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Collards in North Carolina

Davis, Edward H.Morgan, John T.

Southeastern Geographer, Volume 45, Number 1, May 2005,pp. 67-82 (Article)

Published by The University of North Carolina PressDOI: 10.1353/sgo.2005.0004

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southeastern geographer, 45(1) 2005: pp. 67–82

Collards in North Carolina

EDWARD H. DAVISEmory & Henry College

JOHN T. MORGANEmory & Henry College

The collard plant has flourished as an important

garden food crop in the U.S. South since the early

nineteenth century because it is able to endure hot

summers and still thrive in winter, when it is har-

vested and consumed as greens. The uneven geo-

graphic pattern of collard production in North

Carolina calls into question claims that the col-

lard is a ubiquitous Southern food crop. It is still

the dominant winter garden crop on the North

Carolina Coastal Plain, but fewer patches are

being planted and consumption of collards is

waning, especially among young people. Commer-

cial collard production is increasing to satisfy the

demand of older folk.

key words: collards, gardens, food, North

Carolina

introduction

The collard patch has been a commonelement of the fall and winter landscape inparts of the U.S. South since before theCivil War. The collard, Brassica oleracea,var. acephala, is grown in the region for itsgreens, produced by cooking the leaves ofthe plant (Fig. ∞). Sometimes called aheadless cabbage, the collard has advan-tages over cabbage in the South in that it isbetter able to endure hot summers, whileat the same time it is able to grow andthrive in winter at least as well as cabbage.The production and consumption of col-

lards have been so closely associated withthe South that one writer went so far as tostate that collard greens ‘‘probably morethan any other food, delineate the bound-aries of the Mason-Dixon line’’ (Albright∞Ω∫Ω, ∏∂Ω). The association of collardswith southern culture is reflected in re-gional novels, poetry, song lyrics, and localfestival themes.

The consumption of collard greens hastraditionally played a vital dietary role inwinter in the South, where food resources,especially in poor rural areas, were mea-ger. Collard greens are rich in Vitamin A,and also provide significant amounts of Vi-tamin C, calcium, and iron. Collards haveespecially been lauded by historians forcontributions made to food supply in theSouth during the crises of the Civil Warand the Great Depression.

Many comments about the collard inthe South, however, could be labeled asassertions. Much remains to be learnedabout the geography of collard productionbecause little field research has been de-voted to describing the geography of col-lard production, and census data have notbeen uniformly collected for garden crops.In addition, research on both the culturalhistory of the collard and its developmentin the South is incomplete. In this paper,we trace the development of collards in

Mary Botto

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68 edward h. davis & john t. morgan

Figure ∞. Typical collard plants in mid-autumn (about ∞≤ in tall).

the U.S. South, delineate the geography ofcollard production in North Carolina, anddescribe and assess the changing status ofthe plant in that state.

The paucity of research on the collardas a food crop is not surprising because,until recently, geographers had shown lit-tle enthusiasm for the study of food in gen-eral. Cultural geographer Wilbur Zelinsky(∞Ω∫∑, ∑∞) lamented that the study offoodways was ‘‘a sadly neglected topic,’’and blamed that research omission on thebelief by scholars that food was not aworthwhile subject for scientific study.Geographers have, however, gradually de-veloped a body of work on food consump-tion patterns. Some of the more insightfulstudies have shown that foodways are cen-tral to the meaning of place (Pillsbury∞ΩΩ≠; de Wit ∞ΩΩ≤; Jakle ∞ΩΩΩ), and play akey role in defining places and regions(Hilliard ∞Ωπ≤; Shortridge and Shortridge

∞Ω∫Ω, ∞ΩΩ∑; Pillsbury ∞ΩΩ∫). Others haveshown that food can help maintain bound-aries and linkages in and through socialand cultural space (Arce and Marsden∞ΩΩ≥; Cook and Craig ∞ΩΩ∏; Bell and Val-entine ∞ΩΩπ; Pillsbury ∞ΩΩ∫). For example,the symbolic status of a food such as col-lards can be used to define people andplaces socially. In Flannery O’Conner’s(∞Ω∫∫) short story, ‘‘A Stroke of Fortune,’’ aSouthern woman who aspires to join themiddle class is disgusted at her brother forenjoying collards. She had hoped he wouldreturn from his worldly experiences in theNavy with less provincial tastes.

Another component of geographic re-search on food has been the study of foodgardens as a part of the landscape tradi-tion in cultural geography (e.g., Kimber∞Ωπ≥; Wilhelm ∞Ωπ∑; Bassett ∞Ω∫∞; Dillon∞Ω∫∏; Thomasson ∞ΩΩ∂). Carl Sauer’s(∞Ω∑≤) pioneering works on landscapes

Collards in North Carolina 69

and food plant geography served as an in-spiration for subsequent research in cul-tural history and cultural ecology (e.g.,D. Watts ∞Ω∫π; J. Sauer ∞ΩΩ≥; Zimmerer∞ΩΩ∏). Although historians (e.g., Leighton∞Ωπ∏; Zohary and Hopf ∞ΩΩ≥) and anthro-pologists (e. g., Goody ∞Ω∫≤; Brown andMussell ∞Ω∫∂; Gabaccia ∞ΩΩ∫) have madesignificant contributions to the study offood production and consumption, SamHilliard’s (∞Ωπ≤) book, Hogmeat and Hoe-cake, stands alone as the only major geo-graphic work devoted to that subject in theSouth.

development of the collardin the south

The domesticated collard plant origi-nated in the eastern Mediterranean, whereCeltic invasions may have introduced theplant from western Europe, where wildBrassica oleracea populations were and arestill found. The plant eventually spread tonorthern Europe where heading varietieswere developed and, as a result, the cab-bage plant emerged as an important Euro-pean food staple. European settlers wereprobably responsible for the collard plant’sintroduction to North America.

One of the difficulties in tracing the his-tory of the collard involves the develop-ment and use of the word ‘‘collard.’’ Collardis a corruption of the word ‘‘colewort,’’which translates to ‘‘cabbage plant.’’ In pastcenturies, however, ‘‘colewort’’ was oftenused in Europe to refer to other forms ofBrassica oleracea. In eastern North Amer-ica, both colewort and collard were used todescribe Brassica oleracea, var. acephalabefore approximately ∞∫∂≠, but since thenthe use of the word collard has been nearlyuniversal in the United States. Early refer-

ences to the terms colewort and collard ineastern North America reveal that theplant was widely known there during theeighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Itwas only in the southern colonies, how-ever, that the collard flourished and be-came a significant component of the mix offoods that formed the regional diet.

We have discovered a few brief refer-ences to collard growing in the South duringthe late eighteenth century. For example, asoldier visiting Hanover County, Virginia, in∞π∫∞ observed (Feltman ∞Ω∏Ω): ‘‘The Ne-groes here raise great quantities of snapsand collerds [sic]. They have no cabbageshere.’’ Benjamin Hawkins (∞Ω∞∏), who vis-ited mountainous western North Carolinain ∞πΩ∏, reported that Cherokee womenwere growing collards (no mention of cab-bage) in their gardens. Our search also pro-duced an occasional mention of collard pro-duction during the first three decades of thenineteenth century. Evidence for the pres-ence of collards in eastern North Carolinaduring the ∞∫≥≠s was found in a Record ofWills for Hyde County. Among the wills wasone for Barney Ballance, and the inventoryof his property revealed ‘‘one patch of col-lards’’ (Hyde County ∞∫≥≠).

Frederick Law Olmsted (∞∫∑∏, ≥∂∫),traveling in eastern North Carolina in the∞∫∑≠s, found collards to be an importantelement of the landscape associated withturpentine farmers in the ‘‘longleafed pineforest land:’’

They have habitations more likehouses—log cabins, commonly, some-times chinked, often not-without win-dows of glass, but with a few pieces ofsubstantial old fashioned heirloom fur-niture; a vegetable garden, in which,however, you will find no vegetable but

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what they call ‘‘collards’’ (colewort) for‘‘greens;’’ few dogs; more swine, andlarger clearings for maize, but no bet-ter crops than the poorer class.

Documents show that by the mid-nine-teenth century the collard was widelygrown in the South, especially as a winterfood crop. Writing in ∞∫∏≠, Dr. John S.Wilson of Columbus, Georgia, a critic ofthe southern proclivity for pork consump-tion, suggested that the collard was thevegetable commonly served with pork fordinner in the region (Hilliard ∞Ωπ≤). Trav-elers during and just after the Civil Waroften made reference to collards as a com-mon food in the South. For example, Hya-cinth (∞∫∏Ω, ∞≤∫) stated that: the collard‘‘is the kind of cabbage found everywherein the South, whose leaves, not heads, fur-nish the greens for the inevitable dishof bacon and greens. The word is so com-mon it is singular it has not found its wayinto the dictionaries.’’ Another observer,Stearns, wrote in ∞∫π≤ (p. π∏) that:

Every negro garden abounds in thatuniversal Southern esculent, the col-lard; a plant closely resembling cab-bage, but cooked in the form of‘‘greens,’’ and used nearly the wholeyear. This article is devoured eagerlyby the Southern people, both whiteand black, and is not despised by eventhe Northern residents.

Writers in the late nineteenth centuryand the first few decades of the twentiethcentury also commented on the pervasive-ness of collards in parts of the South.Smith, for example, wrote in ∞∫∫≥ (p. ∂∏)that ‘‘In the South no word, as no dish, isbetter known among the poorer whitesand Negroes than collards or greens.’’ In

∞Ω≤Ω, Vance (p. ≤∂π), in his classic studyof cotton culture in the South, stated thatduring winter months, ‘‘cotton farmerssubsist on turnips, collards, sweet pota-toes, and fried pork.’’

References to collards in the twentiethcentury were often derogatory or disre-spectful, especially comments by non-southerners. For example, a horticulturalreference book at the turn of the centurydescribes the collard as a southern gardencrop, and states that, ‘‘In Northern states,where heading cabbages can be raised,collards of whatever kind are not highlyprized’’ (Bailey ∞Ω∞∂, ∫≤∫). Other sourcessimply claim that collards are a substan-dard food (e.g., Carmer ∞Ω≥∂, ∂). Thosewriters refer explicitly to the smell pro-duced by cooking greens and the unap-pealing taste of the finished product.

The numerous references by elderly in-formants to the widespread practice of‘‘collard stealing’’ as a Christmas seasonrecreational activity during the ∞Ω≤≠s and∞Ω≥≠s confirms the ubiquitous presence ofcollard patches during that period in east-ern North Carolina. Collard stealing wasengaged in by groups of teenagers whowould spend hours on a cold Decembernight walking the dirt roads and trails oftheir rural communities to play tricks onpeople thought to be wealthy or eccentric.Participants in a few areas participated incollard stealing in early January as a partof the celebration of Old Christmas. In thisfolk activity, a few mature collard plantswould be pulled from a roadside garden,then taken to a nearby residence anddropped on the front steps. The celebrat-ing youths would then knock on the doorof the unsuspecting recipients of the col-lards, yell loudly and run away. The of-fended residents would answer the door to

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discover their gift of collards. During thehard times of the Great Depression, thepractice of collard stealing was sometimesfeigned by teens who would bring stolencollards to their own homes and leavethem on their steps or porches. Their un-suspecting parents would discover the col-lards the next morning, and think theywere left by mischievous neighbor kids.Then, of course, they would cook and eatthe needed food.

The South remained more rural thanother parts of the country during the firsthalf of the twentieth century, but the ∞Ω∂≠sand ∞Ω∑≠s saw a massive exodus of farmworkers from their rural homes to factoryjobs in the cities of the South, North, andMidwest. The new urban residents usuallydid not have the opportunity to grow gar-den crops in their city settings. Their long-ing for southern foods such as collards cre-ated an opportunity for the production ofnew truck crops in the South. By the late∞Ω∂≠s a considerable volume of collardswas being shipped by rail and truck fromVirginia, the Carolinas, and Georgia tosouthern and especially northern cities.For example, during the ∞Ω∂∫–∂Ω season,≤π≤,≥≥≤ bushels of whole-plant collardswere shipped from the Norfolk, Virginiaarea. About ≤∑% of the produce went toNew York City, but Philadelphia, Wash-ington, Pittsburgh, Baltimore, and Detroitalso received significant portions of the to-tal amount shipped (Bowman ∞Ω∑≠).

The shift of some manufacturing plantsfrom other regions to small towns andrural areas in the South helped slow themovement of people from the region dur-ing the ∞Ω∏≠s, and by the ∞Ωπ≠s parts ofthe South were said to be experiencing arural population revival (Beale ∞Ωπ∑). Acontinuing decrease in employment in ag-

riculture did not mean that rural residentshad to leave the countryside. Many choseto live in rural areas and commute to jobsin nearby towns and cities, while othersopted to travel considerable distances topursue employment opportunities (Hartand Morgan ∞ΩΩ∑). With non-farm em-ployment came a tendency for peopleto buy more food at the grocery storeand to produce less in home gardens(Holzer ∞ΩΩ∏). The home garden persistedstrongly in some areas, however, and cer-tain food crops that were distinctive to theSouth, such as the collard, largely con-tinued to be produced by consumers.

The collard patch remained a strong el-ement of the winter landscape in thesouthern Coastal Plain in the late ∞Ωπ≠sand ∞Ω∫≠s. Evidence for that is providedby William Least Heat Moon, who, whiletraveling the Blue Highways (∞Ω∫≤) ofeastern North Carolina, observed that be-tween Dunn and Greenville (a distance of∫≠ mi) collard patches remained besideunpainted sharecropper cabins, brick ve-neer bungalows, and even the new houses.Heat Moon’s observation about the ubiq-uity of the collard patch helps dispel amyth about collards, i.e., that collardgreens are almost exclusively consumedby African Americans in the South. Col-lards are grown and consumed by ruralfolk, both white and black, at least in east-ern North Carolina.

traditional processes ofproduction and consumption

Collards are usually planted in springin rows three to four feet wide, withstandthe summer heat, and mature in mid-fall,when they reach a height of one to twofeet (Fig. ≤). Some gardeners plant col-

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Figure ≤. Cecil Stroud stands beside his Duplin County, NC collard patch

(photo by J. T. Morgan, January ≤≠≠∂).

lards in August for late winter and earlyspring harvest. Collards are usually trans-planted from seedbeds started in late win-ter or early spring, but a few gardenersproduce a successful crop by direct seed-ing. The plants require regular spraying ordusting to combat cabbage worm attacksor infestation by other pests. Plants aretypically harvested as needed after thefirst frost in fall, when collard leaves be-come more tender and taste less bitter af-ter cooking. They continue to be harvestedand eaten through the winter.

Some gardeners buy collard seeds fromnurseries or farm supply stores, while oth-ers save seeds from their crops for future

use. Seeds sold in stores may be hybrid(e.g., Blue Max, Top Bunch), which can-not be saved for future crops, or open-pollinated cultivars, such as the Georgiacollard, which can be collected in springfor subsequent seeding. Many gardenersin eastern North Carolina save seeds, andtheir most popular heirloom is the cab-bage collard, which forms a rosette ofleaves (but not a true head), has a yellowtint and is sweeter than other collard vari-eties. Most collard seed savers are morethan fifty years of age, and are often carry-ing on a family tradition of seed collectingthat spans several decades.

The entire collard plant is harvested

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with the stalk being chopped off nearground level. Leaves are then removedfrom the stalk, washed, put in a pot withwater and pork, and boiled until tender.After cooking, the greens are removedfrom their juice, finely chopped and sea-soned with salt. Vinegar is added to thegreens when served. The juice or ‘‘pot lik-ker’’ is prized by many, and likely will beserved over cornbread as a side dish or des-sert. Typically accompanied by cornbread,collard greens are also commonly servedwith sweet potatoes and/or black-eyedpeas. The consumption of collard greensand black-eyed peas is a New Year’s Daytradition in the South, with the amount ofgreens eaten believed to represent the dol-lars one will earn during the coming yearand the peas symbolizing the number ofcents to be earned.

the geography of collardgardening in north carolina

In an effort to understand the role ofthe collard in the South better, we con-ducted a case study to determine the re-cent status of the plant in North Carolina,a state strongly associated with collardculture. Based on field interviews, our ob-servations, and a survey of county exten-sion agents, we determined that collardsare grown in each of the state’s ∞≠≠ coun-ties, but with considerable variation inmagnitude of production across the state(Fig. ≥). A map showing the status ofhome collard gardens in the state was pre-pared, with each county placed in one ofthree categories: (∞) collard is a dominantwinter garden food crop; (≤) collard pro-duction is common but not a dominantwinter food crop; and (≥) collard produc-tion is not common (Fig. ∂). The map re-

veals three nearly contiguous regions ofcollard production. In the Coastal Plain,including the Tidewater, the collard is thedominant winter vegetable. Other greens,especially turnips, are grown in the regionbut suffer in competition with collards be-cause they do not fare as well as collards inwinter. The Coastal Plain remains a lead-ing southern agricultural region, with live-stock, tobacco, cotton, soybeans, and cornplaying key roles in the farm economy. Inwinter, however, after the crops have beenharvested, many farmsteads (and non-farm gardens) display only one crop grow-ing: the collard in the solitary collardpatch. Patches vary considerably in size,depending primarily on the number ofmembers in the gardening family. A typi-cal collard patch for a family of four mighthave ∑≠ plants. Those plants would pro-vide the family a bowl of chopped collardstwice a week for a three-month period.

The Piedmont region grows collards,but with the exception of a few coun-ties that border the Coastal Plain, collardproduction is secondary to that of othergreens. Rebecca King (≤≠≠≠), Manager ofSoviero’s Tri-County Garden Center inHigh Point, which serves the Greensboro-High Point-Winston-Salem areas, statedthat her business sold enough collardseeds to buy and sell them in bulk, but thatthe demand for collards seeds could onlybe considered ‘‘moderate’’ when com-pared to the much greater demand forturnips, mustard, and kale. She believesthat the pattern observed for her areaholds true for the broader Piedmont re-gion. Comments from several extensionagents support that view.

Extension agents in most mountaincounties in western North Carolina in-dicated that collard patches were found

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infrequently in that region. The mountainSouth, with relatively mild summers, haslong been associated with the productionof cabbage, both as a subsistence and com-mercial crop. Production of collards isgreatest in Swain County, where they aregrown in gardens on the Cherokee IndianReservation. According to a reservationextension agent (Taylor ≤≠≠≠), about π≠%of reservation residents have home gar-dens and most grow collards in them. Itshould not be surprising that the Cherokeeare growing collards in their gardens, be-cause they were doing so in the ∞πΩ≠s.Collard patches in the mountains aresmaller than those in locales to the eastbecause of a shorter growing season inhigher elevations. Because the collardplant tends to ‘‘freeze out’’ at a tempera-ture of ∞π\F, collards are usually not avail-able for harvest in mountain patches be-yond early January.

changes in the statusof collards

We have observed for several years thatnumbers of the once ubiquitous collardpatch have declined in eastern North Car-olina. Our observations are supported byextension agents who mentioned that col-lard production had waned in their coun-ties. If Heat Moon were to drive fromDunn to Greenville today, he would surelyfind that a minority of houses are accom-panied by an adjacent collard patch. Con-sumption of collard greens has also de-creased significantly, perhaps at about thesame rate as the decline in production inthe region.

Interviews with residents of easternNorth Carolina combined with commentsmade to us by extension agents allow us

to put forth reasons for the decline inproduction and consumption of collards.Rural folk are today less connected to theland they live on than in previous years.They typically commute to work, buy mostof their food from grocery stores, andoften prepare meals quickly in a micro-wave oven. Moreover, rural dwellers nowtend to eat several meals per week at res-taurants, especially fast-food franchises.Perhaps more often than not, those per-sons leading the so-called modern life-style will not opt to plant a home veg-etable garden. Even if one does growvegetables in a home garden, there is noassurance of collards being planted forwinter harvest. Many older folk would liketo grow collards but may be unable to for avariety of reasons, including the absenceof younger family members to assist withgardening.

For decades, fewer and fewer young peo-ple have opted to eat collard greens. Tastebuds that have been ‘‘refined’’ through yearsof eating Big Macs, curly fries, and pizza areunlikely to find love at first bite with collardgreens. One agricultural extension agent re-cently expressed the opinion that he, atthirty-nine years of age, was among theyoungest southerners to like collards.

Several extension agents mentionedthat the recent arrival of non-southernersinto the region was changing the tradi-tional culture in their counties. Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill, Wilmington, andGreenville are areas receiving in-migrants.Many of the residents choose to live inlarge-lot subdivisions where the oppor-tunity for home gardening is readily avail-able. Chances are, however, that if the in-migrants plant a garden, they will selectfamiliar plants, as opposed to experiment-ing with collards. One agent stated that


the new residents had a strong dislike forcollard greens.

With lifestyles changing and less em-phasis on winter gardens, many rural andurban people, especially in eastern NorthCarolina, have shown a willingness to pur-chase collards from several relatively newsources. Twenty years ago, if one wantedfresh collards but did not have a garden, aneighbor would probably provide collardsfor a neighbor in need. They might havefound collards in grocery chain stores, butprobably would not have purchased themunless they were assured that they werelocally grown.

For the last several years consumershave been able to purchase fresh collardsfrom pick-your-own operations (for $∞.≠≠a plant), farmers’ markets, or at locally-oriented grocery stores which sell thegreens by the whole plant or by the pound.Some stores now provide ready-to-servecollard greens year round, cooked the old-fashioned way, and sold in vacuum packs.The demand for cooked greens has beenstrong in some areas, as evidenced by salesat Carlie C’s IGA, a small grocery chainheadquartered in the town of Dunn. In≤≠≠≤, Carlie C’s purchased from localgrowers about ≥≠,≠≠≠ lb of collards, whichwere boiled in a large pressure cooker andsold in the store’s meat cases (McNeill≤≠≠≤).

Those longing for collards can now findthem served frequently in North Carolinarestaurants. Traditional greens are offeredat ‘‘home cooking,’’ barbecue, ‘‘soul food,’’and buffet restaurants. Some restaurantsadvertise on signs or windows that collardgreens are served on a particular day of theweek. Collards prepared in non-traditionalways are appearing more frequently on themenus of upscale eateries, perhaps as a re-

sult of attention now given to the nutri-tional benefits of dark leafy greens. Thelast two decades have seen a great increasein the number of commercial collard oper-ations in the state, especially in easternNorth Carolina. Such operations are foundin at least ∑∂ of the state’s ∞≠≠ counties(Fig. ∑). Of the ∑∂ counties with com-mercial collard farms, ∂∏ of them form acontiguous block comprised primarily ofCoastal Plain counties but also containinga few Sand Hills and eastern Piedmontcounties. The collard farms include smallunits ([ ∑ ac), medium-sized operations(∑–≤≠ ac), and large farms (] ≤≠ ac).Small operators may plant pick-your-ownfields, have roadside stands, or sell to in-dependent grocery stores and at farmers’markets. Medium-sized operators wouldlikely sell to independent grocers or smallregional grocery chains, and at farmersmarkets. Some small and medium-sizedoperators are members of recently orga-nized produce cooperatives. Large opera-tors typically sell their produce to nationalgrocery chains, large regional chains, or towholesale food distributors or brokers.The overwhelming majority of commercialproducers in North Carolina are small op-erators, with their number exceeding ≤≠≠.There are perhaps ≥≠ medium-sized grow-ers, and no more than a handful of largecollard producers in the state.

One small commercial grower is BoWood, Sr., who grows about four acres ofcollards each year in the Clayton commu-nity of Johnston County. He is quite proudof the collard cultivar he inherited fromhis mother, who for a number of yearsmarketed her collards from the familyfarmstead to passing traffic, as well assome local grocery stores. Wood now sellshis collards to grocers and restaurants

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(Wood ≤≠≠∂). Another example of a smalloperator is Dick Williford, who lives nearthe eastern North Carolina town of Ben-son in Johnston County. Williford is a self-employed auto mechanic who, since ∞ΩΩ∏,has been growing three acres of collards aspart of a small general farming operationwhich also includes tobacco, corn, andsoybeans. He sells his collards to an in-dependent grocery store in Fayetteville,some ≥≠ mi away, and to Carlie C’s groceryin Dunn, located ten miles from his farm(Williford ≤≠≠≥).

The greatest concentration of smallcommercial operations is found in Robe-son and Columbus counties, located alongthe South Carolina border. There areabout ≥∑ growers in the counties, with theaverage production unit equaling about≥.∑ ac (Parker ≤≠≠≠). Perhaps the majorimpetus for that concentration of farm-ers is the presence of a state farmers’ mar-ket in nearby Lumberton. Other farmers’markets are found in Raleigh, Charlotte,Winston-Salem and Asheville. There is astrong demand for collards in Raleigh,considerable demand in Charlotte andWinston-Salem, and more than a modi-cum of demand in Asheville, located in thestate’s western mountains. The market inAsheville is supplied with greens by smallfarmers in counties (especially Hender-son) south of the city, as well as by farmersfrom South Carolina. A few small commer-cial operations are found in mountainousCherokee County, in the state’s southwestcorner. Greens produced there are largelyshipped to the Atlanta market, about ∞≠≠mi away.

A medium-sized commercial grower isCharlie Cannon of Halifax County, whogrows ∞≤ ac of collards each year using hisown heirloom seeds. He claims his collards

are preferred by the independent grocerystores in the area because of their flavor. Ina good year he earns $≥,≠≠≠/ac (∏,≠≠≠collard plants per acre sold at $≠.∑≠ perplant), which he says is ‘‘as good as mytobacco crop’’ (Cannon ≤≠≠≥).

Whereas the small and medium-sizedproducers have often begun to engage incommercial collard operations recentlyand are serving local markets, the largeoperators have typically been in businessfor decades and sell most of their produceto out-of-state buyers. The two largest col-lard operations in the state are both lo-cated in Duplin County. One of those,Burch Farms, in operation near Faisonsince ∞Ω∑≠, produces sweet potatoes andgreens, including several hundred acres ofcollards each year. The collard produced is‘‘Hi-Crop,’’ a hybrid cultivar that is easyto grow, disease resistant, and has a darkgreen color which displays well in grocerystores. Burch Farms harvests collards at in-tervals throughout the year and sells theirgreens to Food Lion and a number of largefood distributors (Burch ≤≠≠≤).

Another large greens producer is theRouse and Teachey Farm, which has beenin operation near Rose Hill since the early∞Ω∑≠s. During the first decade of opera-tions, the farm sold to grocery chains, es-pecially A & P and Colonial Stores, in theRaleigh area. Now the business ships mostof its products to food distributors in mid-Atlantic and northeastern cities, especiallyBaltimore, Philadelphia, and New York.Rouse and Teachey grows a variety ofgreens including turnips, kale, mustard,rape, and spinach, but collard productionhas always dominated the operation. Eachyear more than ∂≠≠ ac of collards are har-vested on the farm, which is comprisedmostly of leased land. About ∞≠≠ ac of col-


lards are transplanted in spring, but in Au-gust nearly ≥≠≠ ac of the crop are directlyseeded, with a six-row planter. The farmproduces the ‘‘Top Bunch’’ hybrid collard,which the owners claim is a reliable plantthat looks good in the store and producesflavorful greens (Teachey ≤≠≠≤).

conclusion

The collard has been an important foodcrop in the U.S. South since the early nine-teenth century. Geographic variation inproduction and consumption of collards inNorth Carolina suggests, however, thatclaims of a ‘‘solid’’ collard South are inac-curate. The collard remains the dominantwinter vegetable in the North CarolinaCoastal Plain, but home gardens are de-clining while commercial collard opera-tions are increasing. The lack of enthu-siasm for collard greens by young peoplewill bring further decline in consumptionof the crop. That decline in consumptionof a food rich in nutrients may be indica-tive of a general deterioration in the dietof the region’s youth. An increase in con-sumption of collards by a health-conscioussegment of the national populace may al-low for expansion of commercial collardproduction in both North Carolina and theSouth.

We are currently conducting field re-search on collard culture in the broaderregion. Our preliminary map allows us tosuggest an extension of our North Caro-lina ‘‘collard belt’’ through a section of theAtlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain, but workremains to be done before that region canbe accurately delineated. Further researchis needed to unravel the story of the col-lard’s voyage to North America, and to de-velop an understanding of the social, cul-

tural and ecological aspects of the plant’semergence as an important food crop inthe South.

acknowledgementsWe would like to thank Mark Farnham of the

U.S.D.A. Agricultural Research Service, Jeffrey

K. Morton of North Carolina Cooperative Exten-

sion, D. W. Davis, and John Fraser Hart for their

support of our field research.

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edward h. davis is an Associate Professor

in the Department of Geography, Emory &

Henry College, Emory, VA ≤∂≥≤π-≠Ω∂π. Email:

[email protected]. His research interests are in

the cultural and social geography of the U.S.

South, Western Europe and Guatemala.

john t. morgan is a Professor in the

Department of Geography at Emory & Henry

College. Email: [email protected]. His

research interests primarily focus upon rural

land use and landscapes of Appalachia and the

U.S. South.