Family home and garden - rural, smallholding, flower, vegetable and soft fruit grower, orchard
Devon
We offer and prefer three or four week stays (check the calendar) - minimum age 18.
We aim to provide you with the opportunity to acquire experience and knowledge in a range of different areas (dependent on your own specific interests) within the context of our self sufficient lifestyle including nutrition, any aspects of gardening esp. vegetables and fruit, food preparation. In you application, bearing in mind that we will be sharing our home and lifestyle with you for 3 to 4 weeks, please do provide us with some idea of who you are, for example your ambitions, your experience(s) in general, what you would like to learn about during your stay, what attracted you to choose Middle Brownstone.
About us - I am a semi-retired homeopath of thirty years experience having previously taught chemistry and physics in secondary schools in North London for 18 years. Dave is an electronic control design engineer/inventor. We moved to Devon 14 years ago, with the intention of learning how to be more self sufficient in relation to food, water and energy. We are on the way towards this but there is always much more to do. We are about to complete our fifth year as WWOOF hosts and continue to refine the best ways to share our home, kitchen, and garden with our WWOOF guests.
We have a spacious house with 2 reception (one for guests), and a very large farmhouse kitchen. Although we are able to host up to 4 at any one time e.g. an occasional family - the norm is more likely to be 1 or 2 depending on the time of year. Approx. 80% of the house has been fully modernised during the last 15 years. We have an ensuite with an additional mezzanine, normally reserved for families and two further double bedrooms that share the main bathroom (we have our own). Regarding meals: you prepare your own in the morning and evening - the larder and fridge are topped up regularly and in addition you can help yourself to anything growing in the garden. We prepare one cooked meal per day for everyone at lunchtime, although sometimes we may change this to the evening when the days are shorter or if there is reason for celebration.
The hamlet we live in has great neighbours of all ages forming an interactive little community. The property occupies approximately 3.5 acres on a south facing slope with a beautiful view. There is a small orchard, a walled garden with soft fruit, an old stone quarry, 24ft by 36ft polytunnel with raised beds, a combined greenhouse and potting shed, and an external raised bed vegetable garden 330 sq m. In 2022 we initiated this larger terraced 'no dig' vegetable garden intending the produce from this should contribute to feeding our guests.
Organic methods: We have experimented with hugel kultur, hot composting; use cow manure from a neighbouring farm; dig out leaf mould from the stone quarry; use mulch, encourage a wide variety of insect life with our wild flower meadows and extra hedges, use nematodes occasionally; crop rotation, and dabble with companion planting and homeopathic remedies for plant health.
Current projects: We grow a large variety of fruit and vegetables as well as maintaining flower garden surrounding the house. Ongoing - mediterranean veg in poly tunnel, soft fruit in walled garden, managing a small orchard. We are establishing a heating system based on storing surplus energy in water from a variety of different sources depending on the season.
Projects recently completed - building a root cellar; ornamental grass and flower garden; restoring the soft fruit garden, planting a sedum roof, a new hedge and copse, creating a herb garden around the south patio, replacing the poly tunnel cover and general improvement in ventilation and protection from rodents,.
New projects - Learning how to save seed; creating suitable areas for drying/hardening freshly harvested vegetables and fruit; renovating fences and gates; planting further copses of trees, erecting a pergola over a new patio.
Garden contact hours allow for plenty of time to enjoy the many other delights that Devon has to offer. As we are not commercial you retain responsibility for your start and finish times. We encourage you to take at least two full days off per week to go and explore the region - this gives us all a necessary break.
Read more
Learning opportunities
Vegetable farming
Vegetable or fruit preservation
Beer, cider, wine, or juice making
Renewable energy production
Food justice / sovereignty
Mechanics / tools / technology
Methods or systems
Biological pest control
No-till farming
Permaculture
Regenerative agriculture
Host type
Self-sufficiency property
1.5
Hectares
|
3.6
Acres
Grazyna
Member since 2022
Languages spoken:
English, Polish
Sun
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
Response rate: 100%
Response time: typically within 1 day
Devon
Nearest train/ bus - Morchard Road/ Morchard Bishop
Reviews
Angelica
Italy
•
August 2025
Staying with Graz and Dave has been nothing but a gift. I have learned so much from them; from gardening tasks like weeding, harvesting, and repairing the polytunnel, to life lessons about living closely with nature, connecting with poetry and really understanding what life is about. Their knowledge, generosity and warmth made every day a happy day, and the work truly never felt like a chore, but a pleasure.
One of the many things that I appreciated about them was their way of living: connected to the soil (and the ecosystem that lives inside it!), to their plants and animals, and to the people around them. It was amazing and inspiring to witness, and it’s something I’ll carry with me forever. If you’re lucky enough to spend time with Dave and Graz you will not only walk away with practical skills but also new perspectives on life, and a happy heart (and tummy)! Thank you.
Read more
Nerea
Spain
•
August 2025
I don’t think I can put in words how thankful I am. It’s been a wonderful journey for me and for my 4-year-old daughter. Not only has she learned lots of English, but also she has learned freedom, she has learned respect and love for nature, she has learned that when you feel safe, being alone is fine, having questions and not always being able to answer them is fine. As for me, I have enjoyed each and every minute spent gardening, harvesting, weeding, chatting and being silent. Thank you for being an example, for your delicious food, for your infinite wisdom! We’ll miss you… and we’ll be back💜
Read more
Meirav
Israel
•
August 2025
Staying with Graz and Dave was no less than pure magic. They are kind and smart hosts who provide warm hospitality in their beautiful house, they cook hearty meals once a day and share so much knowledge and life stories. The house is great with private rooms per each wwoofer and lots of areas to unwind, chat, read and in my case practice yoga.
The garden is incredible with so many things grown, flowers, ducks and chicken. It is a pleasure just being there and the work is diverse so you learn a lot and never get bored.
Their corner in Devon is picturesque with lots of walks around their house, a pub 2 miles away (but the walk is beautiful) and Exeter easily accessible by train.
Thanks Graz and Dave for a wonderful stay :)
Read more
Eliška
Czechia
•
August 2025
I would like to thank so much to Graz and Dave for everything that they have done to me during my stay. Their hospitality had no limits and I had the chance to learn so much. We talked a lot about basically everything :D filosophy, economics, what´s going on in the world, gardening, linguistics, history. We also shared a lot of personal stories and I personally had a great time :D I am very thankful that I got to experience WWOOFING at this place, wouldn´t change it for anything!
Read more
Drew
United Kingdom
•
May 2025
Everyday is a good day at [HOST]. Being outdoors, eating good food and having interesting conversations. Graz and Dave were incredibly welcoming from the minute I arrived to the day I left. They gave me freedom and responsibility and were also open to listening to my own ideas. Like others have said, the food is amazing and daily lunches are a big event! The house and surroundings are lovely. I would recommend this place to anyone.
Read more
Brahim
Belgium
•
September 2024
My stay at Middle Brownstone Farm was my 1st wwoofing experience and I enjoyed it. There are different areas in the farm: vegetables, greenhouse tunnels, chicken and dugs areas. The work was varied, including tidying, planting, weeding, woodworking, composting, cleaning, and the rewarding task of making fresh apple juice with other WWOOFers. The schedule was flexible.
The farm operates on permaculture principles, which was my main reason for choosing this place. I wanted to experience permaculture practically, and I was not disappointed.
The house and surrounding areas are beautiful, offering breathtaking landscapes and many walking paths.
I spent most of my time with Dave, an incredibly humanly interesting, intellectual, and helpful person. We had enriching discussions on various topics, and even though our political views diverged, our conversations were always interessting. It was a privilege to meet him.
Graze is an excellent cook who took us on a culinary journey around the world with her diverse meals made from the farm’s vegetables.
The house is spacious, with a separate room for each WWOOFer and a private living room.
However, the kitchen could feel a bit tense at times, as Graze is particularly sensitive about how the dishes are handled and put away. She may complain which could be stressful depending on one’s sensitivity.
In the end, it was a beautiful introduction to Wwoofing and I recomand it.
Read more
Reply from Grazyna
I find it extremely puzzling why, with such a glowing general report on our hospitality, you would choose to single me out in such a personal and public way rather than sort it out with me in person? I needed to draw attention to the unusually high number of breakages as a matter of concern as most groups never break anything.
Read more
