This issue is Sold Out.
Most articles are included in our print anthology
A Backwoods Home Anthology — The Fifteenth Year
Click on General Store to the left.
Click on items listed in red to read them.

DEPARTMENTS
8  Publisher’s Note

9  Editorial:
Shades of truth and sleaziness

21  Book Review: The Self-Reliant Homestead

26  Ask Jackie:
Canning chili, dehydrated fruit, cabbage recipes, fencing livestock, dehydrating onions, goat cheese, preserving tomatoes, and many more

67  The gee-whiz! page

68  Irreverent joke page

71  BHM Survey

74  Ayoob on Firearms:
How to shoot a handgun accurately

88  Letters

90  Classified ads (pdf)

90  Classified advertising form

93   Advertiser Index

95   BHM anthologies, CD-ROMs, & books

96-97  Order form/Subscription Info

98  The last word:
The world is ending!…again?

For a subscription
Call Toll Free 1-800–835-2418

Cover 85
ABOUT THE COVER
Jeff Yago’s initial goal didn’t include building a solar home. He wanted it to be so energy efficient that it could easily operate on only solar electricity and propane heat. After the recent wrath of Hurricane Isabel, many of Yago’s Virginia neighbors waited up to two weeks for power and water to be restored. His home’s automatic power system met all their energy needs until the local power grid was restored.

FEATURES

Self-reliance

24  Shopping to beat inflation   By Darlene Campbell

Independent energy

61  Solar & propane powered super home   By Jeffrey R. Yago P.E, CEM

Gardening

18  Benefits of mulching   By Tom Kovach

36  Grow your own dishrags   By Alice Yeager

50  Exotic plants for the homestead   By Corcceigh Green

70  The $12 self-aerating compost bin   By Rick Brannan

86  Water and winter tree injury   By Tom Kovach

Animals

19  Raising cattle on your own place   By Charles Sanders

45  Selecting a breed of chicken   By Sylvia Gist

Country living

22  Birch tree syrup   By Cynthia Andal

53  Wild neighbors, Part 2   By Jackie Clay

72  The “chocolate tree” isn’t just for kids   By Rev. J.D. Hooker

Homeschooling

79  A homeschooling lesson in physics   By John Silveira

Why do rockets work? Newton’s Three Laws of Motion

82  Homeschooling Jacob — The basics of writing   By Dave and Jacob Duffy

Small Town America

40  Thermopolis, WY — Horses and hot springs   By Emily Salinger