Picking herbs in a public area and guiding rules determining the obligation for separating terumot & ma'aserot
Question
My friend asked me about the obligation to separate terumot and ma'aserot from herbs growing on bushes in towns. I thought that herbs growing in public areas are exempt, but someone else said they weren't.
I was also wondering about those growing in pots in home gardens.
Could you tell me the guiding rules that determine when terumot and ma'aserot are obligated??
Answer
In short: For your friend's question about herbs on bushes in public areas, as you thought, they are exempt from terumot and ma'aserot.
For your questions, it depends.
When we want to see if an herb requires terumot and ma'aserot, there are several questions we need to ask:
1. Where is it growing?
For home gardens:
If growing indoors, even if technically terumot and ma'aserot would be required from that particular type of herb, we separate without a berachah.
If growing outdoors, it depends on other factors (see below).
2. Is it edible on its own or does it only impart flavor?
For herbs that are edible on their own (say, like coriander, dill, parsley, basil), they require terumot and ma'aserot with a berachah (this is true even if you happen to toss out the parsley in your soup after it imparted flavor).
For herbs that only impart flavor (like most tea leaves), some posekim exempt them, while others require separation.
At Torah VeHa'aretz Institute, we hold that terumot and ma'aserot should be separated without a blessing for those that impart flavor.
3. Who does it belong to?
Herbs growing in a public area, where no one cares if anyone picks some (not uproots the whole bush; the bush wouldn't be hefker, rather if they pick leaves), would be considered hefker.
Produce that is ownerless is exempt from terumot and ma'aserot.
4. What will it be used for?
If you are picking mint from your yard as besamim for havdalah, for instance, and not to eat, you need not separate terumot and ma'aserot.