'Post Office' delivers in Alaska State Fair cabbage weigh-off
Cabbage champion Scott Robb secured first place win by using a vacuum to battle slugs.
What you need to know:
- Palmer resident Scott Robb won the Alaska State Fair cabbage contest for the third year in a row with his cabbage, “Post Office,” which weighed 84.2 pounds.
- While some competitors complained that slugs were a major problem during the 2025 growing season, Robb said he keeps them away by vacuuming them off the cabbages.
- Paul Dinkle, 8, took second place with an 80.7-pound cabbage, while Brian Shunskis placed third with his 79-pound entry.
PALMER – Reigning Alaska State Fair big cabbage king Scott Robb has a secret weapon for holding on to his crown at the annual weigh-off: a small vacuum.
As a parade of other competitors at Friday’s giant cabbage contest complained about an onslaught of slugs munching on their entries and triggering rot, Robb said he simply used suction to keep the pests at bay.
“I’ve got a little one-gallon vacuum cleaner with a soft hose, and I just suck them off,” he said. “I wait to see if there’s any damage, and then I go after them.”
Robb took home the first-place ribbon and $1,000 prize for the third year in a row on Friday with “Post Office,” an 84.2-pound lunker grown in Palmer and so named because Robb was “just hoping it delivers,” he said before the event.
Robb, who holds the fair record for his 138.25-pound champion in 2012, also took first place in 2024 and 2023 with winning cabbages of 97.35 pounds and 113.05 pounds, respectively.
While there were plenty of entries this year – about 32 cabbages in adult and youth categories – all were on the small side, likely due to cooler spring temperatures, Robb said.
Paul Dinkle, 8, competed in the adult category so he could go head-to-head against his uncle, Keevan Dinkle, 21, who won the competition in 2013. Both Paul and Keevan Dinkle live in Wasilla.
Paul’s cabbage, “Toothless,” took second place Friday at 80.7 pounds. Veteran cabbage competitor Brian Shunskis, who traveled in from Salcha, came in third with “Burbot” at 79 pounds. Keevan Dinkle took fourth with “Jarvis” at 76.15 pounds.
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