Thirteen years ago, Palmer farmer Scott Robb set a world record with a 138-pound cabbage he brought to the Alaska State Fair.
Not long afterward, Palmer’s local visitor center dedicated a statue to the cabbage and the other colossal world-record vegetables grown in the area.
Now, at the urging of a leading visitor center volunteer, a state legislator from Palmer is proposing to enshrine Alaska’s giant cabbages in state law as the official state vegetable.
If adopted by the House, Senate and Gov. Mike Dunleavy, House Bill 202 would declare that “Giant cabbage (Brassica oleracea var. capitata) is the official vegetable of the state.”
Rep. DeLena Johnson, R-Palmer, introduced the bill, but it picked up bipartisan support almost immediately with the co-sponsorship of Rep. Genevieve Mina, D-Anchorage.
This is the third time Johnson has suggested honoring the giant cabbage. In 2020 and 2022, she introduced bills that would have declared it the state vegetable. Neither bill received a hearing despite bipartisan support.
It might be viewed as silly, but Johnson said that the bill serves a legitimate tourism and economic development purpose.
“Just like you have a state salmon, it’s a fun fact and a way to point out something unique about Alaska,” she said. “People throughout the world do not ever think about the fact that we have this amazing place to grow vegetables.”
At the Palmer Visitor Center and Museum, Richard Estelle frequently fields vegetable-related questions from tourists.
He suggested the bill to Johnson, who introduced it at his request.
The son of a vegetable farmer, Estelle said he was looking up various state symbols and “got a little incensed” when he realized that Alaska doesn’t have a state vegetable.
“New Mexico has got two of them. They’ve got red chili and a green chili. And Idaho has the potato,” he said.
Those vegetables are symbols of the state’s agriculture industry, he said. Alaska recognizes mining with a state mineral, and fishing with a state fish. Why not agriculture?
“I thought agriculture in Alaska ought to get something. It’s an important industry, and so we probably ought to have a state vegetable,” he said.
After considering carrots and other options, he settled on the world-record cabbage.
While the Alaska State Fair has plenty of big vegetables, the cabbage takes center stage, Johnson said.
“The cabbage was the first one that became the big icon. And it’s the iconic vegetable at the Alaska State Fair,” she said.
“There’s never been any other place in the country that’s ever surpassed (the world record), and we will hold the record forever,” Johnson said. “Now, there is someone in Wales currently that is trying to beat us, and they can’t do it, but I’m keeping my eye on them.”
• James Brooks is a longtime Alaska reporter, having previously worked at the Anchorage Daily News, Juneau Empire, Kodiak Mirror and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner. This article originally appeared online at alaskabeacon.com. Alaska Beacon, an affiliate of States Newsroom, is an independent, nonpartisan news organization focused on connecting Alaskans to their state government.
