Above: Frank Ricchiari of Old Bridge grew a tomato that was shaped like a duck. At right: Frank Pacheco of Parlin found a 4-foot-long cucumber while cleaning up his vegetable garden. Something was in the air, or the ground, in Old Bridge this summer, as evidenced in photos two residents recently sent to the Suburban. Few gardeners could have been as surprised as Frank Pacheco, of the Parlin section, was, when he was cleaning up around his vegetable plants and came across a 4-foot-long cucumber that had been “in hiding” among the vines, leaves and trees. “This year we have had a great turnout with our cucumbers,” notes his daughter, Monica Benitez. “Every cucumber we take out of the garden is at least 2 feet long, and we thought that was huge … .” Still, Frank, known around town as “the Italian ice man,” and his family were shocked to discover the enormous vegetable. The 4-footer is the largest the family has seen in the 10 years they have been growing cucumbers, Monica said, noting that the family will wait until it touches the ground before taking it off the vine. Then there was the “tomato duck,” grown by Frank Ricchiari, of Pensacola Street. This, of course, was a tomato that was shaped remarkably like a duck. “It was perfect, it even had an eye,” Ricchiari noted.
Above: Frank Ricchiari of Old Bridge grew a tomato that was shaped like a duck. At right: Frank Pacheco of Parlin found a 4-foot-long cucumber while cleaning up his vegetable garden. 
Something was in the air, or the ground, in Old Bridge this summer, as evidenced in photos two residents recently sent to the Suburban. Few gardeners could have been as surprised as Frank Pacheco, of the Parlin section, was, when he was cleaning up around his vegetable plants and came across a 4-foot-long cucumber that had been “in hiding” among the vines, leaves and trees. “This year we have had a great turnout with our cucumbers,” notes his daughter, Monica Benitez. “Every cucumber we take out of the garden is at least 2 feet long, and we thought that was huge … .” Still, Frank, known around town as “the Italian ice man,” and his family were shocked to discover the enormous vegetable. The 4-footer is the largest the family has seen in the 10 years they have been growing cucumbers, Monica said, noting that the family will wait until it touches the ground before taking it off the vine. Then there was the “tomato duck,” grown by Frank Ricchiari, of Pensacola Street. This, of course, was a tomato that was shaped remarkably like a duck. “It was perfect, it even had an eye,” Ricchiari noted. 