For 40 years, Alex Kizuik and Marilyne Vandel have been growing their own fruits and veggies two doors down from their house at a community garden near Harrow Street.
"It's great to be able to go outside, pick your lettuce, pick your onions, don't have to go to the store," Vandel said.
Alex Kizuik, a retired Manitoba Hydro worker, said they share the fruits of their labour with the neighbourhood.
"It's too much for me. I don't want to throw it out. Everybody gets tomatoes and cucumbers," Kizuik explained.
Now his former employer said it's time to plow the garden under permanently.
"Well I couldn't believe it," Kuzuik said.
The Harrow-area garden and one off McPhillips Street are within hydro corridors. The crown corporation decided to end leases with the users at the end of this growing season.
The decision was a shock to the green thumbs.
"Cause it's taking food out of people's mouths, and you know it keeps me in shape,” Kizuik said.
Hydro said lessons learned from the 2003 blackout that caused widespread outages in Canada and the U.S. showed restrictions to distribution and transmission compounded the problem.
It said new standards dictate the crown corporation must have access to corridors 24/7 in case of an emergency. According to Hydro, the gardens are an obstacle.
"We understand people's frustrations with this, but these gardens no longer allow us that access," said Bruce Owen with Manitoba Hydro.
He said in some cases, people have used these gardens as dumping grounds for garbage, and hydro workers don't have time to pick up trash.
"Their focus is on maintaining the transmission and distribution lines, the power lines,” Owen said.
Hydro said this is a blanket policy not meant to single out any one garden or gardener.
Still, Marilyne Vandel thinks the decision isn't fair. She feels her garden is not in anyone's way.
"Well I've always gardened. I'm from the country. I was raised on a farm, so I don't know anything else,” Vandel said.
