| Garrett Royster, a 2010 winner from Alabama (Photo courtesy of Bonnie Plants) |
Registration is now underway for the 10th year of the National Bonnie Plants Third Grade Cabbage Program.
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In 2002, Bonnie Plants initiated the program with a mission to inspire a love of vegetable gardening in
young people. Each year, the company trucks more than one million free cabbage plants to third-grade
classrooms across the country.
Teachers distribute plants with instructions, provided by the sponsoring company, to students to carry
home and grow. At the end of the growing season, teachers select a class winner, based on size,
appearance and maturity and that submission is entered in a state scholarship drawing.
The state winners are randomly selected by each state’s Director of Agriculture, and Bonnie Plants awards
a $1,000 scholarship to one student in each state.
A Perrysburg student was a state winner one year.
Bonnie Plants has delivered nearly 11 million cabbage plants, nationwide, over the course of the past 9
years, fostering an interest in gardening, healthy eating, and the environment.
"The joy of gardening and the satisfaction of growing healthy food are gifts that kids never
outgrow," says Stan Cope, President and CEO of Bonnie Plants and grandson of founders Livingston
and Bonnie Paulk. "We’re grateful for the opportunity to share these gifts with the next generation
of gardeners."
Why a cabbage? Cabbages were the first plant sold by the operation in 1918. The cabbages used for the
third-grade program are OS Cross (Over-sized), which is known for producing giant, oversized heads,
making the process even more exciting for kids. Some kids have grown cabbages weighing more than 50
pounds.
Schools and teachers of third-grade students next year need to register in advance which can be done
through the Website at www.bonnieplants.com.
Parents are not able to register for this program, only the teachers can register for the class.
