Out-of-the-Box Contest

Patterson Farm grows 40 acres of strawberries every year to provide tourists and the surrounding communities with as many beautiful, red berries as they can eat. Already-picked and pick-your-own strawberries are packed in four-quart, cardboard boxes. The big questions is, especially in this increasingly environmentally-conscious society, what to do with them?

1) Bring them back when you pick your own strawberries to receive a quarter off your total.

2) Recycle them. Patterson Farm cannot reuse these boxes.

3) Create a craft out of them to win a Patterson Farm Gift Certificate!

For this Out-of-the-Box Contest, we encourage you to come up with a fun way to reuse your Patterson Farm four-quart box. You can cut it; you can color it; you can do whatever you wish.

To enter your idea, send a message to Patterson Farm on Facebook that includes your name, address, email and a short description of what you did. Submissions are due by midnight on Saturday, July 20, 2013. Photos and descriptions will be uploaded to Facebook on Monday, July 22, 2013. Here, people will "vote" for the winner by liking the photo that expresses their favorite idea, so tell your friends and family to vote. Voting will end Sunday, July 28, 2013 at midnight.

The entry that receives the most likes on Facebook will win a $25 gift certificate to Patterson Farm for fruits, veggies, flowers, shrubs, market merchandise or activities. The winner will be notified by e-mail by Monday, July 29, 2013. The prize will be mailed via first class mail. Upon the closing of the contest, all entries will be posted to the Patterson Farm Pinterest page.

Happy crafting!

Spring Photo Contest

The Spring Photo Contest has begun! This contest gives you a chance to capture your family fun at Patterson Farm and possibly win a gift certificate for our market. In the future, we will choose entries to showcase on our advertisements, website and social media networks.

Patterson Farm encourages all families to enter up to three photos for a chance to win gift certificates to the market. We will be accepting entries on our website until midnight on Saturday, June 22, 2013. We will post all of the entries on our Facebook page on Monday, June 24, 2013, so tell friends and family to "like" your photo. Voting must be completed by Sunday, June 30, 2013 at midnight. Winners will be notified by e-mail by Monday, July 1, 2013.

There are a few things you need to remember when snapping photos for this contest:

1) Find interesting angles.

The angle of this photo is interesting because it was taken by almost laying down in the strawberry patch. 

After you have chosen a subject for your photo, get to their level. If you are photographing a child, crouch to their eye level in order to show their face and how the surroundings appear to them. If you are taking a picture of a ripe strawberry, don't be afraid to bend down and get close. Sunny days on the farm exhibit beautiful, blue skies, so strive for those low-angle shots and show off those fluffy clouds. Straight-on or downward-facing angles can be boring or displeasing, so look for something more creative.


2) Don't over edit your photos.

While the red in this photo is beautiful and vibrant,  the colors are too saturated to be true. 

Photos need to be edited when they are underexposed (too dark) or overexposed (too light), when the white balance discolors the subject, and for other technical reasons. Editing becomes too much when the photo begins to look fake. Saturating colors a tad will enhance a picture tremendously, but too much enhancing can diminish the picture's value. Brilliant colors are pleasing, but not when they appear fake.

3) Capture a special moment.

               

                     This photo shows the subjects faces,
                    but does not express any emotion.

                         

This candid photo shows the personality
of the subjects in a moment of excitement.  

Portrait photos are perfect in many situations, but candid photos are more exciting and appealing to an audience. After snapping that portrait of your family in the strawberry field, tell them to pretend you're not there. They will relax, have fun and set you up for an award-winning photo.

Need photo ideas?

1) Follow your children around on the playground. They're bound to produce an adorable giggle or climb to the top of the tower.

2) Look for interesting interactions with animals or farm hands. While feeding or petting the animals, find a cute smile to photograph. Our employees are very friendly and love to spend time with visitors, so capture this animated conversation.

3) Buy a cone of chocolate from the ice cream shop. While ice cream messes can be annoying, take a second to snap a picture of a chocolate mustache. It may be a pain to wash out of clothes, but it sure does capture a smile during a special moment!

Good luck snapping photos and we look forward to seeing them all!

Barnyard Babies

As the strawberries are growing riper and the days are growing hotter, the barn is experiencing excitement. Patterson Farm celebrated their first set of triplets a few days ago. The triplets were preceded and succeeded by many goats, and a few more babies are expected. Julie Poteat, an employee of Patterson Farm, has been keeping her eye on the mothers and babies. "They love sitting in the feed bowl," she said about the new goats.

The Patterson Farm employees are surprised by the rapid birthing of the goats. For a few days, beginning in the middle of last week, it seemed like the farm was going to double in size, especially with the arrival of the triplets. The farm hopes that visitors enjoy watching the newborns prance around and hearing them bleat to each other as much as they do.

Celebrate this Memorial Day weekend by feeding the newborn goats in the Patterson Farm barn. The cow train will be running, the playground will be open, and the ice cream shop will be ready to scoop waffle cones. Bring the entire family to Patterson Farm on this beautiful weekend!

Our Historic Roots

The farm has its roots in 1946, when the Patterson family began selling produce grown from the land they'd farmed since 1919 under the name James A. Patterson & Sons. The family nurtured the land and business through the years, and in 1992, the farm was incorporated as Patterson Farm, Inc.

Today we continue the work of James A. Patterson and his sons. We grow 350 acres of tomatoes, making us one of the largest growers in the state. In addition, we grow 36 acres of strawberries, 40 acres of pumpkins, and 15,000 poinsettias. During peak season, Patterson Farm, Inc. and our three divisions - Patterson Farm Repack, Patterson Landscape & Nursery, and Patterson Farm Market & Tours - employ more than 300 people.

When we're not planting, harvesting, packaging, and distributing our produce, we're working on our other mission: to educate visitors about North Carolina farming, where their food comes from and how it makes its way to their table.

Market Hours

Monday - Saturday: 8 a.m. - 8 p.m.

Sunday: 1 p.m. - 6 p.m.

For more information about Patterson Farm, visit our website.