Articles - Backwoods Home Magazine

Animals

The homestead cat

Good-bye old friend

Raising quail — A home grown delicacy

Build a poultry killing cone

Building

Build a graceful footbridge

By Harrison Stone Issue #77 • September/October, 2002 Tap your heels together three times and repeat after me, "There is no place like homeThere is no...

Vise Dremel Moto Tool mount

Make a fully functional cold storage pit/mound and enjoy your garden’s...

Build an all-purpose ladder

Building David’s Cabin, Part One

Farm and Garden

Propagating Grapes

By Sylvia Gist Issue #107 • September/October, 2007 As a kid in western South Dakota, I enjoyed picking wild grapes and using the delightful juice they...

Blueberry Cash Crop

Growing Productive Strawberries

Build a Top-Bar Bee Hive

Your Manure Pile — For Fuel, Fertilizer, and Maybe Even Improved...

Americana and History

Doesn’t anyone remember Tom Paine

By Robert L. Williams Issue #19 • January/February, 1993 Many years ago, before I came to my senses and left public education for good, I was...

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

the gee-whiz! page: Animals, humans, extraterrestrials, and tools

Feeling nostalgic? Now you’ll rave! Here’s the story of Burma Shave.

From Martha and Abigail to Dolley and Louisa, America’s earliest First...

Food and recipes

Vegetarian pies

Canning meat plus how to use your canned meat

Apple and Potato Soup

Make grape juice the easy way

Self-reliance

How to organize an outdoor canning party

Food security 101

Brood X

Get out of debt, stay out of debt

Energy

Prepper power! Part 1

Energy class: Part 1

Standby battery charging techniques can ensure engine startups

Solar-powered water purifiers

Guns and Hunting

An economical battery of guns for the backwoods home

By Massad Ayoob Issue #114 • November/December, 2008 Everything's getting more expensive. Food. Gasoline. Guns and ammunition. Not everyone who appreciates the rural lifestyle was "born...

The subtleties of safe firearms handling

The M1A — A rifle that makes a statement

Just because

Answering some well asked questions about personal defense

Science

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...

The world is ending! … Again?

The coming ice age

Gee-Whiz: Sleep

A doomsday scenario to sleep on

Politics and Commentary

Why oil and other fossil fuels are good

Homemade bread: a metaphor for life

Working for a dad who works at home

Why you may want to get a stress test

Animals

Forget the dog, chicken is man’s best friend

By Richard Blunt Issue #49 • January/February, 1998 The domestic chicken, or Gallus domesticus as the Romans called it, has lived with humans for centuries. It...

Build a poultry killing cone

By Allen Easterly Issue #135 • May/June, 2012 You've worked hard and spent many hours raising your pretty flock of meat chickens from eggs or chicks...

Chickens — The most valuable animal on the homestead

Khaki Campbell ducks — The other egg layer

Slaughtering and Butchering

Llamas guarding sheep? — Not such a far-fetched idea

Self-Reliance

10 day survival pack for your vehicle for just $25

How we found our remote backwoods home

With commonsense planning, you can survive hard times

The raging torrent — Respect it even when you play

Farm and Garden

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

By Roy Martin Issue #104 • March/April, 2007 A hotbed is a miniature greenhouse that is heated to protect new seedlings from cold. The hotbed differs from a cold frame in that it has an internal...

Build Your Own Hoop House

By Jackie Clay-Atkinson Issue #171 • May/June, 2018 I’ve had my own garden for more than half a century, and I have learned a few things after all these years. One of the most valuable things...