Articles - Backwoods Home Magazine

Goat birthing and raising kids

Broody biddies make sense on the homestead

Shelves and benches

By David Lee Issue #107 • September/October, 2007 Money doesn't buy happiness but it sure does buy a lot of stuff. If it is nice stuff...

Build a wood crib with free materials

Build an Old-Fashioned Hotbed and Start Your Seeds in Style

A house a tornado helped build

Build a Top-Bar Bee Hive

By Jereme Zimmerman Issue #175 • January/February/March, 2019 My journey to becoming a beekeeper has been a long one, and I’m still not quite there yet....

Here’s a Mighty Creative Way to Protect Your Plants from Animals

Former first ladies — Beautiful, brilliant, crazy

By John Silveira Issue #30 • November/December, 1994 (This is a four-part series. Click the links to navigate to parts one, two, three, and four.) (When we...

President George Washington’s Farewell Address

Frostbite — Don’t flirt with this sneaky danger

Paring down for off-grid living

Keeping your food cold — Solutions to refrigeration when electricity is scarce

Firearms handling refresher Part I: Handguns

By Massad Ayoob Website Exclusive • December, 2003 One of our readers e-mailed John Silveira to tell him that taking a handgun afield after a long...

The time for modern; the time for traditional

How to shoot a handgun accurately

The many benefits of garlic

By Joe Knight Issue #113 • September/October, 2008 Garlic, used throughout the world for the taste it adds to foods, is also well known for its...

Avian Flu — How afraid of this

A brief history of health and medicine

Confessions of a former liberal

The state of freedom in America

Who’s supposed to protect our rights?

Chickens — The most valuable animal on the homestead

By Jackie Clay Issue #109 • January/February, 2008 When I was a child, I used to read and re-read the chick section in our Sears and...

Raising rabbits for profit

By Carrie Peterson Issue #106 • July/August, 2007 Whether or not you are fond of rabbit stew, raising rabbits for meat can be a great experience...

Shearing, carding, spinning, weaving and creating with Margaret Boos

Raising quail — A home grown delicacy

Hog butchering — Using everything but the squeal

Kinder goats — A small breed for milk and meat

Just for Kids: Visit the great prairies

Turn your passion into a business

By Rose Shelton Issue #176 • April/May/June, 2019 Last spring, I finally completed a long-planned homestead project of constructing two hügelkultur beds. What is hügelkultur? It’s basically a method of recycling junk wood to make a...

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...