Project Details
Project Type
Location
Franklin, Tenn.
Structure(s)
Steel A-frame houses with vestibule entrance
Setup/Systems:
- Institutional glass roof
- HAF fans
- Curtain system
- Unit heaters
- Fan- and -pad evaporative cooling
- Overhead doors
- Stone kneewall
- Guillotine side vents
- Rainharvesting silo
About Southall Farm & Inn
From farm-fresh flavors to unforgettable stays, the story of Southall Farm & Inn begins with a greenhouse.
What started as a simple idea by Paul and Laura Mishkin—buy land, grow fresh fruits and vegetables, and share the surplus—grew into a thriving farm operation in Franklin, TN by 2016. And at the heart of that growth: a set of state-of-the-art Prospiant greenhouses.
Once the Mishkin’s had the farm up and running, they turned their attention to a new vision: a small bed and breakfast. But they didn’t stop there.
Today, Southall is a large-scale hospitality and farming destination—home to an inn, restaurants, a world-class spa, and more.
Paul and Laura now work alongside two of their three children, David and Elyse, and hundreds of talented individuals who help bring the Southall experience to life.
The greenhouses remain at the heart of it all—fueling Southall’s mission to champion sustainability, celebrate beauty, inspire education, and deliver true seed-to-table experiences.
Greenhouses First, By Design
The Mishkin family knew they wanted homegrown foods to be a part of something bigger—a full culinary experience. The greenhouses made year-round crop production possible and allowed them to cultivate crops that wouldn’t normally survive in their hardiness zone.
“The greenhouses went in even before we finished designing everything else,” says David Mishkin, Managing Partner, at Southall. “They were part of the plan from the start.”
Southall’s two primary greenhouses sit near the main entrance of the property off Carters Creek Pike, alongside a processing barn where workers clean, weigh, and track harvested crops.
The three structures form a semi-circle around an oval green space, which is encircled by a gravel path that branches out to each building’s entrances.
It’s a striking setup that artfully blends working farm infrastructure into the perfect setting for events and relaxation. On the practical side, the greenhouses play a central role in Southall’s agricultural operations, landscaping program, and pollinator efforts.
Greenhouses Built With Care—And 100,000 Bolts
At the time the Mishkin’s began planning, Prospiant—then operating as Rough Brothers—was one of the few companies capable of delivering the full range of features they wanted in their greenhouse.
“We’ve been very happy with the greenhouses,” David says. “The design process was collaborative, and the Prospiant team really worked with us to accommodate design changes as we evolved our vision. They stuck with us during the build—and long after.”
While every construction project has its challenges, David says there were no major surprises.
“Glass greenhouses expand and contract with temperature shifts. We expected a few panels to crack in that first year—two or three did—the Prospiant team came back and replaced everything quickly. That’s just part of building a new greenhouse.”
And the scope of this project was no small feat.
“I talked to one of the workers who told me there were more than 100,000 bolts used during this process,” David says. “It’s incredible when you think about it.”
Greenhouses Designed to Make a Statement, Not Just Grow
The Southall greenhouses do more than produce fresh food and plants for the ground—they leave a visual impression that shapes how visitors experience the property.
“You don’t always need a soaring conservatory-style greenhouse to do what we’re doing,” David says. “We wanted our beautiful greenhouses to serve as a backdrop for our events. We have a space nearby where we host family-style outdoor dinners. With the greenhouses in the background, it establishes us as an agriculturally focused operation and sets a scene and tone for people that they absolutely love.”
While the visual impact of Southall’s greenhouses is intentional, so is the function behind them. They serve two different, yet equally important, growing needs.
Hydroponic House
Inside Southall’s 10,000-square-foot steel A-frame greenhouse, rows of lettuce grow in nutrient-rich water—no soil required.
Greener Roots, a Nashville-based operation that specializes in pesticide-free, herbicide-free, and GMO-free lettuce production, manages the hydroponic house for Southall.
The lettuce grows in two 30,000-gallon deep-water pools. Workers place seedlings on floating deep-water culture (DWC) grow rafts at one end of the pools. It takes about a month for the rafts to float across to the far end, where workers harvest the mature plants.
Large pumps in the center of the pools circulate the nutrients in the water. Wadsworth environmental controls automatically manage airflow, light levels, humidity, and temperatures to create the perfect growing environment.
“The beauty of it is we don’t use pesticides, so the lettuce stays really fresh and lasts for a long time,” David says. “Greener Roots has dialed in that operation and turns out hundreds of pounds of lettuce every week.”
Southall uses the harvested lettuce year-round in its restaurants. Greener Roots distributes the surplus to local businesses and makes donations to food banks, contributing to food security in the Nashville area.
There’s also a farm stand with clamshell containers of freshly harvested lettuce for sale. The label on the clamshells says it all: “This produce grown 750 feet away.”
Propagation House
Southall’s 5,000-square-foot steel A-frame greenhouse was designed first and foremost as a propagation house—a space to start crops from seed for transplanting into the farm’s production fields.
This allows the team to give the young plants a strong, healthy start before they’re moved outdoors.
A dedicated corner of the greenhouse holds tomato, cucumber, and pepper plants. Some grow in soil, others in water, but the goal stays the same: to harvest fresh produce for use in salads and other dishes, even in the off-season.
The team also grows flowers and greenery in the propagation house for the floral arrangements that grace the lobby and dining rooms.
David says Southall hopes to expand the floral program one day to produce more blooms for weddings and other special occasions. An on-site event space is also part of the long-term vision for Southall.
The propagation house also includes a tropical zone kept warm enough to grow citrus trees, black peppercorn vines, vanilla bean orchids, and other tropical plants like sugarcane, curry, and ginger.
A Living Classroom for Guests
While Southall doesn’t grow these tropical plants in large enough quantities to supply the entire operation, they spark conversations and serve as excellent teaching tools.
Guests get to see what the plants look like, learn how they grow, and find inspiration for using them in their own cooking.
Complimentary guided tours of both greenhouses offer guests a behind-the-scenes look at Southall’s growing process. Visitors observe the plants up close and discover how Southall brings its seed-to-fork philosophy to life.
To maintain strict climate control and ensure food safety, guests observe operations in the hydroponic house through designated viewing windows.
Conservation That Goes Beyond the Buzzwords
Southall Farm & Inn blends farming, hospitality, and environmental care together in a way that goes far beyond lip service. Sustainability isn’t just a feel-good label—it’s built into every part of the Southall Farm & Inn experience, from how they grow food to the way it heats water for the inn.
The team takes conservation seriously, and the greenhouses serve as just one piece of a much bigger effort to care for the land and the environment.
Planting for the Future
The team has planted more than 30 acres of native grasses, shrubs, and trees across the property to create a habitat for pollinators and wildlife. They start many of these plants in the greenhouses before transplanting them into the landscape.
These efforts help restore biodiversity in the area and sequester carbon. It’s a long-term investment in the health of the land and the planet.
In the apple orchard, Southall grows climate-adapted, disease-resistant, and heirloom varieties to naturally reduce pest and disease pressures. An in-house grafting program, with a 77% success rate, gives them greater control over how the orchard evolves over time.
Supporting Pollinators
Southall manages eight apiaries, which contain roughly 140 honeybee hives and native bee houses with more than 10,000 native bee reeds to support solitary pollinators.
Bees are essential not only for orchard pollination—but for the greenhouse crops, too.
Bluetooth technology enables the team to remotely monitor hive health, reducing travel and emissions. They’ve also built the largest pollinator wall in Tennessee, which provides nesting space and educational value for guests.
Smarter Energy and Water Use
A geothermal system beneath the parking lot helps provide heating and cooling for the inn without relying on fossil fuels. It even generates hot water for the spa and rooms.
Southall manages water just as thoughtfully. A terraced system carved into the ridge where the apple orchard and silvopasture reside slows down runoff from rainfall to reduce erosion. The terraces also channel water into a retention pond and a man-made lake used to irrigate the property.
The greenhouses have a rainwater harvesting system that collects and stores runoff from the roof for greenhouse irrigation and watering plants in the oval courtyard.
Farming That Gives Back to the Land
Southall uses restoration agricultural practices, which means it has designed its farm to work more like a natural ecosystem, to improve biodiversity and restore environmental health.
This includes avoiding synthetic fertilizers and pesticides in favor of natural and organic processes to care for the soil and crops.
The team also actively removes invasive plant species and replaces them with native plants to restore habitats and bring balance back to the landscape.
Southall Farm and Inn, 30 Years From Now
Southall Farm & Inn continues to build and plan with the future in mind. This isn’t just a beautiful place to visit—it’s a working model of how sustainable hospitality and agriculture can grow side-by-side for decades to come.
The greenhouses play a central role in that mission. They support year-round food production, power conservation efforts, and give guests a direct connection to the food they enjoy.
At Prospiant, nothing is more rewarding than seeing greenhouses we helped design and build support a mission like Southall’s. Seeing how the team uses the greenhouses to educate and inspire reinforces exactly why we do this work.
“We try to think of Southall Farm & Inn as a sanctuary where someone who’s stressed or escaping from the busyness of life can retreat to get away from it all,” David says. “I really believe the greenhouses play a role in that, just like a field of flowers or a cool breeze. It’s all part of the same experience.”
His words sum up what makes Southall so unique: it’s not just a place you visit—it’s a place you feel.
To explore Southall Farm & Inn or book your visit, head to Southalltn.com. Southall needed something unique. You probably do too. Let’s talk about what we can build together.
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