Garden Thefts at Mandan Community Garden - KXNet - Bismarck/Minot/Williston/Dickinson

Garden produce is disappearing from the Mandan Community Garden.

Gardener Sue Balcom says that since the early part of August, multiple gardeners have reported vegetables missing from their plots.

Balcom says green beans, peppers, squash and pumpkins have all been reported stolen from gardens.

She says someone even came in and dug out one growers potatoes.

(Sue Balcom / Gardener) "Every one of his peppers were stolen. So in retaliation, he did what every good gardener would do and that would be to pull them out completely because you figure if you can't have them you are not going to let somebody else have them either.

Balcom says the dollar value of the missing items isn't the concern. 

She says it's not being able to harvest what you've worked all year for.

(Sue Balcom / Gardener) "I start gardening the minute I clean this garden up. I admire seed catalogs, I order seeds in March, I start transplanting. So I have been waiting a long time to reap the benefits. This is food for family. I do canning and freezing and all kinds of preservation. So to come to your garden after being gone for ten days and finding that the beans you wanted to can are completely gone, is kinda devastating."

Balcom says the Mandan Police is aware of the situation and is now doing drive bys to monitor activity at the garden.

She says a group of gardeners are also offering money for anyone who can offer any information that would lead to finding the people who are stealing the produce.