Note: the farm is booked with Wwoofers for the rest of 2026. However, sometimes people’s plans change, and there are sometimes unexpected openings. I will post a note at the top of my description if that happens.
If you're interested in coming to the farm, please read the information in my profile carefully, to be sure the farm is the right place for you! I have many great reviews from past wwoofers, but you're only hearing from those who were a good fit here.
About us!
This is a hobby farm with gardening for personal consumption and horses as the primary focuses. Our goal in all facets of farm life are towards sustainable living and reducing our ecological footprint. We also aim to foster connections to animals, nature, and the local community.
The gardens are managed mostly using the Ruth Stout mulching system, but do have some modern technologies for some crops (landscape fabric, irrigation, row cover, greenhouse). The gardens are not ‘certified organic’, but ‘beyond organic’, as Joel Salatin would say! We practice regenerative agriculture using no herbicides, pesticides or tilling. There was a certified organic market garden operation on the property for 8 years, but that business closed and since 2019, the garden has been grown for personal consumption only.
Wwoofers are expected to learn at least a minimal amount of garden experience, to harvest food for some of their own meals from the garden. Many wwoofers are more interested in animals than gardening, but I will need at least some help in the gardens from all wwoofers.
We are passionate about horses and they are a big part of the farm. There are 2 barns that are currently home to 6 horses and a mini pony. Two are older retired horses and 4 are English riding/competition horses. I have been teaching riding lessons since 1992 and am both a certified Equestrian Canada Competition Coach and have a Bachelor of Education.
There are opportunities for riding and/or horse interactions/experience for interested woofers in their free time! If you are interested in working with the horses, for safety reasons, expect to spend a lot of time training. Even if you have past experience with riding/animals/horses, I won’t leave wwoofers unattended working/riding the horses until I’m confident they know all the safe handling procedures. Note: I currently do not have horses suitable for beginner riders, so unless you have prior riding experience you won’t be able to ride here. Also, due to the time it takes to train wwoofers around the horses, wwoofers staying for less than 2 -3 weeks should expect limited opportunities for riding. It’s only worth while for me to invest the time for wwoofers interested in riding on longer visits. There are lots of riding opportunities for wwoofers with past riding experience on longer visits.
For the main growing season (June to October), I’m mostly seeking wwoofers for longer stays, 1-3 months. However, there will be a note at the top of my description if I am accepting wwoofers for shorter stays (when there is extra seasonal work or projects happening in the off-season).
The farm is ~15-20 minute drive from two small towns that are popular tourist destinations and have all the amenities needed to compliment life on the farm. There is Flixbus transit from Toronto and Pearson International airport to these towns. There are also 3 smaller villages with bakeries and general stores that are closer to the farm and accessible by bike.
Visitors should be prepared to enjoy time at the farm and exploring the countryside, as trips to town are usually only made a couple times per month. We leave the farm to socialize with rural friends more regularly than trips to town .
I manage the farm for a mostly absentee owner and do some supply teaching during the school year.
Wwoofers stay with me (and my friendly dogs!) in one of two homes on the farm; a spacious 4 bedroom farmhouse (see pic for bedroom setup). For bathing, there is a shower in the house as well as a large swimming pond on the property (see pic). There is only one bathroom in the house, but there is also an outhouse and a half bathroom in one of the barns.
We enjoy socializing and make time for fun! There is a local gardening and outdoorsie community that we are a part of and potlucks, bonfires, barn parties, music, movie and games nights are common ways we socialize.
There are trails, cliffs, caves, and creeks to explore literally from the backdoor of the house, including the Bruce Trail and a large protected forest with well marked trails for hiking, biking and XC skiing.
A typical day involves me and the dogs heading to the barn early to feed the horses and do the first chores of the day. Then it’s breakfast time! Usually omelettes or frittata with home grown produce and eggs from neighbours with free range chicken and duck eggs. Usually accompanied by home-made bread!
The work day/week is divided between: leisure time, dog walking, horse chores/riding, general farm work (such as: wood stacking, grass cutting, some building projects, etc. etc) and gardening/preserving.
Wwoofers collaborate with me to plan meals and we usually share about one or two meals/day. To grow your own food means eating in season, and I encourage (and prefer!) everyone to experiment with creating meals around the food we produce on the farm, or acquire locally, with store purchases to augment homegrown meals. We provide an omnivorous diet where all (or almost all) the fruits and vegetables are homegrown. The meat and meat products we purchase from local friends and businesses only. The quality of life of the animal is our top priority in selection, with a preference for local, pastured animals fed organic food. For ecological reasons we aim to eliminate or greatly reduce imported foods or foods that have been packaged in plastic.
If you haven’t grown and prepared all your own food before, be ready to spend a lot more time than usual preparing meals! This is an area that requires adjustment for most wwoofers. Meal prep involves figuring out what to eat, based on what's in season/storage, rather than planning what you want to eat and going to the store to buy it. Note, meal prep time for wwoofers is not included in their volunteer hours.
Wwoofers join in for the farm tasks that best suit their strengths and interests, with a team approach at planning the daily/weekly schedule to fulfill about 25-30 hours of volunteer time in return for room and board. I use whiteboards to create and communicate the plan for each day with the wwoofers.
I am always trying to create more leisure time by keeping an open mind about improving efficiencies and have adopted ‘low work’ methods for all facets of farm life! I look forward to sharing what I’ve learned and my growing systems with others, so that we can create a larger community of people who can enjoy the farm and maybe get inspired to start up their own homesteads!
The wwoofers who have fit in best at the farm are those who are interested in having a break from screens, immersing in a healthier lifestyle, learning more about growing and preparing their own food, and/or are very keenly interested in learning about farming or horses. I am not a micromanager, so wwoofers who are seeking autonomy in learning new tasks and setting their own schedules once they've been introduced to the layout and rhythms of the farm, tend to fit in the best.
Below is a list of some reasons wwoofers have not fit in at this farm in the past:
Biting insects in Ontario can be difficult for some wwoofers. Biting insects are ubiquitous at most rural organic farms in Ontario from May through August and are particularly pesky in May/June. This has been a problem for wwoofers who were particularly sensitive to bites, and/or not willing/able to get their day started early before the bugs came out.
Working with large animals and machinery can be dangerous and wwoofers interested in gaining experience with them need to be able to pay attention to detail and communicate/understand English well enough to learn and practice safe handling procedures.
Attention to detail is also necessary for working in the gardens, so the plants don’t get killed!
There is good wifi on the farm at the horse barn, but (intentionally) not in the house where you sleep. This has been a problem for wwoofers who want to stream movies/series at night in their bedrooms.
This farm is a truly rural experience and is not a great fit for wwoofers more interested in exploring Ontario towns unless they are able to rent a car or fit enough to bike 30+ km per day to get to/from town.
Some Wwoofers who are very picky eaters have struggled with eating in season. However, I can provide a list of foods grown/stored on the farm for any given time of the year, so if you are a picky eater, you can make an informed decision if you’re ready to try eating in season!
Farm life is physical and some wwoofers have been disappointed that they were not physically fit enough to make the most of their free time at the farm. Most wwoofers coming from school or desk jobs have intended to hike, bike, swim and/or ride horses in their free time, but were so unaccustomed to physical activity that after 2-4 hrs/day volunteering, they lacked energy for physical activities in their free time.
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Learning opportunities
Vegetable farming
Fruit or nut farming
Horse or donkey farming
Forestry
Flower farming
Aromatic or medicinal plants, teas
Seed saving or production
Vegetable or fruit preservation
Bakery
Food justice / sovereignty
Methods or systems
Biological pest control
Fukuoka farming
Holistic management
No-till farming
Permaculture
Regenerative agriculture
Mentoring opportunities
Woman-operated
Host type
Self-sufficiency property
100
Hectares
|
247.1
Acres
