Cabbage Program Winners

Fall 2024 – Spring 2025 Cabbage Winners

Posted on December 9, 2025December 9, 2025 by Beth Hall

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

2023-2024 Winners

Posted on December 11, 2024December 11, 2024 by savannah burgess

Help us congratulate our 2023-2024 Cabbage Program Winners!

Kristina – Alabama

Kristina did a great job caring for her cabbage. She kept it watered, fertilized it and used neem oil to keep the bugs away. Our family got to enjoy eating the cabbage when she harvested the cabbage.

Harper – Arkansas

This was a learning experience, and so much fun!

Haley – Arizona

Haley now has a green thumb. Growing her cabbage was a fun family activity. She now helps with the flower, corn and other vegetable garden.

Maci – California

We usually have a garden each year and Maci likes to help out. Her sister won the cabbage program in a few years back. How cool would it be for her sister Maci to win 2023/2024 for California!

Sadie – Colorado

This made me want to plant a whole garden. I think the reason why my cabbage grew was because I would sing songs to it, like My Little Sunshine and Old McDonald.

Teagan – Connecticut

Teagan began growing her cabbage indoors in front of a window in May. It outgrew 3 pots! According to the internet you can move your cabbage outside after Memorial Day, which is what she did. To a bigger pot. She loved watching the changes and growth. She watered it daily and noticed that the bugs were really liking her cabbage so she sprayed it with vinegar and water. She really loved the whole experience. Attached is her photo that we took during the Olympics (hence the USA theme). The cabbage was 25 inches in circumference and it made the most delicious cole slaw for our summer picnic!!!

Garrett – Delaware

“Garrett’s aunt, Jennifer Ross a teacher at Clayton Elementary School wanted to make sure Garrett had an opportunity to grow a Bonnie cabbage plant just like her 3rd grade class. Jennifer and her children (Garrett’s cousins) live next door and would get Garrett really excited about how his cabbage was doing, as they both had positive growing experiences with Bonnie Cabbage plant project in the past.

Garrett and I (his mom) planted the cabbage plant in our garden the second week of May. Every week, Garrett would check in on his cabbage head, noticing the difference from one week to the next and measuring with our arm how the cabbage was growing. Often Garrett would also notice that some bugs enjoyed snacking on some of the leaves too.

When it was time to harvest the cabbage and bring it in to the house, Garrett exclaimed, “”Whew this is so heavy!””

We plan to share half of the head to his grandma to make coleslaw and we will make a batch of ham and cabbage this week to share. “

Christian – Florida

This journey of Christian’s cabbage has been quite an adventure. I learned a lot about this student and his dedication to growing this cabbage. I would like to attach the letter his mother wrote to me halfway through the contest. It is about Christian not wanting to give up on his cabbage even after a hailstorm raised havoc with it, a neighbor shot it with an airsoft gun, and various other mishaps with Hulk (that’s what he named the cabbage). He did not want to “pull the plug” on it. His mother wrote that Christian had cancer in 2019 and told be about the battle he and his family fought and their not willing to give up. This attitude and determination transferred to his cabbage. His mother has chronicled this journey so much better than i am explaining. I have been involved with this contest for at least 17 years, and I have never seen a student and family so totally involved with the growing process. Thank you for providing Christian and his family this experience.

Raygen – Georgia

Raygen worked very hard to grow this amazing cabbage. Her grandfather supervised and encouraged her!

Talon – Idaho

I liked to tend my cabbage plant everyday. I looked for bugs and any damage.

Colton – Illinois

Elise – Indiana

Elise planted her cabbage with help from her grandparents!

Liam – Kansas

Scarlett – Kentucky

This year was the first time that Scarlett has ever grown any vegetables. Today she told me she doesn’t care if she wins because she had so much fun gardening. It warmed my heart! thank you for providing the seeds. this really was a wonderful experience.

Ford – Louisiana

Penelope – Massachusetts

I’ve helped garden at the school garden and with my mom in her community garden plot. This is the first time, I have grown something on my own. It was fun looking and writing notes in my journal on how much sun, water and fertilizer the cabbage needs. We also had 3 seedlings and grew them in different sized pots. The cabbage that was in the biggest pot grew the largest. We also had a lot of hungry caterpillars that also enjoyed the cabbage leaves and I had to look up how to prevent caterpillars eating it all. I feel very happy picking and feeling how heavy the cabbage is today. Now I need to think of how to eat this cabbage.

James – Maine

The caterpillars were so hard to find because they camouflaged so well! It was cool to see how big it grew. I really loved seeing it grow bigger and bigger!

Cassidy – Michigan

I had fun watching my cabbage grow. There were lots of green caterpillars that I pulled off. I had no idea a cabbage could get that big.

Nathan – Minnesota

I had a great learning experience growing my cabbage. My family set up a raised garden bed for the first time. We hope to continue to grow more vegetables every year. My grandfathers were farmers, but since I grew up in the city, I hope this cabbage made my family proud!

Seeley – Missouri

Seeley loves to garden! He has grown vegetables in his garden for a few years as part of his 4-H project. Seeley spends a lot of time in the garden weeding, watering, and checking on his plants!

Addison – Mississippi

My cabbage experience was so fun, and I learned a lot! My grandmother taught me how to take care of the cabbage and how to grow it properly. I covered the cabbage on the nights it was cold, gave it plenty of water, and made sure it had lots of sunshine. I even gave my cabbage a name because I thought it would help it grow bigger ……its name is May! I loved my cabbage experience!

Damien – Montana

Damien has been “helping” in the garden since he was a baby. As he got older we’d leave a section of the garden unplanted for him to play. But he got very interested and tomatoes started to appear. And even more interested when I told him he could eat them. As the years have gone by he’s definitely become more helpful. Maybe not the planning part. But the getting the soil ready, and planting part. And definitely helpful in the eating of the produce.

Srinithi – North Carolina

Ashton – Nebraska

Ben – New Hampshire

Ben’s family owns a farm in Loudon, NH. The farm has been in the family for generations, with an apple orchard being their primary focus but they also grow other fruits and vegetables. They are known for their delicious hot cider donuts! Ben and his older brother help out around the farm. Ben also joined the Garden Club, at Loudon Elementary School, where he helped prepare the raised garden beds, planted seeds, and harvested the crops. This year crops were green beans, squash, corn, watermelon, carrots, and potatoes. Thanks to the Bonnie Plant Program, he was so excited to be able to show his growing skills by nurturing his very own cabbage plants.

Giovanni – New Jersey

Not only did Giovanni grow the most beautiful cabbage we’ve ever had in our garden, it tasted unbelievably delicious and we were able to share with neighbors family and friends.

Thank you for this opportunity to participate. It was a fun summer in our household watching grow bigger and bigger by the week.

Charlie – New Mexico

It was a long process to grow the cabbage since March. It was a lot of fun growing a new vegetable in our summer garden. I had a lot of fun. I learned if I do it again to pick the cabbage earlier. It was fun to grow and eat the cabbage. We used it to make Polish Cabbage Rolls with my Babci (Polish for grandma). The cabbage made the food delicious.

Dodge – Nevada

Dodge couldn’t believe that his cabbage survived in the desert climate. His cabbage isn’t as large as the ones on the website, but it sure did make a delicious apple coleslaw. He can’t wait to try for a larger cabbage this year.

Jackson – New York

Colton – Ohio

“At first the cabbage was very small so I put the sprout in a small pot and mom let me keep it in the house by a sunny window. I left it there until it was warm enough to be planted outside in mom’s raised garden bed. I got to use the whole box so the cabbage had plenty of room to grow. I sprayed my cabbage once a week with special juice to kill the bugs that like to eat it. We also have good fertilizer that I mixed into the water. I used this water several times a week. I checked on the cabbage a couple of times a week and had a bunch of fun watching it grow larger and larger. By the end of the summer the little cabbage grew and filled up most of the raised bed garden. Thanks for this experience.”

Jocelyn – Oklahoma

Hello my name is Jocelyn. I’m 9 and had so much fun growing my cabbage. I like in Oklahoma so it gets hot. I would water my cabbage extra on those hot days. So crazy to think how small it was to how big it got. My dad has a garden so we grew it next to his vegetables. We had a great time doing this product. We ate some of the cabbage but also shared with my papas livestock. They loved it!!! Sincerely, Jocelyn

Mya – Oregon

We experienced an issue with grasshoppers, and we were able to mitigate them! Then we left for a few days right around harvest time and came back to an overly mature cabbage. She worked hard, and learned a lot through the process.

Kylie – Pennsylvania

Kylie moved her plant into a pot and had it indoors for a while. Then she moved it outdoors and planted it in mushroom soil. She pulled weeds that grew around it and put miracle grow on it. Some bugs chewed on the leaves. It was fun and we were all amazed how big it got. Her grandma is planning on teaching her to make a massive batch of sauerkraut with it.

Sadie – South Carolina

Sadie loved growing and caring for her colossal cabbage. It was a great project for the entire family!

Aden – South Dakota

Aden helps his grandparents with their garden.

Kinsley – Tennessee

Will – Texas

Good growing conditions this winter. It didn’t get too cold. He did battle the bugs in the spring and got some holy leaves, but the cabbage grew well.

Grayson – Utah

He helps his parents plant in the yard.

Katherine – Virginia

Teigan – Washington

Teigan was so excited to grow this cabbage. Her Grandpa always has a garden so she couldn’t wait to grow something for herself!! This summer we went camping for 9 days to Silverwood (theme park in Idaho). She was so worried about her cabbage that she wanted to bring it with us. Luckily her Dad ordered a timer and was able to set up a watering system so we didn’t need to bring it with us.

Evelyn – Wisoconsin

Evelyn states: I got my plant. I put it in a small pot, but it got too big and it got bigger. I got a raised garden bed to put it in. I transferred it to the new bed. It got lots of holes from bugs, lots of bugs. Moths had eggs on it. The eggs hatched and caterpillars ate some leaves. I got up in the morning to check it for months in the afternoon and evening. Then slugs came in the morning. It was disgusting. Then it got to be 90 degrees every week. So I harvested my cabbage. I made eggrolls and cabbage rolls. They were delicious! I’ve learned that gardening is not easy. It takes work, effort, and patience to make you plant successful!

Rosalyn – West Virginia