Farm and garden Archives - Backwoods Home Magazine

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...

How to become a backyard beekeeper

By Sheri Jones If you’ve been intrigued by the idea of becoming a beekeeper but think you don’t have the space, resources, or knowledge, you’re about to be pleasantly surprised. Backyard beekeeping is a lot...

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...

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...

Nut Trees on Your Homestead

By Jackie Clay-Atkinson Issue #149 • September/October, 2014 While growing up in Detroit, we had no nut trees in our yard (though we did have seedlings before I left home). That didn't stop my parents, though....

A New Use for Old Tires: A Garden Using Tires

By Charles Sanders Issue #98 • March/April, 2006 There are mountains of old tires out there. Americans keep on rolling and tires keep on wearing out. Every year there is almost one scrap tire created for...

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...

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...

Growing Productive Strawberries

By Edna Manning Issue #86 • March/April, 2004 Here on the Canadian prairies, I have found strawberries to be perhaps one of the most delicious, least-demanding and productive fruits I can grow in our Zone 2...

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...

Vermicomposting — Raise Worms to Consume Waste, Amend Soil, and Earn Income

By Rebekah L. Cowell Photos by Amanda Egdorf-Sand Issue #124 • July/August, 2010 Vermicomposting takes composting to another level using Eisenia foetida (commonly known as red wiggler, brandling, or manure worms) to break down organic matter such...

Swiss Chard — The Leaf Vegetable That Keeps on Giving!

By Raymond Nones Issue #92 • March/April, 2005 For years every spring I planted spinach in my garden. For those who have never tasted home grown spinach, there is a world of difference between its taste...

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...

Gardening for Treasure

By Alice B. Yeager Tomatoes are a boon to mankind in health benefits. It doesn't matter whether they are the large or small varieties. Issue #93 • May/June, 2005 When we dig in...

Exotic Plants for the Homestead

By Corcceigh Green Issue #85 • January/February, 2004 Isn't it funny how even the things we step on while walking on the lawn have value? I learned this first hand last summer as I discovered some...

Grow Open-Pollinated Tomatoes

By Jackie Clay-Atkinson Issue #166 • July/August, 2017 Nearly all of us homesteaders grow tomatoes in our gardens. Tomatoes are hugely valuable as a homestead crop. After all, they give us a wide variety of products. Many...