So, in Australia, the actual law is that the fruit belongs to the person on whose land the rootstock is growing. That said, it is also lawful for someone to collect fruit that is on public land (ie. on the council verge side of the property line) or on their own property (ie. on an overhanging tree). That said, it is also expected that if you have picked up fruit on public land/your own property from a tree that is on your neighbour's property and they ask for it back then it is their property and you should give it back to them.
I guess this is a case of "possession is nine-tenths of the law", where that last tenth is the property owner asking for their property back.
This is all entirely different to those people who walk into other people's property to pick fruit uninvited. (I have heard tell of people who bring buckets to strip entire trees. Thus far, I have not encountered anyone of that ilk in my neighbourhood.) And leaning into someone else's yard is also a no-no.
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1. Ask first where possible, keeping in mind the answer may be 'no'. (Most people will be "oh, please, I have so much crop I don't know what to do with it" but there are always people who would rather their stuff rot than cede it to anyone else.)
2a. If asking is not possible (ie. council/government land and/or absent owners) then pick judiciously. Be willing to be challenged on it, and to offer explanation and - if the plant is on private land - recompense. (ie. "it was falling off and rotting, I was planning to make lemon curd, would you like a couple of jars?")
2b. If they say 'no', then ask if they'd be willing to enact a swap (or possibly a sale): it can be as basic as "I want some berries to make jam, would you like a jar or two?" As someone whose fruit trees go utterly BESERK in the space of a month right before Christmas, I will happily give someone bucketloads of peaches in exchange for a jar of jam or a bottle of preserves. If you have something else to swap, see if they're interested in that. (ie. "I have homemade dill pickles, would you like to swap for a few lemons?")
That said, my experience is very much in a comfortable urban/suburban context, and so fruit trees are a supplement not a staple. In a more rural context or food deserts, then people might be relying on those crops to get them through, so that might present a different set of behaviours.
no subject
I guess this is a case of "possession is nine-tenths of the law", where that last tenth is the property owner asking for their property back.
This is all entirely different to those people who walk into other people's property to pick fruit uninvited. (I have heard tell of people who bring buckets to strip entire trees. Thus far, I have not encountered anyone of that ilk in my neighbourhood.) And leaning into someone else's yard is also a no-no.
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1. Ask first where possible, keeping in mind the answer may be 'no'. (Most people will be "oh, please, I have so much crop I don't know what to do with it" but there are always people who would rather their stuff rot than cede it to anyone else.)
2a. If asking is not possible (ie. council/government land and/or absent owners) then pick judiciously. Be willing to be challenged on it, and to offer explanation and - if the plant is on private land - recompense. (ie. "it was falling off and rotting, I was planning to make lemon curd, would you like a couple of jars?")
2b. If they say 'no', then ask if they'd be willing to enact a swap (or possibly a sale): it can be as basic as "I want some berries to make jam, would you like a jar or two?" As someone whose fruit trees go utterly BESERK in the space of a month right before Christmas, I will happily give someone bucketloads of peaches in exchange for a jar of jam or a bottle of preserves. If you have something else to swap, see if they're interested in that. (ie. "I have homemade dill pickles, would you like to swap for a few lemons?")
That said, my experience is very much in a comfortable urban/suburban context, and so fruit trees are a supplement not a staple. In a more rural context or food deserts, then people might be relying on those crops to get them through, so that might present a different set of behaviours.