Pumpkin Patch Babies Grow Up Putting in the Work

CARMICHAEL, CA (MPG) - In 11 seasons of work at the Carmichael Community Garden, volunteers Annie (12) and Jake (15) Swanson have grown from beansprouts to beanstalks. Among a handful of youngsters who help maintain family lots, the siblings were first photographed for this newspaper when Annie was nine months old. Jake was three. In intervening years, the kids have given hundreds of volunteer hours to the communal project. As well as helping cultivate lots that feed five families, they’ve rolled up sleeves on volunteer days. They’ve composted soil, raked, hauled and spread communal paths with tons of woodchips.

Neither of the kids recalls posing for their pumpkin-baby photo in 2008. This photographer remembers how diligently Jake wielded his measuring tape; how little Annie bestrode her giant pumpkin like Cinderella riding the ball. The young agrarians feel the vignette sums up what has been the best part of nearly every summer of their lives. “I started off here with a little kid shovel and barrow,” says Jake. “I was proud when I graduated to adult-size tools. I feel like I’ve been digging holes all my life.”

In the acre of Sutter Avenue they consider a second home, Annie, Jake and older brother Nick have made many friends. Some are immigrants who speak little English but are fluent in the language of horticulture. Others are Boy Scouts, whose Eagle projects have augmented facilities with shade structures and storage units. The Swanson’s cousins Anthony, Luke and Zach Bagley are also active garden volunteers. “Through all the weeding and chipping we’ve done together, we’ve really bonded as cousins,” considers Jake.

Further rewards include their good health – the Swanson and Bagley kids are all strong athletes – and their work-ethic. “My grandson Jake is one of the hardest-working teenagers I know,” approves grandma Pat Holbus. “He doesn’t delegate, he just gets stuck in. There’s always plenty to be done in a garden. Every extra hand makes work easier.”

Her grandkids feel their school success is harvested partially from the soil. “In a garden, you learn that if you don’t put in the work, your results will show it,” explains Jesuit High School sophomore class president Jake.

Sister Annie has assumed leadership of a distance-learning group at St John the Evangelist School during COVID months. “From being in a garden, I’ve learned to manage time,” she says. “Things have to be done on schedule or crops and flowers suffer. You get up early and start work before it’s too hot. That means getting your homework finished the night before.”

From weeding, watering and watching things grow, the kids have also learned soil must be nurtured like a living thing; that water is a precious resource; that flowers aren’t just pretty. Annie’s zinnias attract bees and humming birds; without these pollinators, mom and grandma’s delicious vegetable dishes could not reach the table. “My school friends all beg me to bring them grandma’s famous zucchini bread,” she says. “My cousin Zach asks grandma to send him loaves at his college. Another thing we know from gardening is that the vegetables we eat taste better than anything you could ever buy in a store.”

Carmichael Community Garden allotments rent for $60 per year. Gardeners are required to do 10 hours of general volunteer work per year. For more information, Email [email protected]