The Collard Patch

The Collard Patch is a pick-your-own roadside farm market on Pulley Town Road in Wake Forest. You walk the rows and pick what you want, which is the whole idea behind the place and the reason people drive out to it.

Freshness is the argument. Vegetables ripen in the field and go home the same day, so they taste like what they are. Collards give the farm its name, and the rest of the garden crop comes in as the season moves along. Food picked this way tastes better because it has not had to travel.

What to know

• Hal Gurley owns the farm and grows the crop himself.
• The farm aims to give the area the freshest vegetables it can.
• Care is taken to keep the nutritional value of what is grown.
• Produce sold here has not spent days inside a shipping container.