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Kila'im

Permaculture and kilaim

Rabbi Moshe Bloom

I was wondering what the halachic implications of companion gardening and permaculture are. 
Is there a way to plant a field this way without violating kila'im?

Kilei Hakerem on the Porch

Rabbi Moshe Bloom

My daughter planted grape seeds in a pot with drainage holes and 10 of them have sprouted. The pot is standing in a shelf on a porch.  I have got a lot of other fruit tree seedlings (apple, lemon, pomegranate and more) in similar pots on that porch, though not on the same shelf. We live in Israel.

1) Do the potted grape seedlings need a minimum distance from the other fruit tree seedlings while on the porch? If so, how much distance?

2) What about vegetables like tomatoes that grow on a table on the porch?

3) If I plan to plant the 10 grape seedlings into a garden that has other fruit trees (olives, citruses etc.) but no vegetables anywhere, how much distance is needed?

4) If I plant instead only one grapevine in the garden, how much distance to other trees?

5) How does one in general measure the distance from a grapevine to other plants? From the root/trunk or from the tips of the vines (which in a grown up plant can extend for meters from the trunk and grow longer throughout the summer)?

Criteria for plant classification and kila’im: is the botanical definition sufficient?

Rabbis of Torah VeHa’aretz Institute

I have two questions: 1) What are the three categories according to which you can classify different types of plants vis-à-vis kila’im? 2) According to which categories are different types of plants classified today in terms of kila’im?

Kilei HaKerem abroud:

Rabbi Moshe Bloom

I have a garden in my small backyard in Brooklyn. My backyard is largely concrete with a small rectangle of soil in the back right corner. In the front left corner of the soil area, there is a single old grapevine that has been there since before we purchased our house 8 years ago. It produces grapes. I recently learned that Kilei HaKerem applies in Chu"l and wanted to make sure we arrange things properly. I have four basic questions:

(1) About one foot behind the trunk of the grapevine (i.e, the part where it comes out of the ground) we built a raised-garden bed (which sits on the soil). The garden bed is made out of wood and is two feet high. We usually plant lettuces, squash, and cucumbers in that garden bed. Do I have to worry at all about what is planted in that raised bed and its proximity to the trunk grapevine?

(2) To the right of the trunk of the grapevine we plant carrots and lavender in the ground. Those plantings are at least two feet away from where the grapevine comes out of the ground. Do we need to worry about that? In general, how far away do we need to make sure to start other plantings?

(3) In front of the grapevine, on the concrete section of my backyard we have some planters with herbs in them. Do we have to worry about proximity to the grapevine?

(4) We don't trellis the vine. It tends to spread out in lots of directions as vines tend to do. Do we have to worry about proximity to the actual vine part or just the trunk? If it is not too much of an imposition, I would be grateful if you could provide citations to support your answers. I would love to learn about these things inside the relevant sources. 

Decorative Pumpkin Seeds – Kilei Zera'im

Rabbi Moshe Bloom

I bought a seed packet that says "decorative pumpkin small fruit – Curcubita pepo small mixed." The picture on the packet shows pumpkins of various colors and sizes. Am I allowed to plant them in my garden, with a 50 cm distance one from another?

Kila’im in Vegetables

Agronomist Mordechai Shomron

Is a drip irrigation pipe considered a barrier when growing different types of vegetables on either side of the drip pipe? When it comes to seed starters do these pose a kila’im problem?