Backwoods Home Magazine - Practical Self-Reliance

Where our farm animals come from

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

Propagating Plants

By Jackie Clay Issue #128 • March/April, 2011 We all love the idea of having a big, productive garden, full of all the nutritious, tasty foods...

Swiss Chard — The Leaf Vegetable That Keeps on Giving!

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

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

Make a fully functional cold storage pit/mound and enjoy your garden’s production all winter

Building a Ferro-Cement Shed

Make your own effective fishing tackle while you save money and recycle scrap

How to Resurrect Old, Rusted Tools

Self-Reliance

Survival firebuilding skills

Call me plumber

By Emily Chadwick Issue #121 • January/February, 2010 Sometimes life requires you to climb in the toilet, and elbow deep in the bowl, you discover the...

Getting logs

By Dorothy Ainsworth Website Exclusive • March, 2004 Online Exclusive April 2003 Attention: Would-be loggers. There have been changes in policy at the United States Forest Service...

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

Testing Soil

Gee-Whiz: Alcohol

Gee-Whiz: Insects

The gee-whiz! page — Cats: Why they rule our world

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

Former first ladies — Beautiful, brilliant, crazy

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

James Polk — A model for modern presidents

The Great Depression — A reminiscence

Firearms

Women and guns

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...

Big boomer guns

By Massad Ayoob Issue #125 • September/October, 2010 For you long time readers, I know what you're thinkin'"Hey, isn't this the guy who within the last...

Hunting, processing, and serving black bear

By Linda Gabris Issue #162 • November/December, 2016 Bear was a popular meat in our house when I was growing up in the rural woods. Black...

Preparedness

Avoiding heat illness

Why you need to addsolar to your emergencypower backup plans

Build a community assistance recharging station

Prepper power! Part 1

Medical kits for self-reliant families

The return of home emergency shelters takes on a dual-purpose approach

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...