Articles - Backwoods Home Magazine

How to buy your first sheep without getting shorn

Broody biddies make sense on the homestead

Chickens — The most valuable animal on the homestead

Herb Boxes from Fence Boards

By Maggie Larsen Issue #86 • March/April, 2004 During a binge of spring cleaning, I ventured outside and began to renovate the exterior of my home,...

Making a wooden kitchen countertop

Three Raised Bed Designs

By Joe Mooney Issue #150 • November/December, 2014 When it comes to gardening, almost anything can be used to create a raised bed. Tires, blocks, rocks,...

Caring for your chickens in winter

Oregon Trail preparedness: What supplies did the settlers carry?

By Don Lewis Issue #176 • April/May/June, 2019 The year was 1834, a year that didn’t really stand out as all that particularly important in American...

the gee-whiz! page: Animals, humans, extraterrestrials, and tools

The greatest American who was never President

Biological and chemical weapons through history

Poor man’s shrimp cocktail on perch

Hunting, processing, and serving black bear

Water: a safe supply when you’re off the grid

Tips for finding your affordable home

Install a mobile, solar powered toilet

Build your own battery charging station

Firearms and cold weather considerations

By Massad Ayoob Issue #79 • January/February, 2003 Many of our readers have established their abodes in places which, during the winter months, do not exactly...

How long should your gun’s barrel length be?

Firearms — Tools of rural living

Bury a gun and ammo for 15 years

The MTHFR mutation and why it may matter to you

By John Silveira Issue #170 • March/April, 2018 This is an article with both anecdotal evidence and science. It is about me, anxiety and depression, a...

Science and truth. Are they related?

The logic behind term limits and a historical perspective

Body language and threat recognition

Our energy crisis Part 1 — It’s our creation, but we can fix it

Bottle-raise a calf

By Jackie Clay Issue #120 • November/December, 2009 If you think milk and beef are expensive in the grocery store, then you should think about raising...

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...

Keeping homestead animals healthy

How to butcher a chicken in 20 minutes or less

How to Resurrect Old, Rusted Tools

Small Town America: Thermopolis, WY — Horses and hot springs

Modify an E-Tool to make your own Combi-Tool

Secure and Economical Livestock Feed

By Sherry Willis Issue #145 • January/February, 2014 The recent droughts in the midwest have meant hard times for many livestock owners. Areas without irrigation saw parched earth without a scrap of green anywhere. Corn withered...

Your Manure Pile — For Fuel, Fertilizer, and Maybe Even Improved Water Quality, You...

By Rev. J.D. Hooker Issue #87 • May/June, 2004 It's been well over a decade now since I first heard my friend Pete voice his amazement at my practice of spreading animal manure as a fertilizer....