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<p>FORTY FORT &#8212; When Albert Tondora walks through his backyard garden, it&#8217;s like perusing a menu to decide what&#8217;s for dinner.</p><p>&#8220;I think we&#8217;ll have green bean salad tonight,&#8221; he said, looking over some long, slender beans.</p><p>&#8220;Chives are good in salads and soups and scrambled eggs,&#8221; he said as he inspected the herb section.</p><p>&#8220;You know you can eat red beet tops,&#8221; he said. &#8220;Cook them up with butter and salt.&#8221;</p><p>Noticing some kohlrabi was ready to harvest, he pulled a few bulbs on a recent Monday and offered some to a reporter.</p><p>&#8220;We give away quite a bit (of vegetables),&#8221; he added.</p><p>Tondora, who is retired from Commonwealth Telephone, raises just about all his produce in tidy raised beds rather than directly in the ground. &#8220;It&#8217;s easier to handle,&#8221; he said. &#8220;They grow better, and it cuts down on weeds.&#8221;</p><p>With the rare exception of strawberry plants that a friend recently gave him, he grew most of the other plants from seed. That includes five varieties of tomatoes along with lettuce, red beets, carrots, cucumbers, spinach and more.</p><p>Rounding out the garden are flowers such as peonies, marigolds and lupine as well as some &#8220;cherry bushes&#8221; that produce a dark berry-like fruit. &#8220;They don&#8217;t really taste like cherries,&#8221; Tondora said.</p><p>Everything looks healthy and lush, but he expected to see squash blossoms by now and hasn&#8217;t. &#8220;I haven&#8217;t seen any bees,&#8221; he said, suggesting that&#8217;s the reason.</p><p>Tondora is justifiably proud of his garden, and this isn&#8217;t the first time he invited the Times Leader to visit.</p><p>Turning the pages of a scrapbook he pointed to a newspaper clipping more than 30 years old that showed some of his sunflowers towering over a neighbor&#8217;s garage.</p><p>He hasn&#8217;t raised sunflowers in years, because &#8220;they take over.&#8221; Besides, he said, &#8220;We don&#8217;t eat them.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Albert Tondora of Forty Fort planted a wide variety of vetables and a few flowers in his compact garden. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/web1_TTL071115albertgarden1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Albert Tondora of Forty Fort planted a wide variety of vetables and a few flowers in his compact garden. </caption0><photoCredit0>Clark Van Orden | Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/web1_TTL071115albertgarden2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Albert Tondora of Forty Fort pulls some vegetables from his garden. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/web1_TTL071115albertgarden2.jpg</photo1><caption1>Albert Tondora of Forty Fort pulls some vegetables from his garden. </caption1><photoCredit1>Clark Van Orden | Times Leader </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/web1_TTL071115albertgarden3.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">With red beets in one hand, kohlrabi in the other and green and yellow beans at his feet, Albert Tondora of Forty Fort shows off some of his vegetables. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/web1_TTL071115albertgarden3.jpg</photo2><caption2>With red beets in one hand, kohlrabi in the other and green and yellow beans at his feet, Albert Tondora of Forty Fort shows off some of his vegetables. </caption2><photoCredit2>Clark Van Orden | Times Leader </photoCredit2></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p><strong>By Mary Therese Biebel</strong></p><p>mbiebel@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta><p><strong>EDITOR&#8217;S NOTE:</strong> The Times Leader is writing stories about gardeners and their gardens during the growing season.</p></factboxMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Mary Therese Biebel at 570-991-6109 or on Twitter @BiebelMT</p></shirttailMeta></div>

How does your garden grow: What’s for dinner? Check the garden