Farm and garden Archives - Backwoods Home Magazine

A Child’s Garden — More than Child’s Play

By Jackie Clay Issue #69 • May/June, 2001 There are many things parents can give their children, other than plastic toys or a few bucks to play video games at the mall. And one of the...

Woodchuck-Proof the Garden

By Setanta O'Ceillaigh  Issue #160 • July/August, 2016 The cycle never ends: As soon as one garden pest is dealt with, another takes its place. Last...

No Worrying About Fire Blight with Orient and Kieffer Pears

By Alice B. Yeager Issue #52 • July/August, 1998 Everyone likes a good success story, and if I were called upon to name the most successful tree in our small orchard I'd have to say it's...

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...

Growing Strawberries

By Patrice Lewis Issue #162 • November/December, 2016 As you read this, the wind may well be howling and the snow piling deep, and you're likely curled up next to the woodstove with a mug of...

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...

Build a Top-Bar Bee Hive

By Jereme Zimmerman Issue #175 • January/February/March, 2019 My journey to becoming a beekeeper has been a long one, and I’m still not quite there yet. For the past five years or so, I have read...

Home-Grown Eggs

By Allen Easterly Issue #165 • May/June, 2017 Maybe you’ve thought about keeping a few chickens for their eggs but didn’t want to be awakened at 4:00 AM by a rooster singing “cock-a-doodle-doo.” At this time...

Grow Open Pollinated Seeds for Self-Reliant Gardening

By Jackie Clay Issue #56 In the past I've grown hybrid vegetables, mostly the varieties that have been developed to produce early yields. Because of this, I was able to grow things like sweet corn in...

Gardening Tips and Tricks

By Charles Sanders Issue #99 • May/June, 2006 Gardeners are an ingenious lot. Trial and error, time, study, observation, and experience all help us to come up with ideas that result in better gardens, more produce,...

Leaf Mold is Another Way to Build Your Soil

By John Fuchs Issue #41 • September/October, 1996 Leaves are an excellent way to add organic matter to the garden. However, using rawor unprocessedleaves has some drawbacks. Raw leaves are more acidic than composted leaves, and...

Start a Self-Sufficiency Garden Even in a Cramped Apartment

By Nancy Wolcott Issue #61 • January/February, 2000 You are sitting there in your recliner chair in your small city apartment desperately longing for the day when you can escape to the country and become a...

Sweet Potato Greens

By Tim Scullen Issue #168 • November/December, 2017 By now, you’ve no doubt figured out how good chard, spinach, and kale are for you. But did you know that sweet potato leaves are loaded with vitamins...

Graft Your Own Designer Fruit Trees

By Jackie Clay Issue #121 • January/February, 2010 Although I've been homesteading for more than forty years, there's always something new to learn. (I figure that if I don't learn at least one thing every day,...

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...

Grow Garlic and Reap Health Benefits

By Alice B. Yeager Photos by James O. Yeager Issue #98 • March/April, 2006 Garlic is one of our oldest herbs on record. Anyone can grow garlic without having to hover over it, hoping that it produces....