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The coffee mug knife sharpener

Chickens — The most valuable animal on the homestead

Here’s how to make a musical bamboo flute

Practical Ideas for Self-Reliant Living

Vitamins D and K — way more important than you thought

By John Silveira While we are waiting for the Coronavirus pandemic to subside enough so society can get back to normal, there are powerful and...

Boost your immune system with fast and easy fish dishes

Grow some winter squash this year

Jackie’s Garden Primer

By Jackie Clay Issue #117 • May/June, 2009 The birds are singing. The sunshine makes the day feel soft and warm. The soil is mellow and...

Use Old Newspapers to Make Your Starter Pots

Converting a Gasoline-Powered Rototiller to Electric

Follow Jackie Clay-Atkinson and her husband, Will, as they homestead a 120-acre piece of northern Minnesotan woods entirely off-grid. Sharing their homestead are horses, beef cattle, a milk cow, dairy goats, chickens and turkeys.

Massad Ayoob on Guns

This blog, from a retired police captain and self-defense instructor, covers the use of different firearms, political musings, and self-defense tactics.

Building

Free pallet wood and birdhouses add up to big country dollars

Life-long siding with fiber cement board

Woodbarrow

Build Your Own Car Wash

Self-Reliance

Water: a safe supply when you’re off the grid

The raging torrent — Respect it even when you play

By Scott Stoddard Issue #70 • July/August, 2001 Years ago, while learning to sluice gold from a swollen mountain stream in southern California, I saw something...

Medicinal uses of garlic

By Joseph Alton, M.D. and Amy Alton, A.R.N.P. Issue #134 • March/April, 2012 One of the greatest gifts of natural medicine that can be found on...

Animals

The homestead cat

By Jackie Clay-Atkinson We have had at least one cat in our home ever since I was a young child. So it’s no wonder we...

Cheaper than Store-Bought Eggs

Raising your own beef

Fermenting Chicken Feed

Keeping homestead animals healthy

Science and Education

The world is ending! … Again?

A doomsday scenario to sleep on

Gee-Whiz: Alcohol

Gee-Whiz: Sleep

Energy

Solar power for farm and ranch

By Jeffrey R. Yago, P.E. It may be surprising to learn that there are now all kinds of do-it-yourself solar powered devices specifically designed to...

Power-up bag

Amateur Ham Radio – The Ultimate Tool for Survival Communications

Keep the Ice On

Power Up

Americana and History

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

President George Washington’s Farewell Address

Fly it proudly and properly

From Martha and Abigail to Dolley and Louisa, America’s earliest First Ladies were fascinating

Firearms

An economical battery of guns for the backwoods home

Get a piece of history — An M1 Garand rifle

By Mike Blank Issue #89 • September/October, 2004 What follows is my personal quest to acquire an M1 Garand through the Civilian Marks-manship Program (CMP). We've...

Answering some well asked questions about personal defense

By Massad Ayoob Issue #97 • January/February, 2006 Jeff Yago, Backwoods Home's energy writer, recently completed a couple of concealed carry handgun courses. The classes apparently...

Firearms and cold weather considerations

By Massad Ayoob Issue #79 • January/February, 2003 Many of our readers have established their abodes in places which, during the winter months, do not exactly...

Preparedness

Power-up bag

Use solar landscape lights for emergencies

Why you need to addsolar to your emergencypower backup plans

No dentist? Oh, no!

Changing the odds in home fire protection

Preparing for civil unrest

Articles By Dave Duffy

My View: Call Me Miracle Man!

By Dave Duffy Issue #177 • July/August/September, 2019 Superheroes are the rage these days at movie theaters. Even I am fascinated by them. Old style heroes...