Homestead, Flower farm, Garden, Vegetables, Vegan friendly

Florida

26 reviews • Updated 16 days ago

Welcome to our organic homestead located in the forest, half way between O'Leno State Park and the town of High Springs, an area known for the most 1st magnitude springs in the world. High Springs is also known as the fresh water cave diving capital with 10's of miles of underground passages and caves surveyed. Clearly, one of the unknown crown jewels of Florida. Swim in near pristine and refreshing springs, trail hike, bird watch, canoe on the picturesque Santa Fe river or tube down on Ichetucknee river, there is no shortage of experiences. We need learning and helping hands with various tasks at maintaining the homestead. For example clearing papyrus, lotuses, cat tails and overgrown vegetation to restore our larger pond. Re-locate firewood, husbandry tasks such as feeding Blue Nile Tilapias, panfishes and Kois, taking care of chickens and picking up eggs. On the organic side, composting, clearing branches, twigs from fallen trees and keeping trails walkable, potting and learning about waterlilies, fruit trees care and seeding, planting and weeding of our larger garden and greenhouse as we do not use chemicals. We have a saw mill and using trees from the land, carpentry skills are welcome. We have two rooms with double occupancy each and sharing a nice ensuite bathroom. We have natural camping around our pond and RV hook-ups is available if you have a camper. We operate on a first come-first served basis for all the accommodations. We speak English and French. Our outdoors activities are driven by the weather. You have a 24/7 fully equipped woofer kitchen. We are located close to historic High Springs and 20 miles equally from Gainesville, a large university town and Lake City to the North. Deer herds, turkeys, hares, bats, owls, birds, butterflies and other undomesticated wildlife frequently visit the property and neighbors have horses. We are bee keepers and can teach you. We have an adult German Shepherd and two indoor cats. There is a very nice paved bike path from the nearby O'Leno State Park all the way to Ichetucknee Springs State Park, some 40 miles long. Some "to do" local links: https://ichetuckneesprings.com/ https://www.floridastateparks.org/learn/hike-oleno https://www.visitflorida.com/places-to-go/north-central/high-springs/ Bring a swimsuit, rubber boots, gloves, work clothing (t-shirts to change, it gets hot & humid) and a hat with a large brim (ears sun protection). Because of the heat, we tend to work earlier in the morning and later in the afternoon with some personal time in the middle. In the winter, we start earlier and also finish earlier in the day, although it gets warm in the afternoon, bring gloves, boots, sweaters and warmer clothing as it can be cold until mid-morning, we practice layering. Our farm is a non-smoking environment. Onsite Wifi is provided. Organic methods: Small homestead using organic, sustainable, holistic approach to gardening. We make our own soil amendment mainly from African Night Crawler worm castings, wood chips. Seasonal crops: aquatic floral, pineapple, asparagus, herbs, sweet potato, kale, lettuce, radish, okra, tomato, cucumber, leek, persimmon, pear, chinese plum, nectarine, lime, tangerine, lemon, grapefruit, honey, black and red berries, eggs, poultry, fish, ricotta, mozzarella cheese and kombucha.

Learning opportunities

Vegetable farming

Fruit or nut farming

Poultry farming

Beekeeping

Aquaculture

Aromatic or medicinal plants, teas

Vegetable or fruit preservation

Renewable energy production

Mechanics / tools / technology

Methods or systems

Biological pest control

Holistic management

Hydroponics

No-till farming

Host type

Self-sufficiency property

3.2 Hectares | 8 Acres

Accommodation

4+ WWOOFers

Bedroom

Camper / RV

Campsite

Children not accepted

Pets not accepted

Meals

Omnivore

Vegetarian

Vegan

Length of stay

Over a month

Daniel

Member since 2015

Languages spoken: English, French Response rate: 94% Response time: typically within 3 days

November 2025

Open

Planned visit

Closed

MapLibre | Protomaps | © OpenStreetMap

Florida

Gainesville, Florida

Reviews

Leo

United Kingdom • October 2025

I had a fantastic time staying with Daniel and Susan, its such a lovely place. As a first woofing experience it has been perfect, they made me feel instantly comfortable and welcome. The accommodation is very comfortable and there is lots of to explore in the local area, Daniel has lots of local knowledge and can point you in the right direction. Thank you so much for hosting me!

Nastassja

United States • October 2025

Daniel & Susan are one of a kind and staying at their farm was a wonderful experience. I learned so many new skills thanks to them. A few are welding, using a chainsaw, a table saw, building green house garden boxes, and there was a lot more. The accommodations were great, my own room, a bathroom and a kitchen shared with the other WWOOFER's. I highly recommend this farm for any level of WWOOFER, a beginner or if you've already visited a few farms. They live nearby some of the most amazing springs I've ever visited so my off time was spent beautifully. I look forward to seeing them again in the future and thank you again for hosting me!

Ryan

United States • September 2025

Daniel and Susan are great hosts! They are pleasant to work with and mix in some fun with the work. We visited some springs to swim in and ate some meals together. They enjoy teaching new skills if there is an area you're particularly interested in learning. A lot of cool machinery and equipment is packed onto this homestead like a huge tractor/bulldozer/backhoe and lumber milling saw that Daniel has rebuilt! The WWOOFER kitchen and living quarters are nice as well! A lot of wildlife in the area like deer and turkeys. I would highly recommend staying here!

Sol

United States • May 2025

This was my first WWOOF, I can say that both Dan and his wife were flexible with my schedule. I needed to be away for 3 days every week for 3 weeks. They worked with me! I learned plenty while here about plants and fixing things (like electrical and a water pump) . They showed me around.. I was able to go to the butchers and Wards (an organic focused local grocery store). All in all it was a pretty good experience. I learned plenty. The property they live on has ponds, fruit trees, organic eggs and lots of nature! If you decide to try it out, I hope you enjoy it all!

Florent

France • March 2025

The farm is great, Susan & Daniel are very kind. I was feeling safe and comfortable. I learned a lot during my stay, mostly about seeding and planting. We hanged out several times in the beautiful state parks around High Springs. I had a great experience !

Logan

United States • March 2025

Thank you Susan and Danial for an incredible experience! I spent a month on the farm and honestly wish I could have stayed longer. The work was very diverse and usually not super taxing, and the room I stayed in was really nice! Both Susan and Daniel are incredibly kind, accommodating people and it was such a pleasure to get to work with them both. Thanks to their diverse interests and projects I was able to learn a lot! For those curious: the food budget worked out well for me and the WWOOFer kitchen was well equipped, and the couple times I needed to go somewhere Susan was happy to drive me! We went on a few fun outings during my stay as well, including canoeing, which were all great experiences! Would 100% recommend and I’d love to go back!