Articles - Backwoods Home Magazine

Raising cattle on your own place

Hog butchering — Using everything but the squeal

Livestock fencing for the small homesteader

By Don Lewis In 1874, a United States patent (#157,124) was issued to Joseph F. Glidden, a long-serving sheriff in DeKalb County, Illinois. His invention...

Build a Heated Germination Bed

Free pallet wood and birdhouses add up to big country dollars

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,...

Doesn’t anyone remember Tom Paine

By Robert L. Williams Issue #19 • January/February, 1993 Many years ago, before I came to my senses and left public education for good, I was...

Was the first government gun confiscation attempt foiled by an unsung...

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

Lamb and black bean tamale pie

You could furnish an entire homestead at Lehman’s ‘Non-electric’ Hardware Store

A young couple moves to the country

Just for Kids: Sun-kabobs and solar sizzle

Solar Power 101 — Batteries: Part 2

Battery powered weekend retreat

How to shoot a handgun accurately

By Massad Ayoob Issue #85 • January/February, 2004 "I want you to do an article on how to shoot a handgun accurately," Dave Duffy told me....

A used shotgun bargain: The Browning Auto-5

How long should your gun’s barrel length be?

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...

The MTHFR mutation and why it may matter to you

How do you save freedom in America?

Why oil and other fossil fuels are good

Dorper sheep — Revolutionizing the meat sheep industry

By Darlene Polachic Issue #75 • May/June, 2002 If Henry Soderberg's predictions are right, Dorper sheep could revolutionize the meat sheep industry. A South African breed...

Goat birthing and raising kids

By Jackie Clay Issue #112 • July/August, 2008 Dairy goats form one of the cornerstones of our homestead. Not only do they provide milk, cheese, ice...

Cheaper than Store-Bought Eggs

How to buy your first sheep without getting shorn

10 ways to make money on your land

How to Resurrect Old, Rusted Tools

By Anita Evangelista Issue #103 • January/February, 2007 City gardens and country gardens are differentnot only in the amount of space each can fill, but in the types and quantities of...

Nut Trees on Your Homestead

By Jackie Clay-Atkinson Issue #149 • September/October, 2014 While growing up in Detroit, we had no nut trees in our yard (though we did have seedlings before I left home). That didn't stop my parents, though....