Malia Riggs
Elmore Autauga News
Local man Mike Jenkins is opening, in his opinion, a small slice of heaven up to the public this spring. Springhill Farms in Coosada will house over 6,000 Tulips this spring, with 30-acres of sunflowers as well as wildflowers to come in the warming months.
The farm is located at 3302 Rodgers Dr. and is aimed to be a you-pick experience and Jenkins is selling them for $1 a stem.
“My girlfriend actually gave me the idea, she said you have to get people out here to see what we see every day,” Jenkins said.
As Springhill Farms grows, Jenkins plans to add additional experiences for patrons such as you-pick produce, pumpkins and more throughout the seasons.
“I guess, not unlike many people, but sometimes I get complacent. I live on my farm and everything about it is just gorgeous. So, we’re opening up to the public. With all the stuff you see on the news, the world is going crazy, so let’s take a step back and do something beautiful and just enjoy mother nature. That’s what we’re doing, nothing fancy or anything, just lots of gratifying and hard work,” Jenkins said.
On the farm, Jenkins raises cattle, hay, corn, sunflowers, wildflowers and this year has the addition of tulips and plans for more produce additions down the road.
However, the process to plant thousands of tulips was a huge learning curve. Jenkins ordered the tulip bulbs from Holland over seven months ago, and after dealing with supply chain issues and agricultural customs, the tulips were finally in hand. But not ready to plant just yet.
The unique aspect of tulips is that the bulbs must be refrigerated for six to 12 weeks in order to produce the vibrant petals that they’re known for.
“It’s been a long process and refrigerating 6,000 bulbs is kind of an ordeal, but it turned out awesome,” Jenkins laughed.
Jenkins grew up on tractors and hobby farmed his whole life. But leaving the brick business and corporate world over two-years-ago and starting to farm full-time as a profession gave Jenkins a whole new perspective on life.
“I turned 50 this past year and I’m sure other people have gone through this too, but you realize you have less years left to live than what you’ve already lived. It really puts a whole other perspective on life. I don’t drink alcohol anymore, I love my diet coke, but I’m just really boring now,” Jenkins said with a laugh.
“It’s just a wakeup call, God has put me here for a reason, and maybe this is my reason. I’m going to do what I love to do and hopefully the rest of the community will enjoy it as much as I do,” Jenkins said referring to him opening his farm to the public.
Not growing up professionally farming, Jenkins called it a curse and a blessing. He takes the science approach to his technique and sends in countless samples of his hay, soul and other product to Auburn University.
“Auburn probably hates me because I call them all the time. I’ll say, ‘It’s Mike Jenkins again…’ and they’ll respond with ‘yeah we know Mike, what are we testing this week?’” Jenkins said.
Although the process seems daunting, Jenkins is eager to learn new practices and old practices from local farmers in the area.
“The curse is that I work on something for weeks and then some old farmer will come by and say ‘Boy all you had to do was this’ and the lightbulb clicks. Well, that would have been great two weeks ago! But I’m not doing it a certain way because my dad and my granddad did it this way. I’m not putting those farmers down but so many of them do it that way. Being somewhat new to this, I’m willing to look into the science behind it,” Jenkins said.
Jenkins confirmed that all updates for opening day and going forward will be on their Facebook page, Springhill Farms Coosada. Tentatively, Springhill Farms will be open this weekend, Saturday and Sunday, weather permitting.
“As a farmer I’m either praying for rain or praying for it not to rain, and I feel guilty because I can’t have it both ways. But we’re just really excited and it’s just gorgeous,” Jenkins said.
Jenkins stated he loves that he’s able to do something different every day, and his attention gets drawn to multiple things at once. This not only keeps it interesting but keeps him on his toes.
“I’m really loving it and it’s just so fun. This is my little, small space in the world and hopefully this is just making this part of the world a better place. I want this to be a great family experience. It’s just gorgeous out here. This is an escape from the TV and everything in the world, at least for however much time they spend on the farm. Out here you can just get back to the soul and the roots, and this is a lot more rewarding than seeing whatever is on CNN and Fox News, in my mind,” Jenkins said.
