Man Rips Up Neighbor’s Tomato Plants: “I Told Them Their Plants Shouldn’t Have Been on My Yard”

The time and effort that goes into growing tomatoes is not insignificant. You have to buy the seedlings (or germinate the seeds!), prep the soil, plant them, water and fertilize them, prune them, fend off pests, and finally harvest your crop.

Your worst nightmare would be to have someone rip your plants up—but you might not be in the right, if you’d planted your tomatoes on your neighbor’s property, which is exactly what happened according to one Redditor.

“Technically on My Yard”

In the post, the homeowner explained that there is about 10 feet of space between the side of his home and his neighbor’s home. The rear side of his house goes close to the property line, and his neighbor had planted a tomato garden that was technically on his yard.

He’d bought the house about a year earlier and didn’t know the level of effort that went into growing tomatoes, wondering if they could just grow on their own. He sent a text to his landscaper about things growing on that side of the house (he clarified in a later comment there were also vines growing up the house, small trees, and weeds over 4 feet tall).

While he was out, the landscaper came and removed everything on that side of the house, including the tomato plants.

The Redditor explained that the neighbor showed up at his door a few days later and asked him to buy them organic tomatoes for the rest of the growing season or to buy replacement mature plants from a garden center.

“I told them their plants shouldn’t have been on my yard,” the Redditor explained in his post. “It shouldn’t be my responsibility to make sure my landscaper doesn’t take out plants that are in my yard and aren’t mine,”

After such an unpleasant encounter with his neighbor though, the homeowner wondered if he should just replace the plants.

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“It Was on Your Property”

Hundreds of comments flooded the post, the majority agreeing with the homeowner.

“As much as it hurts my heart to rip out a perfectly good tomato plant, you’re [not in the wrong] for doing so on your own property,” said one commenter.

“It was on your property—it was yours to do with as you wanted,” wrote another.

There was, however, some debate over whether the homeowner should have warned the neighbor or spoken to them in advance of removing the tomatoes.

“Your neighbor shouldn’t have been on your property, and you were well within your rights to demand their removal,” said one person. “But the neighborly thing would be to talk to them first and say ‘Hey, this is on my property. I don’t want them there. Please plant them elsewhere by [date].'”

Many people pointed out the challenge of navigating property lines, especially when somebody new moves in and there may have been informal agreements with the previous home’s resident.

“People are always trying to gain a few extra feet over the property line from who they hope are gullible new neighbors,” wrote one commenter.

One commenter did think the battle wasn’t worth it: “I mean… you could have had some home grown tomatoes and good vibes with your neighbors, but you had to go all ‘get off my lawn!'”