Hobby Farm, Market Garden, Family farm

Ontario

13 reviews • Updated 2 years ago

Our property is approximately 33 acres with 10 acres of organic vegetables grown for our own consumption as well as for fresh market. We attend local farmers' markets as well as supply local roadside stands and restaurants. We also have a sawmill on site and we do a lot of woodworking. In particular, we make wine and spirits barrels for wineries and distilleries. No livestock. We have one seasonal farm worker from Trinidad and during the summer months we have many visitors from around the globe. We have a quiet, forest and open field rural surrounding but we are only 10 minutes from the large community of Brantford for shopping, supplies and other activities. The Grand River is only a few kilometers away and has excellent rafting, kayaking and other opportunities. Bikes are available. Swimming pool on site. Wonderful neighbours. Lots of varying activities both farming and otherwise. Organic methods: Plasticulture. Crop rotation. Biological and mechanical pest and weed control. Certifications: Not certified because of adjacent non-organic farming. Current projects: 10 acres of organic farming for our own consumption as well as for local markets. Starting in March with greenhouse seeding for transplanting in June. Sawmilling and coopering as well as woodworking projects. Solar panel systems design and construction. Internet access available

Learning opportunities

Vegetable farming

Forestry

Flower farming

Vegetable or fruit preservation

Traditional crafts

Renewable energy production

Host type

Production farm

4.9 Hectares | 12 Acres

Accommodation

4+ WWOOFers

Camper / RV

Children not accepted

Pets not accepted

Meals

Omnivore

Length of stay

Over a month

Jim

Member since 2020

Languages spoken: English Response rate: 87% Response time: typically within 1 day

December 2025

Open

Planned visit

Closed

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Ontario

Reviews

Mia

Germany • October 2025

My stay on the farm was absolutely amazing! The food was delicious – everything Inet cooked was such a treat.( Rupert was super nice too), and working together with the other helpers was a lot of fun. I really liked that we had our own trailer where we could cook for ourselves. It was great to use the fresh vegetables grown on the farm, both for our own meals and during the shared dinners. Overall, it was a wonderful experience, and I’d definitely love to come back again. Thank you so much for the great time!

Pia

Germany • October 2025

I spent two weeks at Jim’s farm, which went by so quickly. The accommodation was great. Each WWOOFer had their own trailer and a golf cart to get around. The working hours were mostly spent picking peppers and, on one or two days, weeding. Jim was always very helpful, whether it was driving the WWOOFers to the supermarket or taking us somewhere to go hiking, kayaking, or to a festival in town. Rupert and Inet (pardon me if I spelled her name wrong) were super sweet and helpful. I was lucky to have such an amazing team of helpers to work with and had a great time at the Tiki Bar each evening when we gathered for dinner.

Kishori

Canada • October 2025

This is a chill, frugal farm focused on socializing, with less emphasis on learning farming or eating fresh produce. We spent an eventful month in a trailer with cook-tops & shower; the toilet was a 6-7 minute-walk away. We weeded the fields for 15 days while the farm staff handled harvesting & engaging tasks. Upon request, we harvested tomatoes, onions, beans etc. Aside from occasional specialty meals, dinners were mostly per-prepared & reheated dishes like pizzas, burgers, frozen foods & jarred curries reflecting the host’s preferences. Farm-to-table was not routine, though buttered corn & cucumber salads were served often. We accessed fresh onions, garlic, peppers etc for self-made meals: a delight for us! Woofers typically put dinner together between 6 & 9pm and cleaned the kitchen (once the fridge too). On our first day, when we used the restroom near the house at 9 pm, we were asked to wash dishes until 10, after which extra supplies were offered as a reward/thanks. We left due to minimal learning, various instances of disrespect and extreme frugality including inadequate supplies, rotten food and expired products despite feedback. At times, there simply wasn’t enough food for us despite feedback, described as frugality by the host. He did enhance our experience & was generous at times: trip to Niagara Falls, sumptuous lunch at The Silo, kayaking, Sunflower festival etc. Our silver lining was memorable evenings with musician Tom (as also Enid’s nurturance).

Reply from Jim

I'm very surprised by the negativity in Kishori's review. I never treated either her or her boyfriend disrespectfully. . All other WWOOFers are very appreciative of the variety and local cuisine offered. Read all our other reviews. Frugal? Yes. "Extreme frugality"? Not a chance, particularly when we went out of our way to get special food just for them. Rotten food? No. Expired products? No. Our food is fresh from the field, as they have stated. Another WWOOFer advised me that this reviewer told him he shouldn’t eat the “expired food” and the reference was to eggs that were provided. All the eggs are fresh from a local farm but they are in recycled cardboard crates with old “best before” dates. And evening meals were prepared for them, but they preferred their own style of cooking so food was given to them for that purpose and they declined to sit with the rest of the group for dinner. They always had plentiful food and even extra food that we bought for them. Then, after all the complaints about food and “disrespect” they have a list of all the extra wonderful experiences we provided for them. Mention was made of the “6-7 minute walk to the bathroom”. We don’t have sewer hookups to each of the trailers each WWOOFer lives in. There is a common, heated bathroom on the farm. Takes me about 1 ½ minutes on foot to walk that 300m…but as you read from the other reviews, this reviewer was ALSO provided with a golf cart to drive around the farm and , in particular, to the bathroom.

ISA

Canada • August 2025

My time at the farm was truly special. From Niagara Falls to kayaking adventures, walks in nature, biking, the swimming pool, and relaxing at the Tiki Bar — there was always something to do. I especially enjoyed pizza days, movie nights, and the beauty of the farm itself. Everywhere you look, there are gorgeous flowers and trees. Everyone stayed in their own trailer. My trailer was comfortable and had everything I needed — I felt well taken care of. A big thank you to everyone on the farm, especially Jim, for keeping everything running so well and for providing this wonderful experience. The people here are kind and welcoming. Neha cooked delicious dinners for us and did the shopping, Rupert and Ened taught us about farming, and sometimes Ened cooked special Tobago meals. Taig shared lots of interesting stories and facts, and Jacki was full of energy and great conversation. Musician Tom played many beautiful songs, and the farm cat Stripe entertained us with endless cuteness. We had a lot of fun at the Tiki Bar! Thank you to all these lovely people. I also met wonderful WWOOFers here — Alex, Lisa, Manon, Hiro, Heidy, and I had the most time and fun with Kishori-Hridey. We worked with many vegetables on the farm: cabbage, tomatoes (so many varieties!), zucchini, garlic, onions, watermelons, peppers (lots of types!), strawberries, and lettuce. We helped harvest and prepare tomatoes, garlic, and onions, and also did plenty of weeding.

Orlanzo

Jamaica • June 2025

This was an incredible experience and I knew, even before I got here, that this was gonna go well. Jim provided me will so much information when he accepted my request to WWOOF at his farm, and was even willing to book a hotel when my flight got delayed. Everyone at the farm was very generous. I'm grateful to Neha for always feeding us and taking us on road trips. Rupert and Enid we very kind to share warm clothes and everything with me... Adrienne was amazing and kind and shared a lot with me (she was the only other Jamaican on the farm😉) I learned a lot from all the friends who came through the farm on a regular and I'm grateful that these people share their time, knowledge and wisdom with me. Shout out to Blair and his wife, Jackie, Neil, Teg and everyone else. 🙏🏾

Maxence

France • October 2024

It was a wonderful experience. I spent 3 months at Jim's farm, and it was a real pleasure. I want to thank Jim, Enid, and Rupert for welcoming me so warmly to the farm. I also had the chance to meet Jackie, who is also a wonderful person. Each day was different and enjoyable. I have nothing but positive memories of my time at Jim's farm, with mornings dedicated to work and afternoons filled with various activities like tennis and enjoying the pool. Sometimes we worked more or less depending on the task at hand. Jim also took me to visit a few cities in Canada, went kayaking, and we visited Niagara Falls. I was fortunate to meet other WWOOFers and people living around the farm. Thank you again, Jim!