without getting shorn

Mountain lions — Attacks are still rare, but just in case…

Intake and exhaust upgrades for better mileage and performance

Your survival depends on water

By Jackie Clay-Atkinson Issue #166 • July/August, 2017 Nearly all of us homesteaders grow tomatoes in our gardens. Tomatoes are hugely valuable as a homestead crop. After all, they give us a wide variety of products. Many...

Okra — Not Just for the South

By Alice B. Yeager Photos by James O. Yeager Issue #58 • July/August, 1999 No one is quite sure about how okra seeds came to this country. Okra is of African origin and the seeds could have...