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I live in the diaspora and this doesn't affect me personally, but in thinking about the sh'mita cycle while tending my small garden, I found myself wondering about some details. Does the law to not...
#1: Initial revision
by
Monica Cellio
·
2021-09-06T02:41:31Z (about 3 years ago)
Sh'mita and the home garden: what if anything is permitted?
I live in the diaspora and this doesn't affect me personally, but in thinking about the *sh'mita* cycle while tending my small garden, I found myself wondering about some details. Does the law to not plant and let fields lie fallow for the year apply only to "crops" (to be defined), or to anything you plant in the ground? Can you plant flowers? Can you plant herbs (a kitchen garden)? Can you plant something in a pot? (I know that hydroponic crops are permitted; I don't know if that's because they are, necessarily, not *connected to* the ground, or because there is no soil.) Is there some minimum amount, below which *sh'mita* doesn't apply, like there is a minimum volume of bread before we take *challah*? Thinking about a homeowner with a personal garden (or perhaps just a pot of basil on the porch), and not someone doing larger-scale agriculture, what limitations apply during the *sh'mita* year if you live in the land of Israel?