Mark and Kathleen Keema stand in front of a full-scale replica of a Wells Fargo stagecoach, located at Keema’s Pumpkin Farm a few minutes south of Elk Grove.

 

SACRAMENTO, CA (MPG) – “Come enjoy the country” is the tag line the Keema family uses when it talks about its pumpkin farm in unincorporated Sacramento County south of Elk Grove.

The pumpkin farm is more than it seems. Sure, visitors can pick pumpkins off the vine following a tractor ride to the patch. But there are more things to do.

“Everything is reflective of the kinds of activities we did as kids,” said Megan Cantrell, daughter of Mark and Kathleen Keema. Cantrell was at the farm Oct. 17, which was expected to be a popular Saturday.

Visitors can pet farm animals like Penelope the new calf and the horse, which visitors can feed. The farm has a sheep and a goat, too.

The Easter family has made a visit to Keema’s Pumpkin Farm a family tradition. This year was the fourth year for the family, who visited Oct. 17.

A corn maze challenges visitors to find their way through the stalks. And vendors sell goods like soap, jewelry, cotton candy, coffee, barbecue and ice cream. Children can climb a haystack and go down a slide.

Plus, there are plenty of photo opportunities, like a full-scale replica of a Wells Fargo stagecoach, made by Mark Keema’s father Ed Keema.

Ed Keema built the stagecoach in Elk Grove City Hall. Keema’s Pumpkin Farm is in its 20th year.

“I was looking for a side hustle,” Mark Keema said when asked why he started the pumpkin farm where he and his wife live. “It just kind of took over.”

Directional signs at Keema’s Pumpkin Farm in unincorporated Sacramento County south of Elk Grove.

What started as a place to buy a pumpkin, Cantrell said, “kept growing and growing,” Mark Keema said.

Mark Keema’s parents were in the dairy business, and he liked farming but not the animal husbandry part, he said.

A friend suggested he give pumpkin-growing a try, he said, and he mulled it over for about a year.

The farm is a lot of work, he said. The farm this year is open until Nov. 1. He’ll start working on next year’s crop Nov. 2, he said.

Pumpkin seeds are planted around June 15 and corn is planted around the start of July, Cantrell said.

“It’s a cute little pumpkin patch,” said South Sacramento resident Stephanie Chavez, who came with her sister and her sister’s two children.

Betsy, 3, goes down the slide Oct. 17 at Keema’s Pumpkin Farm in unincorporated Sacramento County.

They were looking for a patch nearby, Chavez said. Keema’s is about 20 minutes from South Sacramento, according to Google Maps.

Eight-year-old Olivia Chavez’s favorite part was holding the kittens. The farm has a lot of fun stuff to do, she said.

“This is our family tradition,” said, Montie Easter, who was there with his wife and children Hazel, 10, Sofia, 7, Uzziah, 6 and Ezekiel, 3. “We look forward to it.”

When September comes around, the Easter family plans its October events, one of which is Keema’s, Montie Easter said. The family likes picking a pumpkin and the children like getting their faces painted, he said.

Kathleen Keema urged, “Come visit the country.”