Q&A

May I pick fruit from a tree that isn't mine? The tree in question is not in a private yard, rather on a public road and it's the shemitah year. The problem is that the owner of the tree is not religious, is unaware of the halachah, and in any case is not willing to declare the fruit of the tree ownerless.

It is known that the haredim prefer and buy only yivul nochri, while our rabbis say that we should prefer heter mechirah to yivul nochri, and that it is problematic to buy yivul nochri today.

I have several questions on this issue:

1. Why is the dispute ideological—that we say one thing and the haredim the opposite? Why aren't there haredim who believe that heter mechirah is better, or Zionist rabbis who maintain that yivul nochri is better than heter mechirah?
2. If it is a sin to eat yivul nochri, why do the "stringent" haredim eat it, if they are known for being so meticulous with mitzvah observance?
3. What are the forbidden aspects of eating yivul nochri?
4. What is better: heter mechirah or otzar ha'aretz; I saw that Rabbi Ben Meir wrote that heter mechirah is better?

To what category does herbs belong to? And thus, until what date is planting allowed?

I am strict about not eating heter mechirah, but I am invited to an event were heter mechirah food is served. Am I allowed to eat it? That is: do the laws of shemitah apply to buying the produce or also to eating?

We generally water our plants (growing in planters) with kitchen leftovers, such as water we used to soak hummus kernels or leftover tea/coffee. The purpose of this is to minimize kitchen waste and fertilize without chemicals. Can we continue to do this doing the shemitah year?

1. Is it permissible to spray trees with pesticides in areas where pests are generally attracted to?
2. Today olive trees are often shaped into balls in home gardens. Following the opinion that pruning fruit trees is a Torah prohibition, is it permissible to prune them during shemitah in order to preserve their shape?

I have two fruit trees hanging over into neighbor's gardens. One is laden with fruit and one is a pomegranate so it will drop all its leaves into their pool. Routinely I would cut them back for the clients' and neighbors' sanity. Not for the tree. Am I allowed to do this during shemitah or because it is a fruit tree you can't?

I planted sweet potatoes in my garden this year (sixth year, 5781). Is it permissible to dig in the ground unearth the bulbs during shemitah (in small quantities, for home consumption)?

We are building our house but the yard will not really be ready yet for serious planting by Rosh Hashanah. I tried to inquire and research what my options are. I want to make sure I understood correctly: Until Rosh Hashanah I can still plant flowers and decorative (non-fruit) trees whose roots are encased in soil. After Rosh Hashanah, I can only place on the ground plants that come in planters or flower pots that grew in shemitah-observant nurseries. I will need to keep the plants in place and not move them until the end of the year. Did I understand correctly? Do the pots need to be perforated or not?

I live in a moshav and I have a petting zoo with seven goats.
Every so often I prune the trees in the garden, such as olive, loquat, avocado, and mango trees, and feed the clippings to the goats. I wanted to know if I can continue doing this during the shemitah year with the olive trees (which are growing only for ornamental purposes; I don’t use or eat the olives)?