Storing dry foods

By Jackie Clay-Atkinson More and more folks are starting to buy bulk foods to ensure if stores run out of foods — as they did at the onset of this epidemic — their families will...

Just for Kids: Knock knock vinegar

By Lucy Shober Issue #32 • March/April, 1995 Click on pictures for printable, full-sized versions to color. Have you ever read accounts of those pioneer families? They seemed to flourish in a one-room shack filled with eight...

In the classroom and at home, this system will help you grow self-reliant kids

By Marjorie (Sultzbaugh) Harrison Issue #42 • November/December, 1996 My husband Allan started teaching sixth grade at the Moreno Valley, California, Unified School District in September of 1959, without even slightly knowing how. Fortunately for him,...

Space heater safety tips

By Tom Kovach Issue #90 • November/December, 2004 If you are going to try to take the chill out of your home without turning on your main sources of heat, or if you want to add...

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....

Woolen winter mittens in minutes

By Anita Evangelista Issue #84 • November/December, 2003 There's nothing so comfy and warm in the snowy dead-of-winter as a pair of thick, soft woolen mittens. Many of us have fond childhood memories of a favorite...

Fire resistant property

By Jacob Duffy Summertime is fire season. Red-Flag Warnings abound and many property owners surrounded by acres of forest or tall grass often become acutely aware that their homes are more vulnerable this time of...

Nursing: A perfect backwoods career

By John McLane, RN Issue #88 • July/August, 2004 For many of us, a job in the traditional economy is crucial to being able to maintain our chosen lifestyle. Others who are pondering a move out...

Buying a used mobile home

By Daniel Motz Issue #99 • May/June, 2006 One of the quickest, easiest, and cheapest ways to get your country home is to consider a used mobile home. Sometimes you can even find these homes free...

The cholesterol in your stovepipe can be fatal

By D.B. Frandsen Issue #36 • November/December, 1995 The season is arriving. The garden is ready for its final turning, the apples are picked, and it's supposed to freeze by the end of the week. So,...

Fully Involved

By Diana Morgan Issue #58 • July/August, 1999 A strident tone blasts me from sleep. I catch the words "fully involved" first time around. Where the heck are my glasses? Oh, God, I can't find my...

Winter in the High Desert — Understanding the music

By Claire Wolfe Issue #121 • January/February, 2010 My old friends from the Pacific Northwest think I don't love them anymore, now that I've moved far away to the high desert. It's all a misunderstanding. One after another,...

10 country do’s and don’ts

By Julie Crist Issue #96 • November/December, 2005 When we moved from the city to the mountains, I kept my eyes open and my mouth shut and and paid very close attention to other people's botchery....

Pump water for free

By Kai Moessle <!-- --> Issue #158 • March/April, 2016 I opened the valve on the output side of the pump slowly, like the instructions said, and after a few more starts it ran just by itself. Still...

Water development for the homestead: Ponds, cisterns, and tanks

By Roy Martin Issue #102 • November/December, 2006 In most areas, wells or springs are able to provide water sources for the homestead, but there are places where groundwater is either not available or where it...

Garden injuries

By Joseph Alton, M.D. Issue #140 • March/April, 2013 Cuts and scrapes are the most likely wounds gardeners incur (hopefully, not on that green thumb of yours). In many cases, these could have been prevented by...