Farm and garden Archives - Backwoods Home Magazine

The Home Citrus Orchard

By Anita Evangelista Issue #81 • May/June, 2003 It may seem like an impossible dream if you live outside of southern Florida, California, or Texas, but you can grow a home "backyard" orchard of oranges, lemons,...

Propagating Grapes

By Sylvia Gist Issue #107 • September/October, 2007 As a kid in western South Dakota, I enjoyed picking wild grapes and using the delightful juice they produced, so when I eventually acquired property in Montana, I...

Home-Grown Eggs

By Allen Easterly Issue #165 • May/June, 2017 Maybe you’ve thought about keeping a few chickens for their eggs but didn’t want to be awakened at 4:00 AM by a rooster singing “cock-a-doodle-doo.” At this time...

Seven tactics for planning next year’s garden

By Kristina Seleshanko There are few things I enjoy more than snuggling up next to the woodstove with a cup of coffee and my garden planning notebook. Although winter might feel like a time to...

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...

Three Raised Bed Designs

By Joe Mooney Issue #150 • November/December, 2014 When it comes to gardening, almost anything can be used to create a raised bed. Tires, blocks, rocks, and scrap lumber are just a few of the most...

Mid-season planting

By Jackie Clay-Atkinson As the saying goes “Life happens…” Maybe events have kept you from getting your garden planted early in the spring. When we moved to New Mexico, it was in late June and...

Build a Top-Bar Bee Hive

By Jereme Zimmerman Issue #175 • January/February/March, 2019 My journey to becoming a beekeeper has been a long one, and I’m still not quite there yet. For the past five years or so, I have read...

Converting a Gasoline-Powered Rototiller to Electric

By Glenn Willis, Jr. Issue #87 • May/June, 2004 Several years ago my sister and her husband had an 8-horse gas-powered rototiller that went belly up. They fussed with it a bit, but couldn't get it...

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....

The Potato Hole

By Sylvia Gist Issue #137 • September/October, 2012 Carrots go in sand in the green pail and potatoes can be sorted by type into plastic mesh bags. We had talked of putting in a regular root cellar,...

Prevent Foodborne Illness with Safe Gardening Methods

By Donna Insco  Issue #158 March/April, 2016 According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) website, "CDC estimates that each year roughly 1 in 6 Americans (or 48 million people) get sick, 128,000 are hospitalized, and...

Green or Yellow: Grow Your Best Bush Beans Ever

By Lisa LaFreniere Issue #62 • March/April, 2000 Bush Beans, or snap beans as they're sometimes referred to, are a growing favorite among many gardeners, and with good reason. Beans are high in vitamins A, C...

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...

How to Grow Potatoes

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...

Gardening with a Chicken Tractor

By Brianna Stone  Issue #161 • September/October, 2016 This spring, my parents let me enlarge my garlic business and till up three 600-square-foot beds for planting...