Backwoods Home Magazine - Practical Self-Reliance

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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...

Grow some winter squash this year

Boost your immune system with fast and easy fish dishes

Vitamins D and K — way more important than you thought

How to Grow Potatoes

By Alice B. Yeager Issue #97 • January/February, 2006 Potato plants need plenty of sunshine, a well drained soil, and no weed or grass interference. Ideal...

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

Build a Top-Bar Bee Hive

Build a holz hausen to dry firewood

Build a graceful footbridge

Install rafters alone the easy way

Self-Reliance

Starting a Roadside Farm Stand

Get out of debt, stay out of debt

By Darlene Campbell Issue #67 • January/February, 2001 Decades ago it was advised of young high school graduates to deposit a set amount of money into...

Survival/utility vest

By David Eddings Issue #144 • November/December, 2013 Editor's Note: Several readers have contacted us asking about the exact model number of the vest pictured in...

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: Insects

A brief history of health and medicine

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

Avian Flu — How afraid of this

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

Fly it proudly and properly

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

Catfish Biscuits

Who were the best…and worst U.S. Presidents?

Firearms

Air power superiority

Centennial of the All-American .30-06

By Massad Ayoob Issue #100 • July/August, 2006 In the long love affair between America and the rifle, there has never been an interlude quite as...

BHM hosts Appleseed marksmanship event

By Massad Ayoob Issue #139 • January/February, 2013 Long a supporter of the Appleseed concept, Backwoods Home Magazine hosted one in Gold Beach, Oregon, in second...

How long should your gun’s barrel length be?

By Massad Ayoob Issue #136 • July/August, 2012 The person new to guns is like the person new to timepieces. "How many of these things are...

Preparedness

Frostbite — Don’t flirt with this sneaky danger

Prepper power! Part 1

Survival storeroom

Build a community assistance recharging station

With commonsense planning, you can survive hard times

Your survival depends on water

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...