By Melissa Hanson WESTFORD -- When Sydney Brotherston enjoys a belated St. Patrick's Day meal of cabbage this weekend, her Irish pride will be paired with some pride in herself: the memory of a award-winning cabbage she grew last year. As a 9-year-old third-grader at the Norman E. Day School, Brotherston took home a baby cabbage and watched over it for weeks. She took photos of the cabbage once it reached full size, and submitted it to the Bonnie Plants Cabbage Program. Bonnie Plants, an Alabama-based plant wholesaler, sends plants to third-graders for growing at home for its cabbage program. Teachers select the best cabbage grown by students in their class, and the winner is selected randomly. Brotherston's lush, green cabbage was named the Massachusetts winner earlier this month. Now a 10-year-old fourth-grader, Brotherston said she never expected her cabbage would win -- or grow that big. "They showed pictures of them and I was like, I can't grow that big of a cabbage, but I can try," Brotherston recalled. The program helps youth perfect their green thumb. Bonnie Plants chooses oversized cabbages because the enormous plants engage children. "It gets them outside in the dirt," said Joan Casanova, a spokesman for Bonnie Plants. "It opens a door to allow them to get in touch with mother nature, to learn how to garden." Brotherston took right to the task of caring for her cabbage. "I needed to plant it, of course, and I used chicken poop to fertilize it," Brotherston explained. Read more: http://www.lowellsun.com/news/ci_29650386/like-corned-beef-st-pats-shes-got-prize#ixzz43Y1BCcYm
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AuthorThe Norman E. Day School is one of six public elementary schools in Westford, Massachusetts. We have 375 students in grades 3-5. CategoriesArchives
December 2016
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