Teachers can apply now to have their students participate in the 2017 National Bonnie Plants Third Grade Cabbage Program. It’s free to any third grade classroom in the country.
Bonnie Plants will deliver 2-inch “oversized” cabbage plants to every registered third grade classroom in the country. If nurtured and cared for, kids can cultivate and grow giant cabbages, some bigger than a basketball, often tipping the scales at more than 40 pounds.
This year, more than 1.5 million third graders in 48 states have gotten hands-on gardening experience growing colossal cabbages with high hopes to win “best in state” and receive a scholarship toward education from Bonnie Plants.
Launched nationally in 2002, the program awards a $1,000 scholarship to one student in each participating state. At the end of the season, teachers from each class select the student who has grown the best cabbage, based on size and appearance.
That student’s name is then entered into a statewide drawing. State winners are randomly selected by the Commission of Agriculture in each of the 48 participating states.
To see the 2016 winners as they come in, and learn more about the 2017 contest, register at bonnieplants.com.
This article appears in Nov 17-24, 2016.