CABOT, AR – John-Michael Farthing, a third-grade student at Mountain Springs Elementary in Cabot, Arkansas, has grown a cabbage weighing 17.5 pounds. According to Arkansas Matters, Farthing grew this cabbage as part of the nation-wide “Bonnie Plants Cabbage Program,” organized by Bonnie Plants.

The program, which runs annually, encourages teachers to sign up their class to participate in growing O.S. Cross cabbages, commonly known as oversized cabbages.

Stan Cope, President of Bonnie Plants, said, “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 our own. 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.

Farthing participated in this program alongside nearly 25,000 other students across the country. For his massive success, Farthing received a $1,000 savings bond towards his future education. The program which began in 1996, stretches across the 48 contiguous states; participants have grown cabbages up to 75 pounds!

To achieve such weighty figures, the “Bonnie Plants Cabbage Program’s” young participants make sure their cabbages receive six hours of full sunlight each day, nutrient-rich soil, at least an inch of water each week, protection from pesky weeds, moths, and worms, and are harvested in a timely manner.

Bonnie Plants