Articles - Backwoods Home Magazine

Goat birthing and raising kids

Kinder goats — A small breed for milk and meat

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

How to buy your first sheep without getting shorn

Build an attached solar greenhouse

By David Lee Issue #125 • September/October, 2010 We planned it to be permanent, well built, and able to withstand the extremes of temperature, humidity, and...

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

Propagating Grapes

By Sylvia Gist Issue #107 • September/October, 2007 As a kid in western South Dakota, I enjoyed picking wild grapes and using the delightful juice they...

Gleaning — An Old Tradition Made New

The time-travel ad

By John Silveira Issue #125 • September/October, 2010 It's become a minor Internet phenomenon. The ad reads: It's also been read by Jay Leno on his late...

Habeeb Salloum — Poet, Traveler, Recipe Writer

Constitution of the united States of America

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

Former first ladies — Beautiful, brilliant, crazy

Fireplace cooking cures the winter blues

Moving on: A small town can be a haven during a depression

Medical kits for self-reliant families

Walden Pond — the solar version: Part 2

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...

Military surplus and military “clone” rifles

An economical battery of guns for the backwoods home

Teaching a 10-year-old to shoot

Gee-Whiz: Alcohol

By O.E. MacDougal Backwoods Home Did early man first cultivate grains just to get drunk? The brewing of beer is older than civilization and goes back at...

The MTHFR mutation and why it may matter to you

An American dollar worth two cents

How environmental ideology hurts the solar energy industry

Animal disease traceability

By Patrice Lewis Issue #137 • September/October, 2012 In 2009, small farmers and ranchers breathed a sigh of relief. So did people worried about another curtailment...

Hog butchering — Using everything but the squeal

By Charles Sanders Issue #142 • July/August, 2013 A 450-pound hog will provide a lot of delicious meat. Hogs are raised throughout our neighboring Amish community for...

Finding the best dog for the country life

Starting a Roadside Farm Stand

Sewing and using cloth diapers is easier than you think

Swiss Chard — The Leaf Vegetable That Keeps on Giving!

By Raymond Nones Issue #92 • March/April, 2005 For years every spring I planted spinach in my garden. For those who have never tasted home grown spinach, there is a world of difference between its taste...

Clover — From Livestock Forage to Medicinal Tea, This Humble Plant is One of...

By Eugene Mitchell Issue #130 • July/August, 2011 Whether young or old, lying in the grass and searching for four-leafed clovers is timeless fun. Sometimes they're so elusive, like the leprechaun, it seems they don't exist....