Articles - Backwoods Home Magazine

Animals

Broody biddies make sense on the homestead

Raising quail — A home grown delicacy

Raising your own beef for your family

Broody biddies make sense on the homestead

Building

Composite lumber helps outdoor projects resist water, weather, and sun

By Steve Maxwell How many times have you built an outdoor project out of wood, only to be disappointed by the deterioration that hit after...

Build a Groundhog Snare

Never underestimate a woman

Making and using a solar cooker

Installing a steel roof

Farm and Garden

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...

For Extra Production, Try Mound Gardening

The Best City Garden

Making Apple Cider with a Homemade Press

Cheaper than Store-Bought Eggs

Americana and History

the gee-whiz! page: Animals, humans, extraterrestrials, and tools

By O. E. MacDougal Issue #154 • July/August, 2015 There was a time when it was thought that a defining difference between humans and animals was:...

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

James Polk — A model for modern presidents

Fly it proudly and properly

Emancipation Proclamation by Historical Document

Food and recipes

Hearty breakfast fillets

Canning Steelhead and Tuna

Mairead’s Fabulous Flan

Green tomato kosher dill pickles

Self-reliance

A worthwhile journey

Bath herbs

Seventeen great tips for caring for windows, mirrors, and other household glass

Food security 101

Energy

Build your own battery charging station

Grid-tie solar-powered farm

Phantom solar — The crucial invisible system needed before you install solar

Get the most out of your vehicle and your maintenance dollar

Guns and Hunting

Consider the 20-gauge shotgun

By Massad Ayoob Issue #120 • November/December, 2009 A year or more ago in these pages, I made the suggestion that sometimes less is more, and...

Big boomer guns

Catch your own bait

Picking a holster

Canning game meat

Science

How big is the solar system?

By John Silveira Issue #60 • November/December, 1999 In artists' renderings of the solar system we often see the sun represented by a small sphere with...

Gee-Whiz: Ice Ages, Past and Future

Gee-Whiz: Alcohol

Avian Flu — How afraid of this

Gee-Whiz: Insects

Politics and Commentary

Man vs. the machine

Why bureaucracy will likely destroy America

Our energy crisis Part 3 — Alternative energy resources for the nation and for the self-reliant

Armed and Female

Animals

Dorper sheep — Revolutionizing the meat sheep industry

By Darlene Polachic Issue #75 • May/June, 2002 If Henry Soderberg's predictions are right, Dorper sheep could revolutionize the meat sheep industry. A South African breed...

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...

The homestead cat

Khaki Campbell ducks — The other egg layer

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

Kinder goats — A small breed for milk and meat

Self-Reliance

No dentist? Oh, no!

Survival storeroom

Keeping tools sharp

Vinegar — A splash is all you need for healthful eating, natural healing, and sparkling home

Farm and Garden

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...

A Child’s Garden — More than Child’s Play

By Jackie Clay Issue #69 • May/June, 2001 There are many things parents can give their children, other than plastic toys or a few bucks to play video games at the mall. And one of the...