Home - Backwoods Home Magazine

Turning a $10,000 House into a Home — Part 1: Salvaging the Wreck

Learning to love the high desert

Practical Ideas for Self-Reliant Living

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

Growing Strawberries

By Patrice Lewis Issue #162 • November/December, 2016 As you read this, the wind may well be howling and the snow piling deep, and you're likely...

A New Use for Old Tires: A Garden Using Tires

Here’s a Mighty Creative Way to Protect Your Plants from Animals

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 Composter

Build a cistern out of corrugated road culvert

Install rafters alone the easy way

Adventures with a portable sawmill

Self-Reliance

Cash in on your household junk

Making apple pectin

By Kristina Seleshanko Issue #167 • September/October, 2017 One day, as I walked past an apple tree that was naturally thinning its fruit by dropping tiny,...

Finding wealth you can wear at yard sales

By Thomas M. Buckley Issue #126 • November/December, 2010 When you go to yard sales this year, be sure to look for jewelry. I used to...

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

Zombie Apocalypse

Gee-Whiz: Sleep

Testing Soil

Gee-Whiz: Dinosaurs

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

President George Washington’s Farewell Address

Biological and chemical weapons through history

the gee-whiz! page: Animals, humans, extraterrestrials, and tools

Feeling nostalgic? Now you’ll rave! Here’s the story of Burma Shave.

Firearms

Women and guns

Firearms handling refresher Part I: Handguns

By Massad Ayoob Website Exclusive • December, 2003 One of our readers e-mailed John Silveira to tell him that taking a handgun afield after a long...

Frontier style handguns for the modern backwoods home

By Massad Ayoob Issue #101 • September/October, 2006 The year was 1873. Samuel Colt had invented the revolveror at least introduced it to Americain 1836. The...

Military surplus and military “clone” rifles

By Massad Ayoob Issue #116 • March/April, 2009 One reader writes to ask if military surplus rifles are still a good idea for hunting, recreational shooting,...

Preparedness

Changing the odds in home fire protection

The 7 core areas of preparedness

Buying the right emergency radio

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

Power-up bag

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

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...