Article: Garden freaks are welcome change.(Originated from Knight-Ridder Newspapers)

Freaks are fun in the vegetable garden. The unusually large or small specimen breaks the monotony of growing things as alike as _ well, as peas in a pod.

So, if a nonconforming plant turns up in your garden, you may want to give it special attention just to see what it will do and maybe save the seed. It just might be something you'll value.

One long ago spring, a picture of an onion seed stalk won first place in a national photography contest for our teen-age son, Clint. The long, green and graceful stalk had sunk down into a sinuous S curve, with the seed head tensely thrust out, like the cobra in the basket eyes an Indian snake charmer.

Our son ...

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