Build a compost tumbler
By Joe Mooney
Issue #151 • January/February, 2015
A few years back, I caught myself becoming a bit frustrated with my compost pile. It seemed that I just couldn't produce compost as easily as I'd seen...
Build a chicken tractor
By Connie Rabun
Issue #127 • January/February, 2011
In the beginning we had chickens...and no coop! Any homesteader knows that the number one rule is to always have your animal housing prepared before you invest in...
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. It's fairly fast, reasonably easy, particularly in small projects, and...
Build a 6500-gallon concrete water tank for $1500
By Dorothy Ainsworth
Issue #101 • September/October, 2006
When I bought 10 dry barren "affordable" acres back in 1981 I got what I paid for: No electricity, no septic system, no well, and no water. What...
Never underestimate a woman
By Dorothy Ainsworth
Issue #32 Mar/Apr 1998
(In the May/June issue , we published an article by Dorothy Ainsworth titled "Determined woman builds distinctive vertical log studio," in which Dorothy detailed how she built a beautiful...
Build an Old-Fashioned Hotbed and Start Your Seeds in Style
By Roy Martin
Issue #104 • March/April, 2007
A hotbed is a miniature greenhouse that is heated to protect new seedlings from cold. The hotbed differs from a cold frame in that it has an internal...
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, a 47-foot trailer in a mobile home park. While waiting...
Build a log crib
By Dorothy Ainsworth
Issue #69 • May/June, 2001
Baby Zane is probably the only newborn in Hollywood sleeping in a log crib made by his grandmother in Oregon, but it was inevitable.
The finished log crib.
Dorothy uses...
PVC pipe in the home, garden, farm, and workshop
By Charles Sanders
Issue #94 • July/August, 2005
Perhaps one of the most important innovations in modern plumbing has been the development of polyvinyl chloride (PVC), chlorinated polyvinyl chloride (CPVC), and related plastic pipe. These materials...
Determined woman builds distinctive vertical log studio
By Dorothy Ainsworth
Issue #27 • May/June, 1994
When I graduated from high school in 1960, my father wrote in my autograph book, "When you get married and have twins, don't come to me for safety...
A river rock shower
By Dorothy Ainsworth
Issue #77 • September/October, 2002
The finished shower weighs a ton
and cost about $800.
Cultured stones, made of pumice and portland cement, weigh about half as much as river rocks.
Notched-trowel texturing in the mortar...
A Kid-Friendly Chicken Coop
By Melissa Souza
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Issue #159 • May/June, 2016
My family is committed to becoming as self-sufficient as possible, and a huge part of that is growing...
Make your own effective fishing tackle while you save money and recycle scrap
By Rev. J.D. Hooker
Issue #44 • March/April, 1997
My long time friend Hearold Ruby passed away. Death came as sort of a reprieve. He'd been terribly sick and utterly miserable for years and he was...
Shake update
By David Lee
Website Exclusive • January, 2005
Since my shake article was published in Backwoods Home Magazine, Issue #88, I have learned that some of the more ambitious and better-looking readers have gone out and...
Solar Building Design
By Steven Heckeroth
Issue #63 • May/June, 2000
Solar building design has been used since ancient times. In the more recent past, it has been more or less ignored as impractical, complicated, or too expensive. Incorporating...
Simplify life in your backwoods home by using these easy mountain methods
By Rev. J.D. Hooker
Issue #54 • November/December, 1998
Backwoods folk, or in my case, mountain folk, are typically very resourceful, utilizing whatever is on hand to make their lives easier and more pleasant. And hill-women...































