Terumot and ma'aserot during shemitah from vegetables and herbs growing indoors
Question
I have several plants growing on my covered porch. I even have some inside on my kitchen counter. Some are herbs and some are vegetables. Do they have kedushat shevi'it? What about terumot and ma'aserot?
Answer
Plants growing indoors (including on a covered porch) do not have kedushat shevi'it, and the laws of shemitah do not apply to them (kedushat shevi'it, hefker, bi'ur, sefichin prohibition, etc.).
Since the obligation to take terumot and ma'aserot from produce grown indoors is a dispute (as is the obligation to take terumot and ma'aserot from herbs all years), separate the terumot and ma'aserot without a blessing.
During the shemitah year, it is a halachic dispute which kind of ma'aser (sheni or ani) should be separated, so say the conditional text (if it is a ma'aser sheni year, it is ma'aser sheni, if it is a ma'aser ani year, it is ma'aser ani)
Transfer ma'aser sheni sanctity to a coin without a blessing.
Members of Beit Ha'otzar, or any other ma'aser fund, have a special coin for transferring ma'aser sheni sanctity designated on their behalf. Since the laws regarding the ma'aser sheni (and neta revay) coin are complex, we recommend becoming a member of a ma'aser fund. Through this fund, we perform the mitzvah of actually giving the ma'aserot to Levites and the poor in an easy and most mehudar way. To join Beit Ha'otzar, click here.
For a detailed guide on taking terumot and ma'aserot, which explains concepts (ma'aser rishon, sheni, ani, the coin, etc.) amounts, and how Beit Ha'otzar works, see our step-by-step guide, here.