Farm and garden Archives - Backwoods Home Magazine

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...

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...

For Extra Production, Try Mound Gardening

By Edward Love Johnson Issue #44 • March/April, 1997 I began experimenting with mound gardening several years ago, due to limited garden space. Then as time went by, I found other reasons (or should I say...

The Best City Garden

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...

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...

Garden Spaces for Small Places

By Dorothy Ainsworth Issue #116 • March/April, 2009 When the world wearies and society ceases to satisfy, there is always the garden. Minnie Aumonier Yes, and if your budget is lean and you want something green, there's...

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...

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....

The Homestead Greenhouse

By Charles Sanders Issue #67 • January/February, 2001 For those of us living close to the land, the production of a dependable and healthful food supply is a primary objective. To that end, some consideration will...

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...

Save Time and Energy with the Fenced Chicken Coop/Garden

By John Silveira Issue #44 • March/April, 1997 My engineer father was not fond of wasting time or energy. He was always searching for a better, more efficient way to perform chores, especially chores that reoccurred...

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...

Growing Microgreens

By Lisa Nourse Issue #176 • April/May/June, 2019 The small town where I live has two small grocery stores and getting a good variety of organic produce during the winter months is difficult. I find myself...

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,...

Mid-season planting

By Jackie Clay-Atkinson As the saying goes “Life happens…” Maybe events have kept you from getting your garden planted early in the spring. When we moved to New Mexico, it was in late June and...

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...