Once again a radish has become the star of Lloyd Vandenberg's garden.
"I can't believe it," he said.
Last year, the Superior man grew a whopper -- a radish weighing nearly 1/2 a pound. This year, another large radish waits in the dirt for its turn to be weighed. Vandenberg doesn't want to disturb it yet, though. It has grown a thick, tree-like trunk. The fronds coming off that trunk end with dozens upons dozens of small seed pods, and Vandenberg wants to make sure they're well-dried and ready for storage before the plant is pulled.
The two unique radishes both started in the same place -- Dan's Feed Bin. Vandenberg bought a package of seeds from the business this year for less than $2. While the rest of his radishes were small and rather hard, this one grew to exceptional proportions. The same thing happened with the weighty radish last year.
In 21 years of gardening, Vandenberg said he has never seen anything like these two monster vegetables.
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He knows they weren't mutated by chemicals. The only fertilizer he uses in his North End garden is his own mulch -- composted leaves, grass and vegetable scraps.
Perhaps Vandenberg just has a green thumb. His garden was certainly proof of that.
Monday, while the radish was being photographed, cucumbers, onions and tomatoes -- all normal size -- ripened in the sun in the North End garden.
