Detached Substrate Sold to a Non-Jew
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Question
Is it permissible to purchase produce grown in greenhouses on a detached substrate during the Shemitah year, if the greenhouses were sold to a non-Jew?
Answer
There are kashrut authorities that are lenient in this matter.
Source
Detached substrate - greenhouses. This means that the substrate on which the plants grow (soil/gravel/tuff/straw, etc.) is placed on rigid plastic sheets and covered on the sides with walls, and its status is like that of a non-perforated pot inside a house. Some are lenient in this manner, stating that in such a case, there is no prohibition of labor and sanctity of the Shemitah year in vegetables. However, in practice, one should be stringent because this leniency is not clear, especially in greenhouses where planting occurs throughout the year, and also because the entire permission for growing in a house is due to the house hindering natural growth, but greenhouses facilitate growth. Additionally, large pots are considered as land. Some are lenient when the detached substrate is sold to a non-Jew, and there is no 'do not give them a foothold' because it is a non-perforated pot, and the forbidden labors by Torah are performed by a non-Jew. Azmera Leshimcha (Shemitah, Issue 2).