Green Acres: It's the Pumpkin Place to Be
On the fourth Sunday in September, a specialty crop operation in Milan, TN transforms into a major community hot spot. Green Acres Pumpkin Patch opens shop September 23rd for a grand opening. This means pumpkins GALORE! “You name the type of Pumpkin, we got it!” says 3rd generation farmer and owner of Green Acres Denton Clay Parkins. Specialty crops are much more of a time commitment and investment than the average crop. As Denton says, “If you like it, you will go broke. You have to love it.” Denton loves it.
Located on Medina Highway, thousands of cars pass Green Acres every day. You can see the house that Denton’s grandfather built in 1946, as well as the main building as you pass. On an average day, it will look like a normal farm operation in progress. But when fall time comes around, the whole property transforms into a beautiful pumpkin pickin’, corn mazin’, community lovin’ pumpkin farm. 19 miles of pumpkins are planted each year right behind the farmhouse. That’s a lot of pumpkins, but get this! They are all planted BY HAND. Yes, by hand!
Rows and rows of pumpkins line the front yard of the 1843 farm house for anyone and everyone to come with their family and friends. Every year, the yard is packed! There is no way to know how many people visit, but pumpkins are picked every single day to keep up with the demand. You can find all sorts of pumpkins, including Confetti, Warlocks, Pokemon, Warty Goblin, and even Long Island Cheese. Yes, those are all breeds of pumpkins! As Denton says “The weirder the name, the cooler they are!” When asked how to pick a good pumpkin, the answer was simple. “Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder.” However, Green Acres trademark is making sure each pumpkin has a long, pretty green stem! That is a great start your perfect pumpkin!
Green Acres also has a corn maze! Last year, the maze actually spelled out “Green Acres Farm!” The cursive letters made for a winding and curving maze for the guests to try to find their way through. This year… it’s going to be the opposite! With a very geometrical layout, this year will be all the more misleading! The sharp corners and square-like maze construction will make for an interesting experience as you search for the light at the end of the maze. I can’t say too much about the design, but I can say this: Jurassic Park! Telling you which dinosaur would just make it too easy! So here’s the thing: once you make your way through, see if you can guess which dino you just spent an hour or more walking through (or thirty minutes if you’re just that good)!
Finally, we have to tell you about the beehive! 20 feet from the pumpkin patch sits a beehive nestled inside the wood of a tree. The bees that belong to this hive are necessary pollinators of the pumpkins! We have all heard that bees are important for our plant life. However, Denton explained just how important they are! “It takes 20-30 pollinator visits on average per flower for it to bloom. Now just imagine how many bees it takes to grow the amount of pumpkins `that Green Acres Farm provides to the community each year! Our hats are off to the bees...
Visit www.greenacresmilan.com for more information, and we will see you at Green Acres!
Finally, you know Cypress. We had to ask for a pumpkin recipe for you, our readers! Denton’s recommended recipe has got some good roots: Grandmother’s Pumpkin Bread. Here is the recipe!
Pumpkin Bread
Esther Lee Fly (Denton’s Grandmother)
- 2 1/3 cups plain flour
- 2 1/2 cups sugar
- 2 t baking soda
- 1t cinnamon
- 1t nutmeg
- 1t salt
- 2 cups pumpkin
- 4 eggs
- 1 cup crisco oil
- 1/2 cup water
- 1t vanilla
- 1 cup chopped pecans
Mix flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.
Make a well in the mixture, and add pumpkin, eggs, oil, and water.
Mix until smooth.
Add nuts and vanilla.
Bake in any size pans at 350 degrees until a toothpick comes out clean.
Note: Fairytale pumpkin is great for baking!
Place the Fairytale pumpkin whole in the oven at 375 degrees until soft to touch, like a potato.
Slice open, clean seeds out, scoop the pumpkin out, and blend until smooth.
Freeze 2 cups in freezer ziplock for baking needs all year long.
Pour yourself a glass of milk, and enjoy!