Farm and garden Archives - Backwoods Home Magazine

How to Grow Great Carrots

By Jackie Clay-Atkinson Issue #153 • May/June, 2015 Carrots are an old-time homesteader favorite. They can be frozen, canned, dehydrated, or simply stored in a cool location. They are nutritious, too, being a great source of beta...

A Small Space Yields a Big Crop of Garlic

By Howard Tuckey Issue #131 • September/October, 2011 In less than an hour last fall, I tilled up a 4x8 foot garden bed and planted 250 seed cloves of Chesnok and Russian Red garlic. I've been...

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...

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...

Green or Yellow: Grow Your Best Bush Beans Ever

By Lisa LaFreniere Issue #62 • March/April, 2000 Bush Beans, or snap beans as they're sometimes referred to, are a growing favorite among many gardeners, and with good reason. Beans are high in vitamins A, C...

Build Your Own Hoop House

By Jackie Clay-Atkinson Issue #171 • May/June, 2018 I’ve had my own garden for more than half a century, and I have learned a few things after all these years. One of the most valuable things...

Propagating Plants

By Jackie Clay Issue #128 • March/April, 2011 We all love the idea of having a big, productive garden, full of all the nutritious, tasty foods our hearts desire. But the prices in the nursery catalogs...

Gleaning — An Old Tradition Made New

By Daniel Furtney Issue #147 • May/June, 2014 Gleaning. You may remember the term from Sunday School or your Bible studies. In the book of Ruth, "gleaning" refers to poor people being allowed to follow a...

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...

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...

Use Non-Hybrid Seeds and Save Big Bucks in This Year’s Garden

By Jackie Clay Issue #51 • May/June, 1998 Every person who is striving for self-reliance should, and most do, plant a garden from which to raise a good portion of their own food. But how many...

Growing Potatoes in Straw

By Habeeb Salloum Issue #100 • July/August, 2006 Virtually unknown to people in other parts of the world, the inhabitants in the Northern European countries have for hundreds of years grown potatoes above ground in straw...

Slug Zapper

By Joel Winters Issue #142 • July/August, 2013 I live in a small clearing in a big forest. This is on the rainy side of the mountains in the Cascade foothills. Slugs are underfoot nearly year-round...

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...

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...

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...