"The growth habits of cabbage – its hardiness – keep children’s attention,” said Joan Casanova, program spokeswoman. “They start seeing results relatively soon. It not only teaches kids lessons in gardening, it gets their hands in the dirt and away from their cellphones.”

This cabbage is not your garden variety brassica oleracea. It is supersized and can grow up to 40 pounds, said Casanova.

“We start delivering to schools in mid-spring. Third-graders are perfect because at age 9 or 10 they are old enough to be responsible and young enough to be excited by the process,” Casanova noted.

The cabbage plantlets were trucked to elementary schools in the 48 contiguous states, said Casanova. An average of 500 schools in each state receive the baby cabbage plants for immediate use – weather permitting, said Casanova.

Program rules called for the cabbages to be harvested by Sept. 21. Photographs of the junior gardeners and their mature cabbages were submitted to their school teachers who selected one based on the size and appearance of the cabbage, said Casanova.