Maci Johnson, a third-grader at El Toro Health Science Academy in Morgan Hill, is the California winner of this year’s National Bonnie Plants Third Grade Cabbage Program.
Each year, Bonnie Plants, the largest producer of vegetable and herb plans in North America, ships free O.S. Cross, or “oversized,” cabbage plants to third grade classrooms and home school groups that sign up for the program, says a press release from Bonnie Plants.
The program helps to provide young students throughout the nation with hands-on gardening experience, with high hopes to win “best in state” and a $1,000 scholarship.
If nurtured and cared for, giant cabbages grown by the third graders can grow much bigger than a basketball, and sometimes more than 40 pounds.
Johnson’s colossal cabbage weighed in at 24.5 pounds, says the press release. Maci is, in fact, the second member of her family to grow the largest cabbage in California.
Johnson’s mother said, “We usually have a garden each year and Maci likes to help out. Her sister, Emma, won the cabbage program in 2020-21. How cool would it be for her sister Maci to win too?”
And win, she did.
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 third grade class select the student who has grown the “best” cabbage, based on size and appearance
