Farm and garden Archives - Backwoods Home Magazine

Use Old Newspapers to Make Your Starter Pots

By Darlene Polachic Issue #49 • January/February, 1998 Why spend money buying plant starter packs when you can make all you need from old newspapers? The added benefit of these newspaper pots is that they can...

Build a Composter

By Charles Sanders Issue #170 • March/April, 2018 As with most of the other facets of homesteading, composting can be as simple or as elaborate as you wish to make it. One of the easiest ways...

Currants and Gooseberries

By Sylvia Gist Issue #155 • September/October, 2015 Currants and gooseberries all belong to the genus Ribes (pronounced "rye-bees"). There are varieties of currants and gooseberries native to Europe and North America, along with some developed...

Plant Your Trees in the Spring

By Tom Kovach Issue #61 • January/February, 2000 Winter is a good time to plan your spring tree plantings, deciding what and where you want to plant. When spring arrives you'll be ready. Spring is the best...

Use Non-Hybrid Seeds and Save Big Bucks in This Year’s Garden

By Jackie Clay Issue #51 • May/June, 1998 Every person who is striving for self-reliance should, and most do, plant a garden from which to raise a good portion of their own food. But how many...

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,...

Slug Zapper

By Joel Winters Issue #142 • July/August, 2013 I live in a small clearing in a big forest. This is on the rainy side of the mountains in the Cascade foothills. Slugs are underfoot nearly year-round...

Growing and Using Peppers

By Jackie Clay-Atkinson Issue #164 • March/April, 2017 I’ve been growing peppers for more than 50 years now and can’t imagine a garden without them. There are so many different varieties that no matter where you...

Growing Potatoes in Straw

By Habeeb Salloum Issue #100 • July/August, 2006 Virtually unknown to people in other parts of the world, the inhabitants in the Northern European countries have for hundreds of years grown potatoes above ground in straw...

Graft Your Own Designer Fruit Trees

By Jackie Clay Issue #121 • January/February, 2010 Although I've been homesteading for more than forty years, there's always something new to learn. (I figure that if I don't learn at least one thing every day,...

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...

Want More Fruit From Less Space? Espalier Your Trees!

By Rev. J.D. Hooker Issue #79 • January/February, 2003 After originating in the semi-arid regions of the middle east, espaliering (is-'pal-yer-ing) became a commonly employed fruit tree growing method of the Greco-Roman world. Later, during the...

Grow Garlic and Reap Health Benefits

By Alice B. Yeager Photos by James O. Yeager Issue #98 • March/April, 2006 Garlic is one of our oldest herbs on record. Anyone can grow garlic without having to hover over it, hoping that it produces....

Fermenting Chicken Feed

By Melissa Souza Issue #174 • November/December, 2018 On our homestead, we eat yogurt, kombucha (fermented tea), sauerkraut, and kimchi to add probiotics to our diet. These beneficial bacteria promote good digestive health, strengthen the immune...

The ‘Chocolate Tree’ Isn’t Just for Kids

By Rev. J.D. Hooker Issue #85 • January/February, 2004 My grandson Tommy was probably 50 feet up off the ground when he hollered, "Catch this one, Grandpa!" With those words of warning he dropped another gunny...

Grow Open Pollinated Seeds for Self-Reliant Gardening

By Jackie Clay Issue #56 In the past I've grown hybrid vegetables, mostly the varieties that have been developed to produce early yields. Because of this, I was able to grow things like sweet corn in...