Articles - Backwoods Home Magazine

Chickens — The most valuable animal on the homestead

Raising your own beef for your family

Forget the dog, chicken is man’s best friend

Claw Hammers

By R.E. Rawlinson Scottish writer and philosopher Thomas Carlyle observed that “Man is a tool using animal … without tools he is nothing, with tools...

How safe is your electric fence?

Determined woman builds distinctive vertical log studio

Growing Productive Strawberries

By Edna Manning Issue #86 • March/April, 2004 Here on the Canadian prairies, I have found strawberries to be perhaps one of the most delicious, least-demanding...

Tomatoes, the Essential Garden Crop

Rotten Luck: The Skinny on Composting

Starting a Roadside Farm Stand

Quilts — Masterpieces of the heart and windows into women’s history

By Marlene Parkin Issue #22 • July/August, 1993 Many of the quilts of yesterday took a lifetime to make. Perhaps the mystical part of quiltsthe aspect...

Constitution of the united States of America

The greatest American who was never President

Betty’s Bread Pudding with Whiskey Sauce

Cracklin’s — An irresistible snack that you can’t stop sneakin’

Avoiding common canning mistakes

Mosquitoes outnumber us and no one likes them

For a truly independent energy system, your choices are solar, wind, and water

Tailoring guns to females

By Massad Ayoob Issue #131 • September/October, 2011 So, I'm sitting here in a hotel writing this, less than three hours after getting off the witness...

How long should your gun’s barrel length be?

Firearms — Tools of rural living

A doomsday scenario to sleep on

By John Silveira Issue #109 • January/February, 2008 I once wrote a science fiction novel that I never tried to sell. Titled The Perfect Defense, its...

Gee-Whiz: From Paper to Canning

The threat of electromagnetic pulse!

The MTHFR mutation and why it may matter to you

The burglar does far more than steal!

Turn the poor into capitalists

The parasitic nature of bureaucracy

Broody biddies make sense on the homestead

By James Kash Issue #139 • January/February, 2013 Broodiness is an avian behavior that is frowned upon in the world of agriculture. All industrial agriculturalists cull...

Protein — The Cornerstone of a Survival Diet

By Jackie Clay Issue #111 • May/June, 2008 It goes without saying that preparedness is not for "radicals" or "weirdos" anymore. I picked up a preparedness...

How to buy your first sheep without getting shorn

Shearing, carding, spinning, weaving and creating with Margaret Boos

Broody biddies make sense on the homestead

Raising your own beef for your family

Your survival depends on water

Intake and exhaust upgrades for better mileage and performance

10 day survival pack for your vehicle for just $25

By Jackie Clay-Atkinson Issue #137 • September/October, 2012 Meat is often the most expensive portion of our grocery bill, and it is getting more and more expensive every day. I've seen steaks "on sale" for more...

Gardening in the Desert Using Only Rainwater

By Joe Mooney Issue #147 • May/June, 2014 I've always found the use of seasonal rains by native peoples very fascinating. From the diversion of floodwaters in earthen berms to irrigation via "aquaduct," it seemed incredible...