Ma'aser ani year: terumot and ma'aserot from strawberry plant on the patio

Answer

General Guidelines

As a rule, terumot and ma’aserot must be separated every time you harvest produce before it is eaten.

One strawberry: If you pick only one and eat it in the garden, this is considered achilat aray (casual snacking) and is permitted without separating terumot and ma’aserot.

Important kashrut note: Strawberries are commonly infested on the surface. Insects hide under the black dots and require thorough cleaning. For proper cleaning instructions, refer to Kosharot’s guidelines.

Two or more strawberries: Picking two or more at once obligates separation of terumot and ma’aserot.

Even one strawberry taken indoors becomes subject to separation, as it is no longer considered a casual snack.

The Separation Process

The same process applies whether you're separating from one fruit or many. (You can find the full text here.)

(1) Separate slightly more than 1% of the strawberries. It doesn't have to be exact, as long as it's at least that amount.

(2) Recite the berachah only if your patio is open on top. If it’s covered, do not recite the berachah.

(3) Say the first part of the nusach hahafrasha (text of separation), up until: "...if it is a ma’aser ani year, then it is ma’aser ani."  

This year (5785) is the third year of the shemitah cycle, meaning the obligation is for ma’aser ani (tithe for the poor), not ma’aser sheni. Therefore, you do not need to redeem it onto a coin, and you do not say the second berachah or the pidyon ma’aser sheni text.

What to do with ma’aser ani

There is a real halachic obligation to give this portion to a poor person. Members of our Beit HaOtzar fulfill this through a contract with a charitable organization. The member donates the value of the ma’aser ani through a loan included in the membership fee, and in return, is permitted to eat the fruit.

If you’re not yet a member, you can join here.

Additional Options

If you’re concerned that children might pick strawberries without separating terumot and ma’aserot, there is an option to perform the separation in advance once a week. This is not lechatchilah. Find my explanation on the process here and the text for this separation here.

Further Learning

If you’d like to learn more about the process—which involves 20 biblical commandments—I highly recommend this hands-on workshop: "Hands-on Terumot and Ma’aserot Workshop for Women"