Backwoods Home Magazine - Practical Self-Reliance

Your kitchen pharmacy — How common culinary herbs and spices can help you feel better

A view of self-reliance from a more timid perspective — A woman’s opinion

Practical Ideas for Self-Reliant Living

Grow some winter squash this year

By Lisa Nourse I love summertime — I love the green of the trees, the warm weather, and growing my own food. I especially love...

Boost your immune system with fast and easy fish dishes

Vitamins D and K — way more important than you thought

Growing Microgreens

By Lisa Nourse Issue #176 • April/May/June, 2019 The small town where I live has two small grocery stores and getting a good variety of organic...

Growing Productive Strawberries

Starting a Roadside Farm Stand

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

Our Unconventional House

Trusses — Low cost marvels to roof over most large spaces

Build a deluxe barrel stove

Determined woman builds distinctive vertical log studio

Self-Reliance

For health & comfort, try wild herbal teas

Self-reliance for women — Surviving a biochemical attack

By Kelly McCarthy Issue #94 • July/August, 2005 Three and a half years ago, on the morning of September 11th to be exact, I was just...

Power Up

By Jeffrey R. Yago, P. E., C.E.M. Spring, 2019 During any emergency or related power outage, the most important electronic device you need to keep operating...

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

Avian Flu — How afraid of this

Gee-Whiz: Presidents

The threat of electromagnetic pulse!

Can we make a Tyrannosaurus rex from a chicken?

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

Fried chicken for breakfast

Remembering what grandma used

Gee-Whiz: Presidents

The summer of ’35

Firearms

Inexpensive retired Russian military rifles can be the ideal backwoods meat guns

Of guns and snakes

By Massad Ayoob Issue #151 • January/February, 2015 Mas safely kills a rattlesnake in a populated area. (Note angle of gun and trajectory.) Pistol is a...

Firearms handling refresher Part II: Shotguns

By Massad Ayoob Website Exclusive • December, 2003 In Part I, we began a series of refreshers on safety and proper handling of firearms. This time,...

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...

Preparedness

Food security 101, part 3: Why I love my vacuum sealer (and more)

Changing the odds in home fire protection

The 7 core areas of preparedness

Homestead security for women

Handy Keychain Mini-Gadgets

Moving on: A small town can be a haven during a depression

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...