Articles - Backwoods Home Magazine

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

The Forever Floor

By David Lee Issue #92 • March/April, 2005 It is pretty devious starting off an article with an exaggeration but now that I have your attention...

Building David’s Cabin, Part One

Build an attached solar greenhouse

Life-long siding with fiber cement board

Garden Seeds — A Great Winter Pastime

By Jackie Clay Issue #67 • January/February, 2001 Start your garden this year while the snow is still on the ground. I start all of my...

Swiss Chard — The Leaf Vegetable That Keeps on Giving!

Oregon Trail preparedness: What supplies did the settlers carry?

By Don Lewis Issue #176 • April/May/June, 2019 The year was 1834, a year that didn’t really stand out as all that particularly important in American...

President George Washington’s Farewell Address

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

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

You can safely and easily can your own meat

Kick the credit card habit and learn to stash cash

How to begin taking wildlife photographs

The coffee mug knife sharpener

Solar Power 101 — Batteries: Part 2

Solar charge controllers — myths, hype, and facts

The light at the end of the gun

By Massad Ayoob Issue #128 • March/April, 2011 Dave writes, "A few weeks ago I had to shoot a skunk in the chicken house, but the...

Get a piece of history — An M1 Garand rifle

Inexpensive retired Russian military rifles can be the ideal backwoods meat...

1911: The classic homeland security pistol

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...

Gee-Whiz: From Paper to Canning

The attack on Colin Powell prompts questions I’m not supposed to ask

The Electoral College — How we elect the President

Losing our rights as we watch television

The Government intimidation factor and its effect on the health of society

Bottle-raise a calf

By Jackie Clay Issue #120 • November/December, 2009 If you think milk and beef are expensive in the grocery store, then you should think about raising...

Raising Rabbits

By Linda Gabris Issue #133 • January/February, 2012 If you take pride and pleasure in growing your own organic garden foods and raising your own chemical-free...

Chickens — The most valuable animal on the homestead

Switch your family to goat’s milk

How to butcher a chicken in 20 minutes or less

Paring down for off-grid living

Cash in on your household junk

Build a holz hausen to dry firewood

Vermicomposting — Raise Worms to Consume Waste, Amend Soil, and Earn Income

By Rebekah L. Cowell Photos by Amanda Egdorf-Sand Issue #124 • July/August, 2010 Vermicomposting takes composting to another level using Eisenia foetida (commonly known as red wiggler, brandling, or manure worms) to break down organic matter such...

Leafy Green Vegetables — The Underrated Heroes of the Garden

By Jackie Clay Issue #104 • March/April, 2007 When you mention "garden," everybody immediately thinks of sweet corn, green beans, and tomatoes, with a few peppers and cucumbers thrown in. But a whole lot of folks,...