Articles - Backwoods Home Magazine

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

Chickens — The most valuable animal on the homestead

From triumph to tragedy to triumph again. Dorothy Ainsworth makes her...

By Dorothy Ainsworth Issue #50 Mar/Apr 1998 BHM readers are familiar with Dorothy Ainsworth, the log home-building Ashland, Oregon, waitress who spent more than six years...

Tracing a bean

By Wren Everett The beans came to me as an accident. In the early spring of 2023, I was scouring The Exchange (exchange.seedsavers.org/home) — an online...

Solar-Powered Electric Fencing

The summer of ’35

By John Graesch Issue #64 • July/August, 2000 Sixty five years ago I was living in that part of Seattle, Washington, known as South Park. Few...

Emancipation Proclamation by Historical Document

You can become a hardcore forager

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

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

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

Solar-Powered Electric Fencing

Solar Power 101 — Batteries: Part 1

Picking a holster

By Massad Ayoob Issue #69 • May/June, 2001 One good thing about being out in the boonies by yourself is that you can carry a gun...

1911: The classic homeland security pistol

Centennial of the All-American .30-06

The ‘risks’ with Swine Flu

By John Silveira Issue #118 • July/August, 2009 Do we have anything to worry about the reemergence of Swine Flu Novel Influenza A (H1N1) ...

The gee-whiz! page — Cats: Why they rule our world

Gee-Whiz: From Paper to Canning

How America can be saved from stupid people

Homemade bread: a metaphor for life

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...

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...

Kinder goats — A small breed for milk and meat

A contrary guide to feeding animals

Finding the best dog for the country life

Cash in on your household junk

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

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

By Alice B. Yeager Issue #97 • January/February, 2006 Potato plants need plenty of sunshine, a well drained soil, and no weed or grass interference. Ideal soil is a loose sandy loam with plenty of humus...

Rotten Luck: The Skinny on Composting

By Patrice Lewis Issue #141 • May/June, 2013 For much of human history, people have tried to prevent things from rotting. Literally every food preservation method we've come up with in the past few thousand years...