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...
Our Unconventional House
By Judy Zent
Website Exclusive • December, 2002
Fig. 1 - Tire walls with roof framing.
Need a prolonged workout? Want to do some major recycling? Want to stay warm and cozy with the help of the...
Solar system codes — Build it right!
By Jeffrey Yago, P.E., CEM
Issue #154 • July/August, 2015
Here, multiple homemade solar modules have caught fire and burned.
The further you go into the mountains or rural countryside, the more some people think building codes...
For Extra Production, Try Mound Gardening
By Edward Love Johnson
Issue #44 • March/April, 1997
I began experimenting with mound gardening several years ago, due to limited garden space. Then as time went by, I found other reasons (or should I say...
Baby bok choy with tofu
Recipe of the Week
Baby bok choy with tofu
Courtesy of
Leland Edward Stone
You'll find this recipe and over 400 more in Backwoods Home Cooking.Click Here
Ingredients
3 cups baby bok choy, cut in half lengthwise or veggies of...
The joys of making soap
By Grace Brockway
Issue #84 • November/December, 2003
My initial enthusiasm for making my own soap was deflating with each book I read on the subject. They all warned of the dangers of lye, one of...































