7 Mistakes of food storage

By Vicki Tate Issue #55 • January/February, 1999 If you are going to store food, make sure that the food you store is adequate for the need you and your family anticipate. This may not be...

Common sense about burglary prevention

By Massad Ayoob Issue #89 • September/October, 2004 Read this month's editorial. Publisher Dave Duffy got burgled. The residue of hurt this experience leaves behind is a primal thing that you never get over entirely. It...

Sewing and using cloth diapers is easier than you think

By Annie Tuttle Issue #113 • September/October, 2008 I'll admit that it was the pastoral vision of a laundry line full of sun-bleached diapers above barefooted, rosy-cheeked, milk-fattened babies that first drew my attention toward cloth...

James Polk — A model for modern presidents

By John Silveira Issue #32 • March/April, 1995 It was snowing and three of us were up at the office. Dave Duffy, the fellow who publishes BHM, and I were trying to get some work done...

Building your chicken coop

By Jackie Clay-Atkinson Issue #139 • January/February, 2013 Here's a coop we built from pallets and scrap lumber. The goats lived in one end and the chickens lived in the other. It was free and worked...

Food security 101

By Rowena Aldridge Issue #138 • November/December, 2012 These days a lot of people are concerned, and rightly so, about their family's economic stability and security. Recently I've become aware of the ways in which I,...

Savage Model 110 — A proven economical backwoods rifle

By Massad Ayoob Website Exclusive • July, 2008 Fifty years ago, Savage Arms introduced a new bolt-action sporting rifle. In the gun world, this was news. Savage was most famous for its sleek lever action Model...

How to fix your aching back using the McKenzie Method

By Dave Duffy Issue #144 • November/December, 2013 It's hard to get anything done around the homestead if you've got an ailing back. I've had an ailing back for about 40 years, but between issues, after...

How to maintain a dirt road

By Marjorie Burris Issue #48 • November/December, 1997 It is our job to maintain two and one half miles of dirt road if we want to get into our property. We are completely surrounded by forest...

PVC pipe in the home, garden, farm, and workshop

By Charles Sanders Issue #94 • July/August, 2005 Perhaps one of the most important innovations in modern plumbing has been the development of polyvinyl chloride (PVC), chlorinated polyvinyl chloride (CPVC), and related plastic pipe. These materials...

Woodstove cooking

By Cindi Myers Issue #127 • January/February, 2011 If you have a woodstove for heat, take advantage of the fire to cook your dinner for no extra cost and very little effort. The heat of a...

Dorper sheep — Revolutionizing the meat sheep industry

By Darlene Polachic Issue #75 • May/June, 2002 If Henry Soderberg's predictions are right, Dorper sheep could revolutionize the meat sheep industry. A South African breed developed in the 1930's from Dorset Horned and Blackheaded Persians,...

The return of home emergency shelters takes on a dual-purpose approach

By Jeffrey Yago, P.E., CEM Issue #74 • March/April, 2002 After September 11, 2001, all of us became much more concerned with protecting our families from biological, nuclear, and terrorist attacks. However, if you followed up...

A Child’s Garden — More than Child’s Play

By Jackie Clay Issue #69 • May/June, 2001 There are many things parents can give their children, other than plastic toys or a few bucks to play video games at the mall. And one of the...

The healthy and tantalizing pomegranate

By Habeeb Salloum Wonderful to look at, appetizing in flavor, delicious in taste and with a juice which is refreshing on a hot summer day, is a fair description of the pomegranate. Although according to the...

How to build a good fence for your homestead

<!-- How to build a good fence for your homestead By Charles Sanders --> By Charles Sanders Issue #103 • January/February, 2007 One of the basic fixtures on a homestead is fencing. Fences are used to keep animals in, or...