Tomatoes, the Essential Garden Crop

By Charles Sanders Issue #123 • May/June, 2010 Tomatoes are one of the most favored of all garden crops. They originated in South America, but in the early 1500s were taken back to Italy. Today, many...

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...

Building a $3,000 Barn

By Robert Van Putten Issue #169 • January/February, 2018 There comes a time when all homesteaders start thinking of livestock, and 14 years ago, we were no exception. But before we could get any livestock, we...

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...

Apple and Potato Soup

Recipe of the Week  Apple and Potato Soup  Courtesy of Don Peterson  Ingredients Soup: 4 Tablespoons butter 2 Leeks (white part only) , cleaned and sliced 5 cups tart Apples, peeled, cored, and chopped 6 cups Chicken Stock 2 cups...

Teaching the joy of reading

By Amy E. Peare Issue #96 • November/December, 2005 Most parents want to see their children well equipped to succeed in life, and homesteaders are no different in that regard. Many homesteaders choose this lifestyle to...

Make grape juice the easy way

By Tanya Kelley Issue #41 • September/October, 1996 Squeezing and straining grapes for grape juice was not exactly my idea of fun. So when my neighbor showed me a faster, easier method, I was delighted. For...

Canned bacon — Roll your own

By Enola Gay Issue #127 • January/February, 2011 I have to admit, I am somewhat of an extreme canner. I love to can unusual things—canned foods you just don't find on everyone's shelves. My latest canning...

Fried chicken for breakfast

By Danny Fulks Issue #88 • July/August, 2004 Danny Fulks, 71, is one of those rare writers capable of painting a vivid picture of life back in another time. His stories focus on the 20s, 30s,...

Keeping homestead animals healthy

By Jackie Clay-Atkinson Issue #169 • January/February, 2018 As a veterinary field technician for more than 20 years, I saw firsthand the frustration and heartbreak when animal owners called the veterinarian (or started treatment) too late...

Homeschooling your dylsexic kid

By John Silveira Issue #142 • July/August, 2013 I write and edit for a living. I'm the senior editor for Backwoods Home Magazine for which I've written numerous columns during the last 24 years. Before that...

Chocolate — Food for the Gods

By Richard Blunt Issue #56 • March/April, 1999 My mother loved chocolate. She knew and understood it just as a wine master knows and understands wine. When she made some of her old world style bittersweet...

Swedish log candle

By Nick Weston Issue #138 • November/December, 2012 At my Hunter-Gatherer school, we are constantly experimenting with different methods of outdoor cookery, from underground ovens (umu or hangi) to smoke roast tipis and run-of-the-mill fire pits....

Crawfish fettucine

Recipe of the Week  Crawfish fettucine  Courtesy of James Robertson   You'll find this recipe and over 400 more in Backwoods Home Cooking.Click Here Ingredients 1/2 cup butter 1 lb. crawfish tails 1 tsp. soy sauce 1 medium onion, chopped 2 cloves garlic, chopped salt and...

Questions about global warming

By John Silveira Issue #108 • November/December, 2007 Global warming is in the news, infesting campaign rhetoric and the plot lines of many movies and TV programs. Our kids are being indoctrinated with its certainty in...

Understanding the gun debate, part 3

By Massad Ayoob Issue #163 • January/February, 2017 Click Here to read Part 1 Click Here to read Part 2 As noted in the two previous parts of this discussion, one reason it's hard to maintain honest dialogue...