CABBAGES
CABBAGES IN OUR GARDENS, ALONG WITH CARROTS, TOMATOES,
LETTUCE AND BEANS. BUT
HAVE YOU EVER GROWN A
CABBAGE SO BIG THAT IT
COULD
COULD FEED THE NEIGHBORHOOD? TODAY ON 'YOU CAN
GROW IT', GARDEN
MASTER JIM DUTHIE
INTRODUCES US TO A
BOISE GRADE SCHOOLER
WHO
WHO DID
WHO DID JUST THAT, AND IT PAID OFF FOR HIM IN A BIG WAY, THANKS TO A
NATIONAL PROGRAM
SPONSORED BY THE
BONNIE PLANT COMPANY.
PACKAGE:
"PEOPLE HAVE LOTS OF
REASONS FOR GROWING
THEIR OWN VEGETABLES,
BUT
BUT ONE
BUT ONE BOISE BOY HAS EARNED SOME CABBAGE COLD, HARD CASH FOR
GROWING, WELL, SOME
CABBAGE. AND THIS
CABBAGE TURNED OUT TO
BE ONE OF THE BIGGEST
ONES GROWN IN IDAHO."
GRANT DURHAM IS A
TYPICAL FOURTH GRADER
AT SACRED HEART
CATHOLIC SCHOOL IN
BOISE. LAST YEAR, WHEN
HE WAS IN THE THIRD
GRADE, GRANT
PARTICIPATED IN THE
BONNIE PLANTS CABBAGE
PROGRAM, AND IT PAID
OFF. HE WON THE CASH
PRIZE FOR GROWING ONE
OF THE BIGGEST
CABBAGES IN THE STATE --
AND GOT A ONE-
THOUSAND DOLLAR
SAVINGS BOND, COURTESY
OF BONNIE PLANTS.
SO HOW BIG WAS THIS
CABBAGE?
"25 POUNDS."
THAT'S 25-POINT-EIGHT
POUNDS TO BE EXACT.
GRANT WAS ONE OF
NEARLY 8000 IDAHO
THIRD GRADERS THAT
PARTICIPATED IN THE
BONNIE PLANTS CABBAGE
PROGRAM.
"EACH YEAR, BONNIE
PLANTS GIVES ABOUT A
MILLION CABBAGE PLANTS
TO THIRD GRADERS ALL
ACROSS THE COUNTRY,
AND IT'S OUR CHANCE TO
INSPIRE THE NEXT
GENERATION OF
GARDENERS."
"THE CABBAGE PROGRAM
HAS GROWN EVERY YEAR
AND WE JUST FIND THAT
WE CAN TOUCH A LOT OF
KIDS WITH THIS
PROGRAM."
LIKE THESE WINNERS
FROM OTHER PARTS OF
THE COUNTRY, WHO'S
CABBAGES WERE JUDGED
BY WEIGHT AS WELL AS
SIZE.
HAYDEN PENA WITH
CABBAGE 5/4/17
"CABBAGE PATCH KID"
TWO YEARS AGO, HAYDEN
PENA OF STAR WON THE
AWARD FOR HIS 23-
POINT-SIX POUND
CABBAGE.
"THAT'S TYPICAL. YOU
CAN GET THAT JUST WITH
TAKING GOOD CARE OF IT,
WATERING IT, FERTILIZE.
YEAH, YOU CAN GET TO 25
POUNDS PRETTY EASY."
BUT GRANT WASN'T
REALLY SURE THAT HE
COULD WIN.
"I THOUGHT THE
CHANCES WERE LOW."
AFTER ALL, HE DOESN'T
EVEN HAVE A GARDEN.
"NO, BUT MY GRANDPA
DOES. THAT'S WHERE WE
PLANTED IT."
AND GROWING THE
CABBAGE BECAME A
PROJECT THAT HE WAS
ABLE TO SHARE WITH HIS
GRANDPA.
"I WATERED IT EVERY
SATURDAY AND SUNDAY,
BECAUSE THAT'S ONLY
WHEN I GO THERE, WHEN
SCHOOL IS OUT."
AND THE HARDEST PART?
"DIGGING THE HOLE."
SO WHAT DO YOU DO
WITH A 25 POUND
CABBAGE? MAKE COLE
SLAW FOR THE ENTIRE
NEIGHBORHOOD?
"NO. I DON'T LIKE COLE
SLAW."
"I THINK IT JUST STAYED
IN OUR GARAGE FREEZER
IN A PLASTIC BAG TILL IT
ROTTED OUT."
GRANT'S THIRD GRADE
TEACHER SAYS THE
CABBAGE PROGRAM IS A
GREAT WAY FOR HER
STUDENTS TO LEARN
ABOUT THE SCIENCE OF
HORTICULTURE.
"IT FITS INTO OUR
SCIENCE CURRICULUM.
WE TALK ABOUT THE
PLANT LIFE CYCLE AND
GROWING AND WHAT
PLANTS NEED TO GROW,
AND WHAT KINDS OF
THINGS CAN GROW IN
THIS REGION."
"IT'S VERY EASY. BONNIE
PLANTS BRINGS THE
CABBAGES. THEY LEAVE
THEM HERE. WE HAND
THEM OUT. THEY COME
WITH PAPERWORK THAT
EXPLAINS TO THE KIDS
WHAT
WHAT TO
WHAT TO DO." "THERE ARE TWO THINGS THAT MAKE A GOOD
CABBAGE. HOW HEAVY IT
IS, AND HOW WIDE IT IS."
"SO EACH SCHOOL SENDS
IN ONE WINNER FROM
THE SCHOOL, AND THEN
FROM ALL THOSE
WINNERS WE CHOOSE
ONE."
WHILE GRANT DOESN'T
REALLY LIKE CABBAGE, HE
DOES HAVE SOME ADVICE
ON HOW TO GROW A BIG
ONE.
"TRY YOUR BEST TO
FERTILIZE IT.... AND TALK
TO IT."
AND JUST WHAT DO YOU
SAY TO A CABBAGE?
"PLEASE,
"PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE GROW." AND THAT'S EXACTLY
WHAT HAPPENED. AND
GRANT HAS THE GREEN.
ER, THE CABBAGE.. ER,
THE
THE CASH,
THE CASH, TO PROVE IT. FOR IDAHO'S NEWS CHANNEL 7, AND YOU
CAN GROW IT, I'M JIM
DUTHIE.
DUTHIE.
THE
THE HUGE
THE HUGE CABBAGES LIKE THE ONE GRANT GREW ARE A VARIETY CALLED O.
S. CROSS, AND THEY CAN
TIP THE SCALES AT UP TO
40 POUNDS.
BY COMPARISON, THE
CABBAGES THAT WE BUY
IN THE GROCERY STORE
USUALLY ONLY WEIGH
ABOUT TWO TO THREE
POUNDS.