Articles - Backwoods Home Magazine

Chickens — The most valuable animal on the homestead

Build a chicken feeder on the cheep cheep cheep

Here’s how to make a musical bamboo flute

By Robert E. Kramer Issue #42 • November/December, 1996 Materials 1 propane or butane torch or campfire to heat up metal rod. 1 steel rod at...

Turning a $10,000 House into a Home — Part 1: Salvaging...

Livestock fencing for the small homesteader, part 2

Three Raised Bed Designs

By Joe Mooney Issue #150 • November/December, 2014 When it comes to gardening, almost anything can be used to create a raised bed. Tires, blocks, rocks,...

Use Plastic to Get a Head Start on Corn in the...

Swiss Chard — The Leaf Vegetable That Keeps on Giving!

Oregon Trail preparedness: What supplies did the settlers carry?

By Don Lewis Issue #176 • April/May/June, 2019 The year was 1834, a year that didn’t really stand out as all that particularly important in American...

Doesn’t anyone remember Tom Paine

Quilts — Masterpieces of the heart and windows into women’s history

James Polk — A model for modern presidents

Homeschooling through high school

Food security 101, part 3: Why I love my vacuum sealer (and more)

A small creek provides plenty of power for this off-grid home

Power Up Light, Water, Communications in Emergencies

Why you need to addsolar to your emergencypower backup plans

Moderate power firearms

By Massad Ayoob Issue #110 • March/April, 2008 Robert Ruark, the great American writer of the mid-Twentieth Century, was also a big game hunter. One of...

Firearms and cold weather considerations

Answering some well asked questions about personal defense

The MTHFR mutation and why it may matter to you

By John Silveira Issue #170 • March/April, 2018 This is an article with both anecdotal evidence and science. It is about me, anxiety and depression, a...

Planning the lives of generations to come

Loading the gun for a dictatorship

ID cards are an idea whose time should never come

Why we have no “constitutional” rights

Raising quail — A home grown delicacy

By Allen Easterly Issue #101 • September/October, 2006 Raising quail is inexpensive, easy, provides very healthy low-fat white meat, and supplies the fertilizer you need for...

Hog butchering — Using everything but the squeal

By Charles Sanders Issue #142 • July/August, 2013 A 450-pound hog will provide a lot of delicious meat. Hogs are raised throughout our neighboring Amish community for...

Raising your own beef for your family

Protein — The Cornerstone of a Survival Diet

How to buy your first sheep without getting shorn

Teach your kids math with the banking game

You could furnish an entire homestead at Lehman’s ‘Non-electric’ Hardware Store

Leaf Mold is Another Way to Build Your Soil

By John Fuchs Issue #41 • September/October, 1996 Leaves are an excellent way to add organic matter to the garden. However, using rawor unprocessedleaves has some drawbacks. Raw leaves are more acidic than composted leaves, and...

Three Raised Bed Designs

By Joe Mooney Issue #150 • November/December, 2014 When it comes to gardening, almost anything can be used to create a raised bed. Tires, blocks, rocks, and scrap lumber are just a few of the most...