Giant cabbage named Alaska’s official state vegetable by Legislature

Symbol added to agriculture bill, awaits governor’s approval or veto

Rep. DeLena Johnson, R-Palmer, speaks on the House floor on May 13, 2026. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Independent)

By Ellie Ruel

Juneau Independent

Amidst a chaotic bill-passing flurry in the final days of the regular legislative session, the giant green cabbage may emerge as a leafy victor after a bill establishing it as the new state vegetable cleared the Legislature shortly before adjournment.

Senate Bill 208, originally focused on simplifying the agricultural land leasing process, was amended during the final weekend to include new regulations for industrial hemp growers and to establish the state vegetable. It passed the House with 39 yeas and one nay, and the Senate concurred with 17 yeas and three nays.

Rep. DeLena Johnson, R-Palmer, introduced the original bill focused solely on cabbage, HB 202, to promote the state's agriculture. The sponsor statement says that Alaska has a state bird, dog, fish, mammal, flower, and even tree, so it’s “high time our Alaska Giant Green Cabbage joins the pantheon of our state’s official living insignia.”

Sixteen other states claim an official vegetable. Georgia has the Vidalia sweet onion and Vermont the Gilfeather Turnip. In Idaho it’s the potato, but neighboring Oregon also has that tag on its tubers. New Hampshire names the white potato, and three states (Alabama, Louisiana and North Carolina) honor sweet potatoes. And in Oklahoma it’s watermelon because, while botanically a fruit, a state lawmaker there observed “it's a member of the cucumber family” — although those are also classified as a fruit. 

Johnson’s cabbage bill passed the House 38-1 on May 13 — one week before the session adjourned — and its provisions were added to SB 208 during the final rush in the closing days.

“It's a fun bill,” Johnson said after a State Affairs Committee hearing for HB 202. “Some might think this is inconsequential, but it is something that’s good for the state fair, it's a big deal for Palmer.
 It's also something that you can just have kind of a light moment in the building that makes it a pleasant thing.”

The hybrid O-S Cross cabbage named in the bill is famed for its enormity — Palmer’s Scott Rob broke a world record with a 138-pound Alaska State Fair entry in 2012. The extra light during Alaska summers due to high latitude can give plants a photosynthetic edge, allowing them to put on significant biomass under the right conditions.

Johnson noted the cabbage weigh-off that ends the state fair is a “serious competition,” and entrants usually have finely tuned sprinkler setups and exacting environmental controls. Palmer doesn’t take its cabbage ethos lightly, as the vegetables are honored by “cabbage fairy” mascots and a cabbage statue is located by the visitor center.

Some, such as conservative commentator and journalist Suzanne Downing, have criticized the bill as a symbol of legislative inefficiency in multiple formats, including a cartoon. 

“While the gasline package died amid procedural chaos, amendments, ‘at ease’ delays, and political maneuvering, the cabbage bill rolled smoothly across the finish line,” Downing wrote. “At least Alaska now has an official vegetable.”

She’s stuck with the cabbage bill through thick and thin — Johnson introduced similar legislation in 2020 and 2022. Neither bill received a hearing despite bipartisan support.

“I believe it's a piece of legislation that markets our agriculture. Most of the agriculture really is phenomenal,” Johnson said. “I think it was worth bringing it forward again.”

After minor clerical errors were recorded on Monday, the bill is still awaiting transmittal to the governor’s office, where it can be signed, allowed to become law without a signature or vetoed.

• Contact Ellie Ruel at ellie.ruel@juneauindependent.com.