Watch CBS News

Kid Grows Nine-Pound Cabbage, Bigger Than His Head

SPRING GROVE (CBS) -- An 10-year-old at Lotus Elementary in northwest suburban Spring Grove is getting some help for college, thanks to a nine pound cabbage which he says is bigger than his head.

Blake Sieckowski planted one of the two cabbage seedlings that survived the summer in a planting contest entered by Ms. Colleen Clary's third-grade class.

Blake said he was kind of surprised he won since he was up against thousands of farm kids across Illinois who entered the cabbage contest sponsored by Bonnie Plants.

Blake's cabbage earned him a $1,000 savings bond, good for college expenses, according to the Bonnie Plants website

Blake's mother, Gail Sieckowski, said there were bigger cabbages grown, but few looked as perfect as Blake's which came in a 9 pounds, 14 ounces, and 26 inches in diameter.

Blake said since his home backs up onto Pistakee Lake, he didn't have enough room to grow a giant cabbage. So he planted it in the backyard of his uncle Mike who contributed greatly by removing bugs that killed off many other cabbages in the Lotus Elementary Class.

Sieckowski says he doesn't know where he wants to attend college but says right now he's leaning toward engineering or medicine. He'd like to try to grow another giant cabbage, maybe a giant pumpkin, but says he has no plans to become a farmer.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.