Home - Backwoods Home Magazine

Your Manure Pile — For Fuel, Fertilizer, and Maybe Even Improved Water Quality, You May Need Look No Further

Build your own home in two years — Get a PhD in homebuilding

Build a holz hausen to dry firewood

Kick the credit card habit and learn to stash cash

A Few Articles From Our Current Issue

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

Secure and Economical Livestock Feed

By Sherry Willis Issue #145 • January/February, 2014 The recent droughts in the midwest have meant hard times for many livestock owners. Areas without irrigation saw...

Grow some winter squash this year

For Extra Production, Try Mound Gardening

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

Small engine maintenance for women

How to Resurrect Old, Rusted Tools

Build a ski sled

Building and Using Wattle Fences

Self-Reliance

Sew a baby quilt in two days… for a lifetime of memories

Annie on Everfree Farm, Part III

By Annie Tuttle Issue #147 • May/June, 2014 Previous in Series Me with Brownie, Cupcake, Red Velvet, and Flan (mostly hidden). These were...

Make a Sure-Fire Live Trap

By Charles Sanders Issue #64 • July/August, 2000 Every now and then, wild critters wear out their welcome around the homeplace. Gardens are raided, garbage cans...

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: Bad Fish, Big Fish

Testing Soil

Three more ways the world can end … and I’m not kidding

Subduction zone tsunami — What the residents of the Pacific Northwest have to fear

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

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

Emancipation Proclamation by Historical Document

Fried chicken for breakfast

Was the first government gun confiscation attempt foiled by an unsung colonial heroine?

Firearms

Firearms handling refresher Part III: Rifles

How big a gun do you need?

By Massad Ayoob Issue #99 • May/June, 2006 We Americans like to do things in a big way. Big houses. Big cars. Big boats. And, yes,...

1911: The classic homeland security pistol

By Massad Ayoob Issue #83 • September/October, 2003 If you've read American firearms history at all, you know the lore of the .45 automatic. How during...

Military surplus and military “clone” rifles

By Massad Ayoob Issue #116 • March/April, 2009 One reader writes to ask if military surplus rifles are still a good idea for hunting, recreational shooting,...

Preparedness

Storm survivors

Handy Keychain Mini-Gadgets

Why you need to addsolar to your emergencypower backup plans

Emergency treatment for fire-related injuries

Survival firebuilding skills

Prepper power! Part 1

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...