Farm and garden Archives - Backwoods Home Magazine

Clover — From Livestock Forage to Medicinal Tea, This Humble Plant is One of...

By Eugene Mitchell Issue #130 • July/August, 2011 Whether young or old, lying in the grass and searching for four-leafed clovers is timeless fun. Sometimes they're so elusive, like the leprechaun, it seems they don't exist....

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 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 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...

Pruning Blueberries

By Kristina Seleshanko When we purchased our mountaintop homestead, I was excited to discover four blueberry bushes that were already established on our property. Not all of them were large, but they were an excellent...

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...

Seven tactics for planning next year’s garden

By Kristina Seleshanko There are few things I enjoy more than snuggling up next to the woodstove with a cup of coffee and my garden planning notebook. Although winter might feel like a time to...

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...

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...

The ‘Chocolate Tree’ Isn’t Just for Kids

By Rev. J.D. Hooker Issue #85 • January/February, 2004 My grandson Tommy was probably 50 feet up off the ground when he hollered, "Catch this one, Grandpa!" With those words of warning he dropped another gunny...

Solar-Powered Electric Fencing

By Jeffrey Yago, P.E., CEM Issue #147 • May/June, 2014 A new electric fence attached to older traditional wood fencing More and more people are turning to electric fences as the cost of standard metal and wood...

Tea for the garden

By Lisa Nourse We have poor soil and do our best to amend it with compost and manure every year. However, we feel our plants still need a boost throughout the growing season. We like...

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...

The Home Citrus Orchard

By Anita Evangelista Issue #81 • May/June, 2003 It may seem like an impossible dream if you live outside of southern Florida, California, or Texas, but you can grow a home "backyard" orchard of oranges, lemons,...

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,...

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...