We are an transitioning to certified organic vegetable, flower, and small fruit farm in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. Our home and farm are surrounded by forests, and our closest neighbors are raccoons, deer, and pileated woodpeckers. We sell a seasonal CSA, serve the Saturday morning Hickory Farmer's Market, and wholesale to local grocery stores and food hubs. The farm produces a wide variety of vegetables and small fruits. We recently planted a small orchard. Additionally, we raise chickens for eggs and meat, and bees for pollination and honey.
My wife (Jessy) and I have five chickens, ten thousand bees, two dogs, and one very friendly cat. Jessy works a full-time job and helps out on her days off. I worked as the horticultural extension agent for the county before going full-time on the farm. I've spent the last 20 years working in agriculture (I have an MS and a PhD in Agronomy) and can offer an extensive education in small farm production.
We are a safe and affirming farm. We are looking for individuals who are kind, curious, and enjoy working outdoors.
As a WWOOFer, you will have the opportunity to learn just about anything you want to know about small-scale fruit and vegetable farming. As mentioned above, I was a horticultural educator in my capacity as an extension agent. Our production practices are evidence-based and prioritize time efficiency, the judicious use of resources, and the promotion of healthy soil and plants. We take a stepwise approach to teaching different tasks. The longer you stay, the more you will get to learn. Most WWOOFers get to be involved in every aspect of the farm by the end of eight weeks.
We are looking for spring-to-fall WWOOFers to help us with all aspects of farming, from seeding and planting to harvesting, weeding, processing, fertilizing, etc. Interested individuals should enjoy working outside and enjoy physically demanding labor. While no experience is necessary (we're happy to teach you), feeling comfortable with sharp tools is a must. We do ask all our volunteers to sign a liability release form.
More importantly, though, we prefer individuals who are kind, curious, have a good sense of humor, prefer walks in the woods to screens, and want to be a part of a community.
We play music, make art, and enjoy hiking and camping. We live about 15 minutes from town, which has a small but wonderful selection of restaurants, bars, and stores. We also live about 15-20 min from South Mountain Park and hiking trails. We are an hour or two from the best hiking in the state. Our area is not public transportation-friendly, so you'll need a car to get around or be willing to Uber/Lyft (approx. $20 to downtown Hickory).
Below is our WWOOFing agreement:
We will provide:
- A private 8 x 12 ft sleeping cabin. All three cabins have lamps, bedside tables, and dresser drawers. Two cabins have a full bed, and one has two twin beds. Each WWOOFer will have a cabin of their own (unless traveling with another person and prefers to share). Each cabin is insulated, located in a shaded spot, and has electricity with a built-in fan. There are screens on the windows and screen door flaps in each cabin.
*** If all the cabins are full, we also provide the upstairs loft of our tiny house. It has a curtain that allows for complete visual privacy and a full-size bed. The downstairs of the tiny house is still a community space. In the past, WWOOFers who have stayed in the loft have always had their privacy respected, and some have actually preferred it because the tiny house has heat and AC! ***
- All necessary bedding, pillows, and towels.
- Access to 25 acres of wooded land with walking paths surrounding the farm, an air conditioned common space (with comfortable seating, TV for movies, books, and a kitchenette), Outdoor kitchen and seating area (includes a refrigerator, full size stove/oven, and a microwave), two compost toilets (one in the tiny house and one in a separate building near cabins.), one indoor and one private outdoor shower, active outdoor area (with a fire pit, trampoline, disc gold goal, and slack-line), and a fully outfitted air conditioned gym.
- Enough whole food (primarily from the farm or local farmer’s market) to provide ingredients for three meals per day. Any special requests outside of our typical diet will be the responsibility of the individual to purchase and may be stored in the shared kitchen. (Any food/drink expenses accrued from eating out will be the responsibility of the individual.)
- Preparation of a minimum of two evening meals per week for everyone (Jessy cooks one dinner, I cook the other).
- Access to a washing machine for clothes, all-natural detergent, and an outdoor drying rack/clothes line.
- Education on organic farming practices and permaculture, as well as all necessary instruction on how to perform tasks successfully and efficiently.
What we ask from our guest WWOOFers:
- Approx. 6 hours of work 5 days a week (Monday through Friday). Usually, we start at 7 am. We take about 30 minutes for lunch around 11:30, and then end around 1:30-2:00 PM (start and stop times depend on weather and workload).
- Preparation of one evening meal per week for everyone
- Wash and replace sheets/towels and clean personal living space prior to leaving
Recommended packing list :
Waterproof shoes/boots
Slip-on shoes/sandals
Long pants and long sleeves (clothes you can get dirty/muddy)
Consider bringing pull-on gardener sleeves if you are wearing short-sleeve shirts
Rain jacket
Sunhat
Biodegradable toiletries for shower (free of sulfates, parabens, phthalates, silicones, and artificial dyes. Usually, all natural products where you recognize all the ingredients as natural compounds are safe. )
Sunscreen
Insect repellent
Headlamp
Fanny pack
Water bottle
Hammock (we have one you can borrow if you don't have one of your own)
No need to bring gloves, we have plenty!
Read more
Learning opportunities
Vegetable farming
Fruit or nut farming
Poultry farming
Beekeeping
Wild foraging
Flower farming
Meat processing
Vegetable or fruit preservation
Traditional crafts
Methods or systems
Biological pest control
Community-supported agriculture (CSA)
Holistic management
Regenerative agriculture
Host type
Production farm
Certified organic
Former WWOOFer
13
Hectares
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32
Acres
Accommodation
