Home - Backwoods Home Magazine

Getting out of Dodge — 10 Things I am doing to prepare for the move to the country

Kinder goats — A small breed for milk and meat

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...

Boost your immune system with fast and easy fish dishes

Grow some winter squash this year

Vitamins D and K — way more important than you thought

Tea for the garden

By Lisa Nourse We have poor soil and do our best to amend it with compost and manure every year. However, we feel our plants...

Gardening in the Desert Using Only Rainwater

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

Shelves and benches

Build a deluxe barrel stove

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

Build a homestead Copy Cart

Self-Reliance

Here’s how to make a musical bamboo flute

Preparing for civil unrest

By Claire Wolfe Issue #118 • July/August, 2009 The most remarkable thing about civil unrest is that there hasn't been more of it. Politicians are making a...

10 ways to make money on your land

By Anita Evangelista Issue #106 • July/August, 2006 There's something very visceral about having your own piece of land, whether it's a little scrap of green...

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

The world is coming to an end… and this time, I’m not kidding

Gee-Whiz: Insects

The many benefits of garlic

Gee-Whiz: From Paper to Canning

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

James Polk — A model for modern presidents

Doesn’t anyone remember Tom Paine

The vanishing outhouse

Farm baseball … with ghost runners!

Firearms

Frontier style handguns for the modern backwoods home

Affordable firearms

By Massad Ayoob Issue #134 • March/April, 2012 Knowing that frugality is one of the cornerstones of rural living, Editor Annie Tuttle suggested that I tackle...

Choose your ammo… police style

By Massad Ayoob Issue #93 • May/June, 2005 One of our greatest modern gun experts, Lt. Col. Jeff Cooper, USMC, Ret., once made the observation that...

The Appleseed Project

By Massad Ayoob Issue #123 • May/June, 2010 There is nothing else in the shooting world quite like the Appleseed Project, which combines American Revolutionary War...

Preparedness

Caring for wounds in the field

Gee-Whiz: From Paper to Canning

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

Frostbite — Don’t flirt with this sneaky danger

Medical kits for self-reliant families

Build a community assistance recharging station

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...