Third-grade teachers across America are invited to sign up for the 2013 Bonnie Plants Cabbage Program.

Gardening teaches kids where food comes from, healthy eating and raises their environmental consciousness. A great way to get kids started in the garden is the National Bonnie Plants Third Grade Cabbage Program. The program is free to any third grade classroom in the country and teachers can register now at bonniecabbageprogram.com.

The program was initiated in 2002. Each year, Bonnie trucks more than one million free O.S. Cross cabbage plants to third grade classrooms across the country. O.S. stands for oversized; the cabbages can grow upwards of 40 pounds, making the initiative engaging and fun. The biggest cabbage grown in the contest weighed in at 65 pounds.

Teaches distribute 2-inch plants with instructions, provided by Bonnie, to students to carry home and grow. At the end of the growing season, teachers select a class winner, based on size, appearance and maturity and that submission is entered in a state scholarship drawing. The state winners are randomly selected by each state’s Director of Agriculture, and Bonnie Plants awards a $1,000 scholarship for education to one student in each state.