Kim and Curt's VIEW FROM THE VAN!: WWOOF, USA

Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms, USA

WWOOF, or Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms is exactly what the name infers. It is an online database comprised of a myriad of different organic farms and is not only limited to the United States but has databases for many other countries world wide (hence the name Worldwide)! Basically, you sign up for a membership in whatever country you decide to start wwoof'ing and receive a directory of farms in which to contact. In our situation, we signed up for Wwoof, USA which gave us a database of over 1600 farms nationwide. Once we figure out where we would like to go, we contact the farmer and hash out the details. Most of the time, you exchange between 4 and 8 hours of work per day for food and shelter. It's basically a win-win as long as you are open and honest about your expectations with the farmer before getting to the farm or garden! Below is a list of farms we have gone to, their locations, the time frame we spent there, and a short description along with a couple pictures to summarize what we were exposed to!

1. White Barn Farm- Wrentham, Mass. 09/03/12- 10/03/12

Veggies, eggs, flowers, farmstand, 75 CSA shares, composting, harvesting, seeding, weeding, cover-cropping, greenhouse, hoop-house, movies on the barn, amazing food, great crew, AWESOME!

2. Simonton Farm- Micanopy, FL. 10/27/12 - 12/01/12

Garden, tree nursery, tree propagation through vermiculite rooting with cuttings, chickens, goats, pig, dogs, cooking, green-box, cruise, thanksgiving, butchering/curing, building A-Frame, Community!

3. Coldwater Gardens- Milton, FL. 01/12/13 - 02/11/13

Aquaponics, Mushroom Inoculation, Vermicomposting, Windrow Composting, Compost Tea, Seed Starting, Transplanting, Harvesting, Restaurant Harvest Delivery, Tree Planting (300+), Garden Landcaping, Cob-Earth Oven Building, Basic Chainsaw Maintenance Workshop, Awesome Friends!

4. Gaia Gardens- Santa Fe, NM. 02/18/13 - 02/22/13

Greenhouse Construction, Compost Building, Duck Poop Water Fertilizing, Seed Starting, Garden Bed Preparation.

5. Casa Bella Farm- Valley Center, CA. 03/05/13 - 03/21/13

Barn Owl Boxes, DRIP irrigation, Raised Bed Prep/Planting, Gopher and Slug Control, Tree Planting, Tree Pruning, Mushroom Compost, Vanishing Edge Salt Water Pool, Great Food, Hiking!