Home - Backwoods Home Magazine

Making and using a solar cooker

Stashing Junk Silver for Bad Times

Practical Ideas for Self-Reliant Living

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...

Vitamins D and K — way more important than you thought

Boost your immune system with fast and easy fish dishes

Grow some winter squash this year

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....

How to become a backyard beekeeper

Elderberries — Hospitality, Health, And Beauty

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

Gabion walls for form and function

Composite lumber helps outdoor projects resist water, weather, and sun

Build a Concrete Root Cellar

A salvaged oak floor for $5

Self-Reliance

Digging a shallow well

Building and stocking your pantry

By Jackie Clay Issue #125 • September/October, 2010 At the turn of the 19th century, most country homes had a walk-in pantry, as well as a...

Moving to the wilderness — Turning the dream to reality

By Jackie Clay Issue #36 • November/December, 1995 The Dream An increasing number of folks are having the same dream today: get a piece of...

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

Gee-Whiz: Presidents

Gee-Whiz: Ice Ages, Past and Future

How big is the solar system?

The world is ending! … Again?

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

The greatest American who was never President

Presidents’ wives of the past Part 4 — Cunning, vindictive, and one may have been a murderess

The barnyard scramble

The Great Depression — A reminiscence

Firearms

Firearms handling refresher Part I: Handguns

Canning game meat

By Linda Gabris Issue #166 • July/August, 2017 Attempting to can meat (or any other low acid food, for that matter) without the use of a...

Catch your own bait

By Gary Gresh Issue #91 • January/February, 2005 Expensive lures and pricey tackle shop baits can sometimes make fishing an expensive proposition, raising the cost of...

Choose your ammo… police style

By Massad Ayoob Issue #93 • May/June, 2005 One of our greatest modern gun experts, Lt. Col. Jeff Cooper, USMC, Ret., once made the observation that...

Preparedness

The 7 core areas of preparedness

Homestead security for women

Disaster preparation!

Emergency planning beyond the bug-out bag

Bugging out in place

Commonsense preparedness just makes sense

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...