Articles - Backwoods Home Magazine

Forget the dog, chicken is man’s best friend

Protein — The Cornerstone of a Survival Diet

Kinder goats — A small breed for milk and meat

Building a $3,000 Barn

By Robert Van Putten Issue #169 • January/February, 2018 There comes a time when all homesteaders start thinking of livestock, and 14 years ago, we were...

Livestock fencing for the small homesteader, part 2

Build a cistern out of corrugated road culvert

Determined woman builds distinctive vertical log studio

Gardening for Treasure

By Alice B. Yeager Tomatoes are a boon to mankind in health benefits. It doesn't matter whether they are the large...

Converting a Gasoline-Powered Rototiller to Electric

Grandpa’s justice

By Tom Kovach Issue #65 • September/October, 2000 Having the best vegetable garden in the village might put food on the table and make some money...

Biological and chemical weapons through history

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

From Martha and Abigail to Dolley and Louisa, America’s earliest First...

Winter in the High Desert — Understanding the music

There’s no such thing as free land!

Don’t discount a generator, especially a diesel generator, as your primary power source

Our journey to modern off-grid living

The light at the end of the gun

By Massad Ayoob Issue #128 • March/April, 2011 Dave writes, "A few weeks ago I had to shoot a skunk in the chicken house, but the...

The subtleties of safe firearms handling

Firearms handling refresher Part II: Shotguns

Firearms — Tools of rural living

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...

Can we make a Tyrannosaurus rex from a chicken?

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

Let’s stop apologizing for guns

The parasitic nature of bureaucracy

The rationale of the automatic rifle

Fermenting Chicken Feed

By Melissa Souza Issue #174 • November/December, 2018 On our homestead, we eat yogurt, kombucha (fermented tea), sauerkraut, and kimchi to add probiotics to our diet....

Where our farm animals come from

Issue #105 • May/June, 2007 We don't know how far back the domestication of animals goes. But we...

Keeping homestead animals healthy

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

Build a chicken feeder on the cheep cheep cheep

Advice from second-time homesteaders

Vermicomposting — Raise Worms to Consume Waste, Amend Soil, and Earn Income

By Rebekah L. Cowell Photos by Amanda Egdorf-Sand Issue #124 • July/August, 2010 Vermicomposting takes composting to another level using Eisenia foetida (commonly known as red wiggler, brandling, or manure worms) to break down organic matter such...

A New Use for Old Tires: A Garden Using Tires

By Charles Sanders Issue #98 • March/April, 2006 There are mountains of old tires out there. Americans keep on rolling and tires keep on wearing out. Every year there is almost one scrap tire created for...