January 2017 Education
Kids Grow Green: Cashing in on Cabbage
grade classrooms whose teachers have signed up for the program online at
www.bonnieplants.com. If nurtured and cared for, kids can cultivate, nurture and grow giant cabbages, some bigger than a basketball, tipping the scales, often over 40 pounds!
In 1996, Bonnie Plants initiated Virginia State Winner: Cole Caywood/
School: Rhea Valley Elementary Meadowview, Virginia
Kids across America are growing,
and some are earning, a lot of green participating in the National Bonnie Plants Cabbage Program. This year, more than 1.5 million third graders in 48 states have gotten hands-on gardening experience growing colossal cabbages with high hopes to win best in state and receive a $1,000 scholarship towards education from Bonnie Plants.
Each year Bonnie Plants, the
largest producer of vegetable and herb plants in North America, with 80 growing facilities across the country, trucks free O.S. Cross, or "oversized," cabbage plants to third
the 3rd Grade Cabbage Program in and around headquarters in Union Springs, Alabama, with a mission to inspire a love of vegetable gardening in young people and grow our next generation of gardeners. By 2002, the program grew to become a national endeavor, including the 48 contiguous states. The program awards a $1,000 scholarship to one student in each participating state. At the end of the season, teachers from each class select the student who has grown the best cabbage, based on size and appearance. A digital image of the cabbage and student is submitted online at
www.bonnieplants.com. That student's name is then entered in a statewide drawing. State winners are randomly selected by the Commission of Agriculture's office, in each of 48 participating states.
The Bonnie Plants Cabbage
Program is a wonderful way to engage children's interest in agriculture, while teaching them not only the basics of gardening, but the importance of our food systems and growing
Scholarship Watch
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The Hampton Roads Messenger 11
our own, said Stan Cope, President of Bonnie Plants. This unique, innovative program exposes children to agriculture and demonstrates, through hands-on experience, where food comes from. The program also affords our youth with some valuable life lessons in nurture, nature, responsibility, self-confidence and accomplishment.
Over the course of the past 14
years, the Bonnie Plants Cabbage Program has proved to be an exciting, worth-while experience that children, teachers, parents and grandparents across the country have embraced. We're pleased and proud to our VIRGINIA State Winner- Cole Caywood! We are grateful to have the opportunity to provide our youth with this enjoyable and enriching opportunity and engage their interest in the art and joy of gardening, said Cope.
Getting It Growing: Growing
a colossal cabbage may seem like a giant undertaking for young kids, but it's easier than you think. All you need to do is:
· Let the Sunshine In: Cabbages
need at least six hours of full sunlight, more if possible.
· Survey Your Space: Bonnie
O.S. cabbages need at least three feet on each side to spread out. If you don't have that much space, use a large container.
· Supplement Soil: Work some
compost into the soil cabbages love nutrient-rich soil.
· Feed Your Food Plant: Start your cabbage off right with an all-purpose
vegetable plant food. Follow label directions to keep it growing strong.
· Water Wisely: Your cabbage
needs at least one inch of rainfall each week. If it doesn't rain, use a watering can or garden hose to gently water your plant at soil level.
· Tend To Trouble: Keep weeds
out of the cabbage patch they compete for the food and water your cabbage needs. Be on the lookout for brown or white moths these come from worms that love to munch on cabbage. If you see any, get rid of them right away. Cold weather can damage your cabbage. If the weather gets below 32° F, cover your cabbage with a bucket or clothe covering.
· Hefty Harvest: In just 10 to
12 weeks, you should have a huge head of cabbage you can be proud of. Green thumbs and perseverance can pay off, providing participating children with as great sense of pride and accomplishment, a humongous cabbage, and for the lucky state winner, the beginning of an educational fund for college.
A great way to get kids started
in the garden is the National Bonnie Plants Third Grade Cabbage Program, it's free to any third grade classroom in the country and teachers can register NOW at
www.bonnieplants.com for the 2017 program. Bonnie Plants will truck 2 cabbage plants to every registered third grade classroom in the country; delivery will be scheduled based on geographic region.
To see the 2016 winners as they
come in, and learn more about the 2017 contest, visit
www.bonnieplants. com
Our PAST. Our PRESENT. Our FUTURE.
Davidson fellows scholarship
• Website:
www.davidsongifted.org/Fellows-Scholarship • Address: 9665 Gateway Drive Suite B Reno, NV 89521 • Email:
davidsonfellows@davidsongifted.org • Application deadline: February, 8 2017 • Award: $10,000-$50,000 This scholarship is for Individuals 18 and under who have
created an unique work of art under one of the categories: science, technology, engineering, mathematics, literature, music, philosophy.
Eligibility: • 18 years or younger as of October 1
• Be a citizen or legal permanent resident of the U.S. (including those in the U.S. military sustained overseas on active duty)
• Student's projects are at, or close to graduate level depth of knowledge in their area of study
For a listing of more scholarships visit:
hamptonroadsmessenger.com Angela Jones Writer | Public Speaker | Historian
LET’S TALK ABOUT IT.
This Black History Month & Women’s History Month, book Hampton Roads Messenger Publisher, Angela Jones, for school, church, and corporate speaking engagements.
Call 757-575-1863.
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