Articles - Backwoods Home Magazine

Forget the dog, chicken is man’s best friend

Broody biddies make sense on the homestead

Protein — The Cornerstone of a Survival Diet

Build a chicken house in a day

By Anita Evangelista Issue #136 • July/August, 2012 We built our chicken house for around $200. We could have done it for less if we were...

A Small Space Yields a Big Crop of Garlic

By Howard Tuckey Issue #131 • September/October, 2011 In less than an hour last fall, I tilled up a 4x8 foot garden bed and planted 250...

Save Time and Energy with the Fenced Chicken Coop/Garden

Garden Spaces for Small Places

Who were the best…and worst U.S. Presidents?

By John Silveira Issue #49 • January/February, 1998 It was one of those days I love. We were between deadlines and Dave, Bill, Mac, and I...

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

Biological and chemical weapons through history

Make elderberry syrup for flu season

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

Get the most out of your vehicle and your maintenance dollar

The subtleties of safe firearms handling

By Massad Ayoob Issue #103 • January/February, 2007 There are so many makes and models of firearms in existence that no one has ever counted them...

1911: The classic homeland security pistol

Firearms and cold weather considerations

Gee-Whiz: Alcohol

By O.E. MacDougal Backwoods Home Did early man first cultivate grains just to get drunk? The brewing of beer is older than civilization and goes back at...

Three more ways the world can end … and I’m not...

Reflections on the Second Amendment

My View: Three Cheers for Free Enterprise

Talking to your kids about death

Putting it all on the Amtrak line for Self-Reliance magazine

How to butcher a chicken in 20 minutes or less

...while leaving the carcass and feathers intact! By Dr. Roger W. Grim, D.C. Issue #79 • January/February, 2003 Figure 1. With a trash bag properly fitted around...

Hog butchering — Using everything but the squeal

By Charles Sanders Issue #142 • July/August, 2013 A 450-pound hog will provide a lot of delicious meat. Hogs are raised throughout our neighboring Amish community for...

How to buy your first sheep without getting shorn

Dorper sheep — Revolutionizing the meat sheep industry

Teach your kids math with the banking game

For safety’s sake, homestead fuel storage must be handled properly

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...

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 in fooling those pesky pests who thrive on fruits and...