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Just for Kids: Knock knock vinegar

Caring for your chickens in winter

We built John Silveira’s chicken coop/garden

Woodbarrow

By Setanta O’Ceillaigh When I first abandoned a slum town and fled back to the countryside I gathered and carried firewood with a laundry basket....

Grow some winter squash this year

Vitamins D and K — way more important than you thought

Boost your immune system with fast and easy fish dishes

Build Your Own Hoop House

By Jackie Clay-Atkinson Issue #171 • May/June, 2018 I’ve had my own garden for more than half a century, and I have learned a few things...

Build a Heated Germination Bed

Want More Fruit From Less Space? Espalier Your Trees!

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

Building and Using Wattle Fences

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

Build a wood-fired stock tank heater

Build a Groundhog Snare

Self-Reliance

Breastfeeding — A primer

Dealing with heat stress

By Joseph Alton, M.D. Issue #154 • July/August, 2015 In the wilderness, there may not be shelter to protect you from the elements. Even on a...

There’s no such thing as free land!

(But if you're smart, you can get it cheap) By Setanta O'Ceillaigh Issue #165 • May/June, 2017 I have been a homeowner since I was 18 years...

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

Gee-Whiz: Presidents

The many benefits of garlic

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

The time-travel ad

President George Washington’s Farewell Address

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

Constitution of the united States of America

Firearms

Get a piece of history — An M1 Garand rifle

Teaching a 10-year-old to shoot

By John Moody Issue #174 • November/December, 2018 In my youth, I remember my dad dragging my brother and me out of bed in the middle...

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,...

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...

Preparedness

Help your home survive in the path of a wildfire

Frostbite — Don’t flirt with this sneaky danger

The Five “P”s: A fire evacuation grab ‘n’ go kit

Disaster preparation!

A survival key ring — Your everyday tool for emergency preparedness

Preparing for a Temporary Catastrophe

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...