Articles - Backwoods Home Magazine

Finding, buying, milking, and living with the family milk cow

Cheaper than Store-Bought Eggs

Eye-catching signs with mirrors

By David Lee Issue #144 • November/December, 2013 The reflected image in the mirrored letters give a "see-through" illusion to the sign and the tree. Stained glass...

The Mini-Skyline — A homemade yarder to bring firewood up a...

Simplify life in your backwoods home by using these easy mountain...

Save Time and Energy with the Fenced Chicken Coop/Garden

By John Silveira Issue #44 • March/April, 1997 My engineer father was not fond of wasting time or energy. He was always searching for a better,...

Gardening with a Chicken Tractor

Garden Seeds — A Great Winter Pastime

Grandpa’s justice

By Tom Kovach Issue #65 • September/October, 2000 Having the best vegetable garden in the village might put food on the table and make some money...

Presidents’ wives of the past Part 3

George Washington Carver — He wrote the book on self-reliance

The incredible cattail — The super Wal-Mart of the swamp

An easier way to cut firewood By Larry LaVan

Your survival depends on water

Start your food storage on $10 a week

Lessons learned from an ice storm

Our journey to modern off-grid living

What if the electricity GOES OFF?

Add solar power to your truck camper

How long should your gun’s barrel length be?

By Massad Ayoob Issue #136 • July/August, 2012 The person new to guns is like the person new to timepieces. "How many of these things are...

Firearms and cold weather considerations

The subtleties of safe firearms handling

How big is the solar system?

By John Silveira Issue #60 • November/December, 1999 In artists' renderings of the solar system we often see the sun represented by a small sphere with...

Gee-Whiz: Ice Ages, Past and Future

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

Why you may want to get a stress test

ID cards are an idea whose time should never come

Stumbling over your own stupidity

A contrary guide to feeding animals

By Beth Greenwood Issue #135 • May/June, 2012 The Purinas, Cargills, and Con-Agras of the world would have you believe that they and they alone have...

Good-bye old friend

By Lucy Shober Issue #27 • May/June, 1994 Big Poney died today. He was 34 years old and had been going down pretty rapidly over this...

Khaki Campbell ducks — The other egg layer

Dorper sheep — Revolutionizing the meat sheep industry

An easier way to cut firewood By Larry LaVan

Pysanki — You can make those biddies pay!

Emergency planning beyond the bug-out bag

Make a fully functional cold storage pit/mound and enjoy your garden’s production all winter

Vermicomposting — Raise Worms to Consume Waste, Amend Soil, and Earn Income

By Rebekah L. Cowell Photos by Amanda Egdorf-Sand Issue #124 • July/August, 2010 Vermicomposting takes composting to another level using Eisenia foetida (commonly known as red wiggler, brandling, or manure worms) to break down organic matter such...

Victory Gardens

By Alice B. Yeager Issue #54 • November/December, 1998 There have been very few times in our nation's history when "We, the people" have banded together so fiercely as we did during World War II. We...