Graft Your Own Designer Fruit Trees

By Jackie Clay Issue #121 • January/February, 2010 Although I've been homesteading for more than forty years, there's always something new to learn. (I figure that if I don't learn at least one thing every day,...

Cracklin’s — An irresistible snack that you can’t stop sneakin’

By Linda Gabris Issue #79 • January/February, 2003 When I was a girl growing up in the backwoods, one of my favorite times of the year was autumn when grandpa would butcher a pig to put...

Activists on both the left and the right spotlight a broken federal government

By Claire Wolfe Issue #97 • January/February, 2006 On October 28, 2005, 400 citizens of Vermont met amid the pomp of their capitol building and voted to secede from the Union. The media, to say the...

Tailoring guns to females

By Massad Ayoob Issue #131 • September/October, 2011 So, I'm sitting here in a hotel writing this, less than three hours after getting off the witness stand in a manslaughter case. The defendant was a 5'3",...

The burglar does far more than steal!

By Dave Duffy Issue #89 • September/October, 2004 "Never mind about stealing the damn stuff! This is the wrong place! We have to leave!" "That's what they were saying Dad, right outside my window," my 12-year-old son Jake told...

Annie on Everfree Farm, Part I

<!-- Annie on Everfree Farm, Part I --> By Annie Tuttle Issue #145 • January/February, 2014 So here we are. Truth be told, it was a complete accident that we found our farm. We weren't even looking for it. We...

Moroccan mint tea

Recipe of the Week  Moroccan mint tea  Courtesy of Habeeb Salloum   You'll find this recipe and over 400 more in Backwoods Home Cooking.Click Here Ingredients 4-1/2 cups boiling water 3 tsp. green tea (if not available, Indian tea may be...

The gee-whiz! page — Cats: Why they rule our world

By O. E. MacDougal Issue #170 • March/April, 2018 House cats A recent Gallup poll showed that cat ownership is pretty much evenly distributed between men and women, and that roughly 34 percent of all U.S. homes...

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...

Asparagus au gratin

Recipe of the Week  Asparagus au gratin  Courtesy of Jackie Clay   You'll find this recipe and over 400 more in Backwoods Home Cooking.Click Here Ingredients 2 lbs. tender wild asparagus spears 1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, grated 2 Tbsp. butter 2 Tbsp. flour 1...

Grow Open-Pollinated Tomatoes

By Jackie Clay-Atkinson Issue #166 • July/August, 2017 Nearly all of us homesteaders grow tomatoes in our gardens. Tomatoes are hugely valuable as a homestead crop. After all, they give us a wide variety of products. Many...

The Runaway

By John Silveira February 9, 2006 My kids are grown. But it didn't come about without a lot of frustration, tribulations, and laughs. Runaways: What do you do with a six-year-old who threatens to run away? One woman...

Next time you see me, don’t be afraid to say, ‘Hello.’

By John Silveira January 29, 2000 Mom and Dad were divorced before I even turned four, so it didn't dawn on me they'd even been married until I was a lot older. But, as I grew...

Blueberry wine jam

Recipe of the Week  Blueberry wine jam  Courtesy of Jan Cook   You'll find this recipe and over 400 more in Backwoods Home Cooking.Click Here Ingredients 1 pkg. (10 oz.) frozen blueberries, unsweetened 4 cups sugar 2 cups berry wine 2 Tbsp. frozen orange...

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...

Clover — From Livestock Forage to Medicinal Tea, This Humble Plant is One of...

By Eugene Mitchell Issue #130 • July/August, 2011 Whether young or old, lying in the grass and searching for four-leafed clovers is timeless fun. Sometimes they're so elusive, like the leprechaun, it seems they don't exist....