4-year-old Kansan learns hard work and responsibility through gardening

ARKANSAS CITY, Kan. (KSNW) — Jennifer Adams has had a garden for about 15 years, and her oldest grandson, Weston Carver, has become her right-hand man.

“We water it, fertilize it, plant it, and make mud when you water it,” Weston said.

After he started walking, he always wanted to help. Now, at 4 years old, it has turned into a special activity and side gig.

“He would help me water the plants,” Adams said. “Then, as he’s gotten bigger, the garden got bigger. We have had so much surplus that we would just set up in their front yard and just give it away, or people would make donations.”

Weston started setting up at farmers’ markets as well. Adams says it has helped him come out of his shell and learn manners.

“I think it’s helped him not be so shy,” Adams said. “We really try to teach him please and thank you, so dealing with people that buy his vegetables, we make that a priority.”

Weston’s mom, Hannah Carver, says she’s excited for him to learn the responsibility that comes with gardening.

“Being able to show him your food doesn’t just come from the store,” Hannah said. “It takes a lot of hard work and time. Definitely, he’s learning the responsibility. If you don’t take care of your plants, obviously they die, and it takes a lot of hard work and time and effort and energy that you put into your gardens to make them successful.”

After setting up at the farmers markets, they saw a need down the street.

“We had some people coming down from Lakeview Estates which is just a few blocks away from where the farmers market is at,” Hannah said. “They told us that there’s a lot of people that don’t drive, they’re in those electric wheelchairs, and it’s kind of hard for them to get down to the market, so they asked if we would be willing to go set up there. We set up there Friday evening, 6 to 7, and it’s been really great to interact with older people that are kind of slowed down and want to spend time talking to him. It’s been a good experience for him, and a lot of the people there are veterans, and so it’s nice to hear those stories from them and just learn from them.”

He donates some vegetables and others he sells, learning about saving money.

“He learns the main thing is hard work, and we’re earning the money on the side, so he’s getting to see the hard work,” Hannah said. “You can earn money if you work hard and take care of your stuff and the responsibility aspect, but I’m hoping on the other side of that we get to take stuff to the fairs and just enter stuff for him and show him like, you do take good care of your stuff, there’s prizes to be won.”

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Adams’s grandparents always had a garden as well, and her mother started a garden as Adams got older.

“Everything they cooked was out of the garden or raised on their farm, so it just tasted so much better,” Adams said. “That would probably be my number one memory is my grandma cooking. She would literally go out, dig the potatoes, bring them in and cook them.”

She hopes as Weston’s cousins and sister get older, the garden will grow.

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