Articles - Backwoods Home Magazine

Animals

Broody biddies make sense on the homestead

Are aliens stealing our honeybees?

A contrary guide to feeding animals

Home Dairying

Building

Tools and hardware for the backwoods home

By James Ballou Issue #74 • March/April, 2002 A certain degree of self reliance is obtainable by those who have the knowledge and skills, resourcefulness, courage,...

New invention— The Fencerunner

Build a chicken house in a day

Build a deluxe barrel stove

Build a wood crib with free materials

Farm and Garden

Garden Spaces for Small Places

By Dorothy Ainsworth Issue #116 • March/April, 2009 When the world wearies and society ceases to satisfy, there is always the garden. Minnie Aumonier Yes, and if...

Growing Productive Strawberries

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

The Potato Hole

For Extra Production, Try Mound Gardening

Americana and History

Former first ladies — Beautiful, brilliant, crazy

By John Silveira Issue #30 • November/December, 1994 (This is a four-part series. Click the links to navigate to parts one, two, three, and four.) (When we...

James Polk — A model for modern presidents

Feeling nostalgic? Now you’ll rave! Here’s the story of Burma Shave.

Presidents’ wives of the past Part 3

President George Washington’s Farewell Address

Food and recipes

Danish Meat Balls

Czarist Chicken Salad

Ashe Torsh

Making sausage

Self-reliance

Kick the credit card habit and learn to stash cash

Mosquitoes outnumber us and no one likes them

Digging a shallow well

There’s no such thing as free land!

Energy

Solar Power 101 — Batteries: Part 2

Power your bug-out bag

Solar suitcase

Solar system codes — Build it right!

Guns and Hunting

Firearms handling refresher Part I: Handguns

By Massad Ayoob Website Exclusive • December, 2003 One of our readers e-mailed John Silveira to tell him that taking a handgun afield after a long...

Inexpensive retired Russian military rifles can be the ideal backwoods meat...

Building the coyote rifle

Hiding a gun — The rules of three

The M1A — A rifle that makes a statement

Science

A brief history of health and medicine

By John Silveira Issue #100 • July/August, 2006 As little as a century ago, the average life span in the United States was 49 years. Today...

Theories of the universe

Gee-Whiz: From Paper to Canning

Zombie Apocalypse

Three more ways the world can end … and I’m not...

Politics and Commentary

Magnesium and the International Criminal Court

Which wars work best? The ones we fight or the ones we avoid?

A government with not enough to do, but lots of hungry mouths to feed

Biological & chemical terrorism

Animals

Beekeeping basics

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

Shearing, carding, spinning, weaving and creating with Margaret Boos

By Annie Duffy Issue #52 • July/August, 1998 "If you're going to make something that you want to last, why not start with good quality material,"...

Raising quail — A home grown delicacy

Raising your own beef

Home Dairying

Hog butchering — Using everything but the squeal

Self-Reliance

Cut your grocery bill in half

Homestead water

Homestead helpers

The joys of making soap

Farm and Garden

Rotten Luck: The Skinny on Composting

By Patrice Lewis Issue #141 • May/June, 2013 For much of human history, people have tried to prevent things from rotting. Literally every food preservation method we've come up with in the past few thousand years...

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The ‘Chocolate Tree’ Isn’t Just for Kids

By Rev. J.D. Hooker Issue #85 • January/February, 2004 My grandson Tommy was probably 50 feet up off the ground when he hollered, "Catch this one, Grandpa!" With those words of warning he dropped another gunny...

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