Monster cabbage

Sept. 3, 2006

By Michael Rovito

Frontiersman

She may have been only half the size of her competition, but that didn't keep 11-year-old Brenna Dinkel of Wasilla from bringing the largest cabbage to the Alaska State Fair Friday evening.

Dinkel, whose cabbage, &#8220Bruce,” weighed 73.4 pounds, took the overall win in front of a standing-room-only audience during the annual cabbage weigh-off on the eighth day of the fair.

The Snowshoe Elementary School student beat contestants many years older, and was all smiles after her win.

&#8220I feel really good,” Dinkel said, surrounded by her friends and family.

As the bright sun shone in, hundreds of spectators from as far away as Pennsylvania and New Zealand sat shoulder-to-shoulder in the bleachers with cameras poised to get a shot of vegetables larger than most people have seen before.

Cheers and hollers grew ever louder as the night went on and the cabbages got heavier. One by one, contestants and their cabbages stepped up to the scale, the final test of the summer-long growing season.

Mat-Su Borough Assembly Member Talis Colberg brought his cabbage to the competition. His &#8220Pride of KMBQ,” weighed in at only 37.1 pounds.

In the end, however, it was Dinkel's cabbage that stole the show, sending the audience into a frenzy when the final weight was announced.

As local and national media surrounded Dinkel for photo opportunities and interviews, she talked about what she thought made her cabbage so successful.

&#8220We installed an irrigation system,” she said. &#8220So all I had to do was flip a switch.”

Brenna's father, Gene Dinkel, was enthusiastic as he snapped pictures of his daughter and all the attention she was getting.

Brenna's cabbage, which required four Teeland Middle School &#8220Cabbage Wranglers” to hoist it up on the scale, was a broad, leafy vegetable with the head, where the bulk of the weight comes from, hidden under dense coverage.

Her cabbage also stuck out in the competition because of its luck growing large during what some have called a poor growing season.

Mike Campbell, an inspector with the state's Division of Measurement Standards and Commercial Vehicle Enforcement, said almost two weeks worth of drenching rain in August drowned out many farmers' cabbage crops this year. That complaint was echoed by many of the contestants, who also complained of moose raids, bugs and a cooler-than-usual summer.

Brenna was confident, however, offering up in simple terms some advice for those interested in growing giant cabbages.

&#8220Water it and care for it,” she said.

When asked if they will be back next year, Gene Dinkel answered enthusiastically, &#8220Oh yeah, we'll be back.”

And what does bringing the biggest cabbage to the fair get an 11-year-old? A healthy reward of $2,000, over which Brenna Dinkel said her dad has given her free rein.

&#8220I can spend it on whatever,” she said.

The Alaska State fair will run until Monday in Palmer.

Contact Michael Rovito at 352-2252 or michael.rovito@

frontiersman.com