Barrett – Alabama
I got my cabbage from my homeschool co-op and I planted it in a bigger pot with new soil that night. After planting it, I put it in the window of my dad’s office during the early spring to wait until the freezes were over. When the time was right for planting and the weather was warming up I moved it to a raised bed garden. Luckily in May there was lots of rain which made my cabbage grow and grow. Unfortunately, a bad storm hit with high winds and lots of big hail which put many holes in the leaves but it survived! We harvested the big cabbage and my mom made Corned Beef and Cabbage as well as Vegetable Lo-Mein. We have nine chickens and they got to eat the outer leaves and the roots which they loved. I thought gardening was a good experience and I think I may want to be a farmer in the future and grow more cabbage and tomatoes.
Pattee – Arizona
Our whole 3rd grade class grew giant cabbage. When we harvested my cabbage there was 25 smaller cabbages in the big center! We were able to share with our teachers at school!
Wren – Arkansas
I kept it inside warm in a coffee can when it was a baby plant. I also kept it watered so it would grow big! When it got bigger I kept a netting and sprinkled diatomaceous earth on it so the moths and bugs wouldn’t eat it.
Theo – California
Theo has loved to help in the garden ever since he was a toddler. It was really fun for the whole family to watch his cabbage grow so big!
Grayson – Colorado
When I came home with a small plant, I thought no way could I grow a large cabbage. We planted it in a small pot and kept getting larger pots. It was fun to see it grow so big! I’m proud of myself.
Julian – Connecticut
Julian so enjoyed growing the cabbage! It helped him learn about taking care of plants and better appreciate the work that farmers do to grow our food.
Jordan – Florida
Jordan was very excited to grow the cabbage. He checked on it daily and eagerly awaited harvest day!
Mason – Georgia
What a great experience and fun for the whole family!! Mason really took interest in this project and accepted responsibility for the care and maintenance of his cabbage. He now wants to build a larger garden and has started researching various home garden options and the numerous fruits and vegetables that he could grow in our back yard!! Thanks Bonnie!!!
Audrey – Idaho
We started it as a seed they planted in class in the Spring. We kept it growing at home until we got our new garden boxes ready. We moved it into its permanent home at the end of May. It was definitely maxed out in it’s little pot…. it was root bound. We planted it next to tomatoes and broccoli. It was our first year doing a garden… and we loved it!
Amias – Illinois
Our cabbage grew SO big and looked great! Then we took a trip in August and our housesitter forgot to tend to it. so the bugs we’d diligently kept off got to it. It was still big, but we were sad it wasn’t as glorious as it had been. Amias was SO proud of it and worked hard to keep it watered and protected all spring/summer. I have pictures, but they’re all too big file – I can’t get them to compress. Could you provide me an email I could send one to instead?
Dixie – Indiana
She brought it home and started watching it grown in the window sill, got too big so placed it in a pot, then it outgrew that pot so Dixie decided it was time to take it outside and plant it in the garden! She was so proud!
Eli – Kansas
Eli was VERY motivated to grow the best cabbage he could. His older brother won this competition a few years ago and now Eli wants to be the next winner. Eli loves gardening and monitored it daily!
Jonny – Kentucky
Jonny cared for his cabbage every day, using indoor grow lights at first, then transferring outside in March. It survived frost, hail, tornados and historic floods! He’s so proud of his giant cabbage and excited to help grow more vegetables.
Lillian – Louisiana
We had to watch out for the bugs and make sure there were no worms. I thought the cabbage worms were caterpillars, but my mom informed me they were worms and it was time to harvest the cabbage. The cabbage starter ended up with two heads, but one was very small while the other one humongous! I enjoyed watching it get big.
Aria – Maine
We plant raised beds every year. Aria loves to plant and eat garden cucumbers.
Evelyn – Massachusetts
It was fun watching the cabbage grow from a little seedling to a big, amazing cabbage! When I held it up to take the picture it was so heavy I could barely hold it! I can’t believe my mom’s little garden could grow something like this! Now I’m inspired to do more gardening with my mom.
Lucas – Michigan
Lucas had a blast growing the cabbage. He would check on it daily and took great care of it.
Liam – Minnesota
This was his first crack at gardening!
Will – Mississippi
I had so much fun learning how to grow my cabbage with my grandmother. In class this year we learned about plants but it was an unforgettable experience to plant and harvest my own cabbage.
Colton – Missouri
Kayden – Nebraska
I got my first experience with gardening and loved talking to my grandmother about how big my cabbage had gotten. I was so excited to find out that 2 baby bunnies had hidden under its leaves! What a great learning experience!
Scott – Nevada
I worked very hard on growing my cabbage. First I grew it in the package, and then my dad helped me move it to a bigger pot. It kept growing so we repotted it again. Then it grew really big! I watered it every day and was very careful about bugs and not letting animals eat it. I am really proud of my cabbage. It is a big achievement for me.
Stevie – New Hampshire
Our 3rd grade class enjoyed every moment of this contest! We were able to start them in our small indoor greenhouse. We planted a few in our school garden, while others took some home. Stevie is a student who took hers home and planted it with her grandfather. Her cabbage came out great!
Valentino – New Jersey
I had a blast growing my 9 pound cabbage with my mom in the garden this summer! It was very hot in New Jersey this summer so I worked very hard keeping it watered and almost bug free. This was one of my favorite projects of 3rd grade. It actually tastes delicious, and was so big that I shared it with neighbors & family! My mom said I can grow a cabbage every year in the garden now.
Keelan – New York
Our 3rd grade class grew cabbages. We took care of them in pots in the classroom watering them, making sure they had light and even reading to them! When the cabbages got too big for the pots we planted them on our school’s farm and made bi-weekly trips to the farm to care for the cabbage which included weeding, feeding and sketching/jotting our observations. The cabbages grew so big!
Banks – North Carolina
Banks was thrilled when his teacher, Mrs. McPherson, explained the Bonnie Cabbage Growing contest to him and his classmates. He came home with his cabbage plant and excitedly said he was going to grow the biggest and best cabbage plant. He took care of, watered, and repotted his cabbage plant as it grew. Near the last day of school, he cut it from its roots, took it to our local garden center to be weighed with certified scales, and brought it to school to show all of his classmates. Everyone was impressed and he got almost 800 “likes” from our schools’ Facebook page. The older folks in our community loved that this project proved our strong farming heritage is still thriving. Banks is a fourth generation farmer and fully intends on fulfilling the farming legacy.
Berkley – North Dakota
Arman – Ohio
Growing a cabbage for the Bonnie program was such a fun family project! We all loved to check how big Arman’s cabbage was growing every week. Arman kept it watered and used neem oil to try and keep the bugs away. We also fertilized it with a vegetable fertilizer once which really helped it grow! We are hoping to plant more vegetables in our garden next year!
Jade – Oklahoma
Our 3rd grader had a great time growing her cabbage plant this year (with a little family support)! After past outdoor attempts with older siblings didn’t survive, we tried something new—potting it indoors with a few repots, grow lights, and “vitamin water.” It definitely grew stronger this time… even if it came with a side of gnats in the house!
Beckett – Pennsylvania
While eating the cabbage wasn’t a highlight for me, watching it grow sure had my interest!
Brayden – South Carolina
I was excited to see it grow. I was surprised it got so big.
James – South Dakota
James loves to garden with his mother. He loves watching things grow!
Ellie – Tennessee
Ellie has been growing veggies and flowers in the school farm for more than four years now! She is curious and cares about her plants.
Dalton – Texas
This small town country boy has been planting seeds and growing his own food since he was 4 years old.
He loves mother nature, so when he found out about his class doing the Bonnie Cabbage program he was so excited.
He has never grown or even tasted cabbage until he did this program. Now, it’s his favorite vegetable. We made home made coleslaw together and cabbage casserole. He says he will be growing cabbage every year now.
This has been such a great learning experience for our whole family. We enjoyed it so much his little sister wants to grow one next year too.
Thank yall for this program & helping kids grow!🌱
Alexandria – Utah
This was so fun! We planted in our garden which was heavily composted with chicken feces. It thrived!
Otto – Virginia
It was such an amazing experience to see the tiny baby cabbage grow to be so big!!!
Naomi – Washington
We garden at home. Naomi grew this cabbage with her third grade class so she is representing her whole class. The school garden is new and this is the first season.
Amarah Grace – Wisconsin
