Build a cistern out of corrugated road culvert
By Joe Mooney
Issue #146 • March/April, 2014
Using a corrugated road culvert as a cistern is an economical way to add to your water storage. Here is the finished tank with PVC pipe directing water...
Cleaning a well
By Pat Barden
Issue #105 • May/June, 2007
We have a good well with sweet water. It was already in place when we bought our property and had been in use for more than 20 years....
Renovating old walls
By David Lee
Issue #106 • July/August, 2007
Some years ago my wife and I were out searching for a new building lot when we fell into The Trap. We had recently built and sold a...
Jo’s Kentucky-fried cole slaw
Recipe of the Week
Jo’s Kentucky-fried cole slaw
Courtesy of
Jo Mason
You'll find this recipe and over 400 more in Backwoods Home Cooking.Click Here
Ingredients
1/2 medium-sized head cabbage
1 small carrot
1/2 bell pepper
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
1/2...
The MTHFR mutation and why it may matter to you
By John Silveira
Issue #170 • March/April, 2018
This is an article with both anecdotal evidence and science. It is about me, anxiety and depression, a gene mutation, and a 17-cent-a-day “treatment” that works (for me).
All...
Easy-to-make farmer’s cheese
By Leah Leach
Issue #152 • March/April, 2015
Ingredients
Making cheese is one of the easiest and most satisfying tasks that you can accomplish in the homestead kitchen. While there are many wonderful cheeses out there to...
Energy class: Part 3
By Jeffrey Yago, P.E., CEM
Issue #113 • November/December, 2008
In Part I of this series of articles, we reviewed how home utility costs will be the next energy source expected to have major cost increases...
Chilies rellenos
Recipe of the Week
Chilies rellenos
Courtesy of
Jackie Clay
You'll find this recipe and over 400 more in Backwoods Home Cooking.Click Here
Ingredients
8 large Big Jim, Poblano, or Relleno chilies, green and roasted
1 16-oz. can tomatoes
1 small onion,...
Animal rights loonies save the chickens but ruin the County Fair
By Dave Duffy
Issue #84 • November/December, 2003
We had our County Fair between issues.
It was a small Fair with just a few thousand in attendance, but no one in our town of 1500 would miss...
Breastfeeding — Babies love it, and for good reason
By Rebekah L. Cowell
Issue #115 • January/February, 2009
Here's a secret mothers have known since the beginning of time: breastfeeding is the most pro-active, sustainable action a mother can take, and it is so easy....
Black & Blue Mango Pie
Recipe of the Week
Black & Blue Mango Pie
Courtesy of
Carole Walter
Ingredients
1 small recipe flaky pie pastry
2 large or 3 medium mangoes
2 cups (1 pint) fresh blueberries
1-1/2 cups (6-ounce basket) fresh blackberries
2/3 cup sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
2...
Start a fire in any weather
By Charles Sanders
Issue #161 • September/October, 2016
Most of us living in the backwoods are comfortable with utilizing fire as a tool. We use fire to heat our homes, burn brush, power our forges, help...
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 that makes them almost humanis the countless hours of work...
Sweet Potato-Pecan Pie
Recipe of the Week
Sweet Potato-Pecan Pie
Courtesy of
Beverly Rossman
Ingredients
9-in. unbaked pie shell
1 cup pecan halves
First Layer
1 cup mashed sweet potatoes
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 tablespoon heavy...
35 country jobs — How folks make a living near my hometown
By Charles Sanders
Issue #89 • September/October, 2004
If you're relocating to the backwoods, you will very likely have to give some thought to generating some income, that is, making a living. Hopefully, the topic is...
Free pallet wood and birdhouses add up to big country dollars
By Rick Brentlinger
Issue #53 • September/October, 1998
If I could show you how to manufacture a product anywhere in the country and if I offered to find you the raw materials free, would you be...































