Farm and garden Archives - Backwoods Home Magazine

You Can Make Your Own Fertilizers

By Christopher and Dolores Lynn Nyerges Issue #44 • March/April, 1997 For some people, home gardening is an expensive pursuit, which seems a bit backward to us. At one time, people gardened because home-grown produce was...

Plant Your Trees in the Spring

By Tom Kovach Issue #61 • January/February, 2000 Winter is a good time to plan your spring tree plantings, deciding what and where you want to plant. When spring arrives you'll be ready. Spring is the best...

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....

Cheaper than Store-Bought Eggs

By Kristina Seleshanko Issue #177 • July/August/September, 2019 Something we heard a lot when we first started raising chickens in the suburbs was, “For the cost of raising those birds, you could buy an awful lot...

Blueberry Cash Crop

By Ed Mashburn Issue #130 • July/August, 2011 My almost two-year-old grandson loves blueberries. Put a bowl of those round blue jewels in front of him, and he's a happy little man. He's not alone. Many...

Saving Seeds

By Jackie Clay Issue #129 • May/June, 2011 I go through dozens of garden seed catalogs in preparation for each year's new (and better!) garden. I have a lot of "old reliable" varieties that I grow...

Plant Once Harvest for Years

By Jackie Clay-Atkinson Issue #140 • March/April, 2013 Year after year we start seeds, till the ground, plant, weed, harvest, then tear it all out at the end of the season. It's a lot of work,...

Naughty Peppers

By Alice B. Yeager Photos by James O. Yeager Issue #62 • March/April, 2000 If you are prudish, narrow-minded or puritanical, read no further as this article may offend you. If, however, you enjoy a good laugh...

Jackie’s Garden Primer

By Jackie Clay Issue #117 • May/June, 2009 The birds are singing. The sunshine makes the day feel soft and warm. The soil is mellow and damp. It makes us feel like being outdoors and doing...

Converting a Gasoline-Powered Rototiller to Electric

By Glenn Willis, Jr. Issue #87 • May/June, 2004 Several years ago my sister and her husband had an 8-horse gas-powered rototiller that went belly up. They fussed with it a bit, but couldn't get it...

Starting a Roadside Farm Stand

By John Murray  Issue #158 • March/April, 2016 For country landowners who desire a way to supplement their income, operating a small roadside farm stand is an excellent business venture. Produce which is harvested on a...

Build a Composter

By Charles Sanders Issue #170 • March/April, 2018 As with most of the other facets of homesteading, composting can be as simple or as elaborate as you wish to make it. One of the easiest ways...

Love Those Green Beans

By Alice B. Yeager Issue #68 • March/April, 2001 Anyone with some gardening space, a sunny location, and good loamy soil with pH 6.0-7.5 can grow snap beans. With some good recipes, you'll have people begging...

Growing and Using Peppers

By Jackie Clay-Atkinson Issue #164 • March/April, 2017 I’ve been growing peppers for more than 50 years now and can’t imagine a garden without them. There are so many different varieties that no matter where you...

Fermenting Chicken Feed

By Melissa Souza Issue #174 • November/December, 2018 On our homestead, we eat yogurt, kombucha (fermented tea), sauerkraut, and kimchi to add probiotics to our diet. These beneficial bacteria promote good digestive health, strengthen the immune...

Gardening with a Chicken Tractor

By Brianna Stone  Issue #161 • September/October, 2016 This spring, my parents let me enlarge my garlic business and till up three 600-square-foot beds for planting...