Articles - Backwoods Home Magazine

Raising quail — A home grown delicacy

Build a poultry killing cone

By Allen Easterly Issue #135 • May/June, 2012 You've worked hard and spent many hours raising your pretty flock of meat chickens from eggs or chicks...

From triumph to tragedy to triumph again. Dorothy Ainsworth makes her...

Build a Heated Germination Bed

Simplify life in your backwoods home by using these easy mountain...

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...

Plant Your Irish Potatoes This Fall or Winter

The barnyard scramble

By Michelle Hampton Issue #106 • July/August, 2007 Each year during our local county fair, one of the best-attended events happens when farm animals, donated by...

Was the first government gun confiscation attempt foiled by an unsung...

James Polk — A model for modern presidents

Presidents’ wives of the past Part 4 — Cunning, vindictive, and...

Battery powered weekend retreat

Centennial of the All-American .30-06

By Massad Ayoob Issue #100 • July/August, 2006 In the long love affair between America and the rifle, there has never been an interlude quite as...

A used shotgun bargain: The Browning Auto-5

An economical battery of guns for the backwoods home

Can we make a Tyrannosaurus rex from a chicken?

By John Silveira Issue #169 • January/February, 2018 Do you have chickens, ducks, turkeys, or geese in your yard? They’re not “just birds” because scientists now...

The threat of electromagnetic pulse!

Why oil and other fossil fuels are good

My View: Gaining an appreciation for risk

The Coming American Dictatorship Part XII — The militarization of America’s police forces

Where our farm animals come from

Issue #105 • May/June, 2007 We don't know how far back the domestication of animals goes. But we...

Raising cattle on your own place

By Charles Sanders Issue #85 • January/February, 2004 Winter won't last forever. It won't be long before spring will arrive and pastures will start to green...

Raising your own beef for your family

Llamas guarding sheep? — Not such a far-fetched idea

A contrary guide to feeding animals

Here’s how to make a musical bamboo flute

Stay clear of young wild animals

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...

Want More Fruit From Less Space? Espalier Your Trees!

By Rev. J.D. Hooker Issue #79 • January/February, 2003 After originating in the semi-arid regions of the middle east, espaliering (is-'pal-yer-ing) became a commonly employed fruit tree growing method of the Greco-Roman world. Later, during the...