Cabbage Contest
Do you have a third grader at your house? Or do you know a third grade teacher? If so, let them know about Bonnie Plants’ Third Grade Cabbage Program.
Through the program, Bonnie Plants provides free cabbage seeds to third grade students across the country whose teachers have signed up to participate. Each student plants his or her own cabbage, waters it and cares for it. The seeds are for oversized cabbages, so they’re especially fun to watch as they get bigger and bigger and bigger. And at the end of the growing season, Bonnie Plants awards a $1,000 savings bond to one student in each state.
The contest has been going on for the past eight years, and it’s now accepting registrations for the 2010 edition.
In a note to third graders on the company’s web site, Bonnie’s general manager Stan Cope writes, “We at Bonnie Plants want to share our love of gardening. By planting one of our oversized cabbage varieties, you can watch your cabbage plant grow bigger than a basketball! Help us by planting your cabbage and watch it grow, and grow and grow!”
It’s great to see a large corporation making an effort to get kids involved in gardening. Now if all the third graders will actually eat the cabbages, even better! Spread the word and get your local third graders involved. Maybe they’ll end up with $1,000 or even better, a lifelong love of growing their own healthy food.
Do you eat cabbage? How do you like it?
Found your blog through blotanical and love the cabbage seed idea! Kids and cabbage just go together, don’t they? Cute, round and cuddly – though prone to the occasional worm.
For some more great ideas for the kids, try this website: pickyourown.org. I’ve listed it on my blog and find it’s a great resource for fun. Not to mention the “fresh from real pumpkin” bread you can make!
Thanks for letting us know about this – I’m going to send it to the third grade teachers in our school (though my son is in 4th – wish I’d known about it last year!) What a great thing for Bonnie to do to give kids incentive to garden!
I make a Carribbean vegetable stew from Moosewood cookbook that has cabbage, okra & sweet potato – it’s about that time of year to make it, too!
This post makes me wonder if the 3rd graders at Meg’s school are growing these cabbages, there is a plot of cabbage there. They also have a larger than normal supply of Cabbage White butterflies to eat it as it grows as well. Meg teaches 5th grade there.
What a fun project! Children need more programs where they learn practical skills instead of video games and healthy meals instead of fast food.
Cabbage? Steamed, in cole slaw, stir fried; there’s even a recipe for combining cabbage and those inexpensive Ramen noodles, toasted, to make a great salad. Oh, tasty!