Articles - Backwoods Home Magazine

Animals

Kinder goats — A small breed for milk and meat

This St. Bernard backwoods hero saved old Grandma’s life

Redworm farming

Finding, buying, milking, and living with the family milk cow

Building

Building a $3,000 Barn

By Robert Van Putten Issue #169 • January/February, 2018 There comes a time when all homesteaders start thinking of livestock, and 14 years ago, we were...

Livestock fencing for the small homesteader

Build a pallet fence

Save Time and Energy with the Fenced Chicken Coop/Garden

Build a chicken tractor

Farm and Garden

Companion Planting

By Beverly Mettot Issue #81 • May/June, 2003 Companion planting is nothing new, and yet in recent years it has made an extraordinary comeback, not only...

Garden Seeds — A Great Winter Pastime

Starting a Roadside Farm Stand

The Best City Garden

Secure and Economical Livestock Feed

Americana and History

The Great Depression — A reminiscence

By Alice B. Yeager and James O. Yeager Issue #115 • January/February, 2009 I was a girl of 8 when the stock market crashed in 1929....

Presidents’ wives of the past Part 3

George Washington Carver — He wrote the book on self-reliance

The vanishing outhouse

Former first ladies — Beautiful, brilliant, crazy

Food and recipes

Duane’s shrimp dip

Brining pickles by the quart or gallon

Kids in the Kitchen

Southern cooking that doesn’t just whistle Dixie

Self-reliance

Picking your pressure canner — All American or Presto?

Space heater safety tips

Stay clear of young wild animals

The saga of Benjamin, the backwoods, homeschool boy who wanted to get a job

Energy

Emergency solar power for $950

Design calculations for no-head, low-head waterwheels

A small creek provides plenty of power for this off-grid home

Why you need to addsolar to your emergencypower backup plans

Guns and Hunting

Use the right ammunition!

By Massad Ayoob Issue #130 • July/August, 2011 The purpose of the gun is to fire ammunition. It follows that the ammunition should be the correct...

An economical battery of guns for the backwoods home

A used shotgun bargain: The Browning Auto-5

Firearms handling refresher Part II: Shotguns

Reload your own brass

Science

Science and truth. Are they related?

By John Silveira Issue #46 • July/August, 1997 It was an argument about science. Dave and I were on one side, Dave's friends Tom and Bill,...

Testing Soil

The ‘risks’ with Swine Flu

Gee-Whiz: Bad Fish, Big Fish

A brief history of health and medicine

Politics and Commentary

The land of the unfree

Losing our rights as we watch television

We don’t need no steenking 2nd Amendment

The Informed Juror — How an informed jury helps safeguard liberty

Animals

Mountain lions — Attacks are still rare, but just in case…

By Gene Sheley Issue #50 • March/April, 1998 Near the top of North America's wildlife food chain is the mountain lion, a close second to bears...

Chickens — The most valuable animal on the homestead

By Jackie Clay Issue #109 • January/February, 2008 When I was a child, I used to read and re-read the chick section in our Sears and...

Hog butchering — Using everything but the squeal

Raising your own beef

A contrary guide to feeding animals

This St. Bernard backwoods hero saved old Grandma’s life

Self-Reliance

Woolen winter mittens in minutes

Homeschooling through high school

Just for Kids: Life in the forest

Cast iron

Farm and Garden

Testing Soil

By Tom Kovach Issue #119 • September/October, 2009 Testing the soil content of a garden is very important and is quite easy to do. Soil tests are needed because some plants prefer slightly acidic soil, while...

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Build an Old-Fashioned Hotbed and Start Your Seeds in Style

By Roy Martin Issue #104 • March/April, 2007 A hotbed is a miniature greenhouse that is heated to protect new seedlings from cold. The hotbed differs from a cold frame in that it has an internal...

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