Q&A

Hello, is Carissa macrocarpa (Natal plum) considered a tree subject to the laws of orlah?

There is a cherry-picking festival taking place in Gush Etzion, and I’d like to go with a few friends. You can pick cherries, blueberries, and raspberries.

1. Is there a problem with orlah (is there supervision by the Gush Etzion rabbinate)?
2. If we pay upfront and it’s “all you can eat,” how can we eat the fruit without first taking terumot and ma’aserot, and at which point do we need to separate them? The same question regarding eating the fruit in the car on the way home.
3. I know there are guidelines about checking fruit for infestation (and that raspberries are very difficult to check). Do you have current information about infestation status?

This seems like such a nice event, and it is difficult for me to believe that in a place like Gush Etzion, where there are so many observant Jews, there would be a festival that would trip people up in eating tevel mide’oriyta.

There is a tree whose trunk is primarily located in Reuven’s garden, while its canopy extends into Shimon’s garden. Reuven transferred ownership of the canopy to Shimon. The question is: Are the fruits that grow on the canopy—which now belong to Shimon—obligated in terumot and ma'aserot mide’oraita?

Or, since the trunk is rooted in Reuven’s property, does this constitute a deficiency in the criterion of "זרעך פרט ללקוח" —excluding acquired produce—thus rendering the obligation only derabanan? This follows the view of certain Rishonim who hold that even if the final processing (gemar melachah) is performed by the buyer, there is no Torah-level obligation.

The practical implication would be whether one may separate tithes from these fruits on behalf of fruits from a tree that grows entirely in Shimon’s garden—assuming the level of obligation must be the same.

Does the kilei zera'im prohibition also apply to pots with a hole?

Does the prohibition of kilei zera'im apply to annual flowers/plants that are not eaten?

I just bought some flower seeds, and I was wondering if I'm allowed to plant them now. I looked at the Shulchan Aruch and I wasn't quite sure I understood what it meant that you're not allowed to plant "a king's garden." 

I want to build a storage area in my yard, but there's an avocado tree currently standing in the area where I want to build it. Am I allowed to uproot the avocado tree?