Articles - Backwoods Home Magazine

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

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

How to buy your first sheep without getting shorn

How to butcher a chicken in 20 minutes or less

Parge the ugly out of your concrete wall

By Bill Leonard Issue #57 • May/June, 1999 You can say a great deal in favor of cement block (or, if you prefer, concrete block) building....

PVC pipe in the home, garden, farm, and workshop

Build an Off-Grid Root Cellar, Garage, and Bunkhouse

Use Old Newspapers to Make Your Starter Pots

By Darlene Polachic Issue #49 • January/February, 1998 Why spend money buying plant starter packs when you can make all you need from old newspapers? The...

Time to Forget About Snail and Slug Bait

George Washington Carver — He wrote the book on self-reliance

By John Silveira Issue #31 • January/February, 1995 "What were you listening to when I got to your house? Sounded nice. I don't think I've ever...

Quilts — Masterpieces of the heart and windows into women’s history

Easy, no-knead bread by Melissa Souza

Power Up Light, Water, Communications in Emergencies

Solar charge controllers — myths, hype, and facts

Solar Power 101 — Batteries: Part 1

Picking a holster

By Massad Ayoob Issue #69 • May/June, 2001 One good thing about being out in the boonies by yourself is that you can carry a gun...

Hiding a gun — The rules of three

Cold weather shooting considerations

Understanding the gun debate, part 3

Centennial of the All-American .30-06

The gee-whiz! page — Cats: Why they rule our world

By O. E. MacDougal Issue #170 • March/April, 2018 House cats A recent Gallup poll showed that cat ownership is pretty much evenly distributed between men and...

Science and truth. Are they related?

Getting the state out of marriage

Guns, suicide prevention, and backwoods lifestyles

Some thoughts on growing older in the backwoods

Every group needs a black sheep

The homestead cat

By Jackie Clay-Atkinson We have had at least one cat in our home ever since I was a young child. So it’s no wonder we...

Once a day milking

By Patrice Lewis Issue #99 • May/June, 2006 It sounds bucolic, doesn't it? The simple joys of milking your own cow. Fresh milk, fresh cream, homemade...

Protein — The Cornerstone of a Survival Diet

Khaki Campbell ducks — The other egg layer

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

Step onto the ice and catch tonight’s dinner

Getting out of Dodge — 10 Things I am doing to prepare for the move to the country

Funerals don’t have to be expensive

Growing and Using Bamboo on the Homestead

By Jereme Zimmerman  Issue #161 • September/October, 2016 Bamboo: The very word evokes an image of groves of tall, leafy plants swaying gently through the air...

Gardening in the Desert Using Only Rainwater

By Joe Mooney Issue #147 • May/June, 2014 I've always found the use of seasonal rains by native peoples very fascinating. From the diversion of floodwaters in earthen berms to irrigation via "aquaduct," it seemed incredible...