[geoffeg]

> Growing vegetables on what should be a lawn is verboten in many locations, if not by the government than by private association bylaws.

I'm aware that some HOAs limit (sometimes to what seems like an extreme) what can be done with the yard and lawn, but I wasn't aware of any governments that ban growing vegetables. Is that more common in water-restricted municipalities? (I live in midwestern US, where backyard gardens are very common.)

[yardie]

I know in Florida because of orange canker if one orange tree has it basically all orange trees within a 1-mile radius have to be destroyed. This is state law because of the orange produce farms lobbying.

It’s almost unheard of to see suburban or wild orange trees in south Florida anymore.

[cdmckay]

Which is a shame.

I have fond memories of visiting my grandparents in Florida and going to their backyard to pick oranges and grapefruits to make fresh juice in the morning.

It’s unfortunate the orange lobby can ban something that just seems so Florida to me.

[rdtwo]

Idk we visited some folks that had oranges growing in their yard in a major urban area. Enforcement is probably not great

[jimmygrapes]

They likely don't have orange canker issues then. It isn't a blanket ban, it's just "if bad thing happens then there's swift and large response"

[fsagx]

I remember this topic being a big news item several years ago:

Dear Modern Farmer: Can I Legally Grow Food in My Front Yard?

https://modernfarmer.com/2013/06/dear-modern-farmer-can-i-le...

oak park hates veggies- trying to make sense of oak park's war on vegetables:

https://oakparkhatesveggies.wordpress.com/about/

Homeowners Across the Country Face Citations for Illegal Gardening:

https://www.motherearthnews.com/organic-gardening/right-to-g...

[duxup]

This is interesting/ strange to me. I grew up in the Midwest and a modest garden in the backyard was often the case. I’ve never heard of them being banned. I don’t doubt they are some places.

I’m sure some suburban guy decided to plow his front yard and be a corn farmer, but generally I find nobody minds a garden.

[webmaven]

> This is interesting/ strange to me. I grew up in the Midwest and a modest garden in the backyard was often the case. I’ve never heard of them being banned. I don’t doubt they are some places.

Backyard gardens are generally unobjectionable, it is the front yard that gets neighbors riled up when they see dirt and messy looking plants. Even then, if you make an effort to have it present as ornamental (eg. herbs, cherry tomatoes, mini peppers, etc. in attractive raised beds and containers that don't displace the entire lawn) you may be able to get away with it.

Oh, and definitely keep the compost pile out of sight.

[Handytinge]

This is such a strange and uniquely American sounding thing.

Not once in my live have I complained about a neighbours yard, or had them complain about mine. And if they did, I'd laugh them off the property. What business is it of theirs?

[cafard]

Some neighbors have dedicated their front yard to vegetable growing. They have raised beds--I should say not particularly attractive ones. I don't know what kind of yield they get, for the house overshadows it a fair bit of the day. But we are not in an HOA.

At least a couple of households nearby have composting drums in sight from the street.

[ac29]

> Is that more common in water-restricted municipalities?

Where I live, watering outdoor plants is only allowed 3 days a week, and only before 9AM or after 6PM on those three days. That doesnt mean growing vegetables is specifically illegal, but it does mean starting seedlings requires breaking the law during the warmer months.

[maicro]

I wonder how that law is worded - could you for instance fill up several X gallon jugs (1, 5, 55 [~4L, ~19L and ~208L] - whatever you have/need) during those permitted used windows, and water the plants from that supply as needed?

I could see the time window applying to the actual act of watering the plants ("don't water during the hottest/brightest part of the day, to avoid wasting most of it to evaporation"), but the specific days seem to me like they're just for load balancing...

I believe some areas object to the use of rain barrels, so I wonder if this option would fall under the same or similar restrictions.

[bin_bash]

I could see front yards but not banning growing vegetable in back yards

[nicoburns]

I really don’t se why this is a thing for front yards either. Growing vegetables are just as pretty as a lawn, and even if you don’t think so, surely productive use of the land ought to take priority.

I find it so strange that such restrictions only seem to exist in the US, where there is normally so much emphasis on individual freedom.

[geoffeg]

I've often wondered how much overlap there is on people who live in an HOA and people who are opposed to government regulation. I realize government regulation isn't quite the same as HOA regulations, but it's amusing to me how extreme some HOAs are (grass a certain length, no service vehicles, etc) and how the people that live in them are often politically conservative.

[kortilla]

Why is that amusing? Government vs private is the distinction. You willfully associate with an HOA. If you don’t like the HOA you buy a house a mile away.

[throwaway742]

By that logic you willfully associate with a city too. If you don't like the city ordinances you can buy a house in a neighboring city or outside the city limits. Even moving in to a reasonable HOA is no guarantee. The board can change and your dream home can become a nightmare. Trying to find a property without a HOA in some areas can be nigh impossible or at the very least can significantly increase your commute.

[hamburglar]

There seem to be a lot of people who like the idea of willfully entering an HOA agreement that limits freedoms that they wouldn’t want their neighbors exercising. I can see both sides but it’s not really for me.

[Gigachad]

There is something to be said for being able to restrict negative activities. Someone piling up junk on their front yard for example. I own in a Strata title apartment building which comes with a lot of very similar restrictions but its all pretty reasonable imo. You are free to paint the inside of your apartment however you want but painting the balcony or the hallway side of your front door is not allowed as it compromises the visual image of the building.

Similar issues in a suburb. One person with rusted out cars on the front compromises the entire street. No one will care if the rusted cars are inside a shed though.

[concordDance]

> You are free to paint the inside of your apartment however you want but painting the balcony or the hallway side of your front door is not allowed as it compromises the visual image of the building.

Sounds monotonous with a lack of free expression and personality.

[Gigachad]

Can you imagine a high rise where its all following a consistent design except one balcony which is painted red? It would look like crap. And for little gain since its only really something you can see properly from the street.

I know HN loves the muh freedoms angle but surely its easy to understand how forgoing the freedom to paint a very small portion of the property is largely beneficial.

[throwaway742]

>No one will care if the rusted cars are inside a shed though.

Not necessarily true. Some HOAs will prohibit you from building the shed in the first place and some even go so far as to regulate the contents of your garage.

[hamburglar]

I should fess up that I actually do own one property in an HOA, so my declaration that it’s “not for me” is a little dishonest. It’s definitely a place that I don’t care about as much as my “real” house, so I’m a little more able to tolerate the silly rules. It’s a condo, and for example I’m not allowed to change my exterior blinds in any way. Gotta keep the exterior look of the building uniform, right? :eyeroll: It does have its advantages though. The place is very well kept and its resale value reflects that.

[nsv]

I am part of the minority that would not mind at all if my neighbor had a rusted out car in their lawn. I recognize that this isn't a very common opinion though.

[iratewizard]

I've never heard of anything like that. Outside of HOAs, most regulations we see about the front are length of grass, what can and can't be done at the easement, public health issues, and maybe laws about invasive plant species. My wife used to work at a company that codified these laws, and she didn't know of anything either.

[TedDoesntTalk]

My HOA defines the acceptable types of trees, plants, and shrubs that can be planted. I don’t know if vegetables are restricted, but you cannot plant anything you want.

This is common in colorado.

[vharuck]

My HOA prohibits any vegetable or fruit plants, except heirloom tomatoes. So I can guess somebody on the board has a particular hobby.

[HarryHirsch]

What business does a bunch of Wikipedia admins have to rule what I can plant in my own backyard. Mind, I get concerns about invasive plants, water conservation or agricultural pathogens, but that's not what HOA's are usually about. They will tell you you can't paint your shed pink.

[TedDoesntTalk]

Wikipedia admins?

I agree this restriction is ridiculous. I don’t know the purpose except maybe to make the neighborhood all look the same.

[rmatt2000]

The three sets Wikipedia admins, HOA board members, and Karens have an intersection with a large cardinality.

[cheriot]

I've seen municipalities prohibit keeping chickens, but not gardens.

[girvo]

Where I live, they only prohibit keeping roosters, though there are restrictions on chickens as well I think -- though theres no enforcement. A couple of my neighbours have them (and they escape and wander around the scrub land behind my fence and make friends with the local brush turkeys, which I find cute and endearing). Its quite fun to live basically in the centre of Brisbane's city, but have chickens wandering around. But that's also part of what makes this place neat, in my opinion, while I'm a kilometre from the CBD, the townhouse I live in is in a suburb filled with old Queenslander houses, newer builds, townhouses and small apartment buildings.