Gastonia, N.C. – The North Carolina Department of Agriculture recognized Costner Elementary student Alyssa Bloomer during a school ceremony on Monday, January 9.  Bloomer was selected as the North Carolina winner in the Bonnie Plants Third Grade Cabbage Program and received a $1,000 scholarship for growing a 25-pound cabbage plant.

Bloomer learned about the contest from her third-grade teacher Kimberly Dalton.

“The Bonnie Plants Cabbage Program is a wonderful way to engage children’s interest in science,” said Dalton. “The students learn the life cycle of a plant, how to care for it and what it needs to grow: soil, sunlight and water.”

Bloomer brought home the cabbage seedling last February and planted it in her grandfather’s garden. “I thought it would be fun to try,” she explained. “I took care of it every day and let my pawpaw’s soil do the rest.” 

When the plant grew larger than expected, Bloomer's aunt expanded the garden fence. 

“We put up a five-foot fence to let it grow, but also to keep out deer and rabbits,” said Jan Paysour, who helped her niece with the project. “Never did we think that we would have to worry about an April hail storm that punched holes through the leaves.” 

At the end of the contest, Bloomer showed a picture of the cabbage plant to her teacher.

“It was a bit of a surprise,” said Dalton, whose classes have participated in the online Bonnie Plants Cabbage Program for a few years. “All of the students start out doing it, but rarely will a student bring me a picture. Most students will tell me the dog ate it, it was not planted or it died from too much sun or very little watering.”

Bloomer was one of 72,205 students from 769 schools in North Carolina to participate in the national program. She was among 244 students who qualified as finalists.

Click here for a slideshow of pictures from the ceremony at Costner Elementary.