Free article Archives - Backwoods Home Magazine

How environmental ideology hurts the solar energy industry

By Dave Duffy Issue #69 • May/June, 2001 Starting with our first issue 11 years ago, Backwoods Home Magazine has promoted renewable energies, especially solar energy, and for the past two years we have carried a...

Foraging for wild berries

By Kristina Seleshanko Issue #176 • April/May/June, 2019 I had just posted a photo online of some wild berries I was going to preserve, when suddenly I was inundated with messages: “Are those really safe to...

Digging a shallow well

By Jackie Clay-Atkinson Issue #165 • May/June, 2017 When we first looked at the land which is now our off-grid homestead, the realtor mumbled an apology for an old gravel pit on the property from the...

Finding solutions in firewood

By Dave Duffy January 16, 2000 When I am confounded and afraid, that is, when I have trouble figuring out what to do next in a critical situation, I go to my woodpile, grab an axe,...

Preserve the harvest naturally through wild fermentation

By Jereme Zimmerman Issue #154 • July/August, 2015 Little hands are ideal for helping to stuff jars with vegetables. Just be sure to "pay" your help — but don't let them eat it all! For a homesteader,...

Making dandelions palatable

By John Kallas, Ph.D Issue #82 • July/August, 2003 We've heard stories about how good dandelions are. What one usually hears from enthusiastic wild food promoters is, "All you need to do is find very young...

Gardening Tips and Tricks

By Charles Sanders Issue #99 • May/June, 2006 Gardeners are an ingenious lot. Trial and error, time, study, observation, and experience all help us to come up with ideas that result in better gardens, more produce,...

Smoked Salmon

Recipe of the Week Smoked Salmon Courtesy of Lisa Nourse The best meals are made from stuff you grow--or catch. Here's a tasty smoked salmon treat made from a 38-pound king salmon caught by 11-year-old Ian Nourse, who...

Lessons learned from an ice storm

By Anita Evangelista Issue #108 • November/December, 2007 The weather reports indicated ice could be coming in. It was already raining and getting chilly on that early Friday afternoon in Springfield, Missouri. Hubby and I drove...

Red flannel hash

Recipe of the Week Red flannel hash Courtesy of Rodney Merrill You'll find this recipe and over 400 more in Backwoods Home Cooking.Click Here Ingredients 2 cups chopped turkey, corned beef, or ham 2 cups diced leftover baked potatoes 1 cup diced...

Jamaican Beef Patties

Recipe of the Week Jamaican Beef Patties Courtesy of Robert McCurdy Ingredients Pastry 2 cup flour 1/4 tsp salt 1/4 cup solid shortening 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) margarine 1/3 cup cold water Meat Filling 2 tbs margarine 1 small white onion finely chopped 1/4 tsp chopped scotch bonnet...