Gardener horrified after neighbor's careless act causes major damage: 'Really bad'

Watching your garden wilt overnight is heartbreaking, especially when it's not nature, but your neighbor, to blame. 

One Redditor's entire crop of tomatoes — more than 35 plants — was ruined by a neighbor's lawn service after they sprayed herbicide on a windy, 80-degree day.

The plants weren't even in the neighbor's yard. They were growing in the original poster's front yard tent, part of a homegrown gardening project that helps fund their gardening costs. 

"I grow tomatoes and peppers for my garden and always sell my extras… I usually do pretty well and the plants pay for my seed and soil purchase that feeds my gardening addiction," the OP explained in their post in the r/mildlyinfuriating subreddit. "Today I noticed the plants curling really bad so I asked my neighbor if his yard had been treated recently."

Unfortunately for the poster and their plants, the answer was "yes." Their neighbor's lawn had been treated with the widely used herbicide 2,4-D, which can vaporize and drift easily in hotter temperatures. That chemical drift is likely what curled the leaves and left the plants unsellable. 

"All of these plants must be disposed of now," said the OP. "And it's not the first time I've had plants damaged by his lawn service people."

For gardeners trying to live more sustainably, this situation may sound familiar. Other homeowners have shared stories of having native plants destroyed by a neighbor's hired landscaping company or losing their pollinator habitat after a neighbor was working on their building.

Backyard gardening and growing your own food support pollinators, reduce grocery trips, and limit packaging waste. But those efforts can be quickly undone by neighboring chemical use or a more conventional approach to yard care.

Hot weather only makes the problem worse. Volatile herbicides like 2,4-D are prone to drifting beyond their intended zones, especially when applied in direct sunlight or during high winds. And when they land on sensitive crops like tomatoes, the damage is irreversible. 

Commenters on the post were beyond frustrated on behalf of the OP.

Do you think governments should ban the production of gas-powered lawn equipment? Absolutely 💯 Yes — but not yet 👍 I don't know 🤷 Heck no 👎 Click your choice to see results and speak your mind.

"Call them and tell them what happened," one user urged. "If [they're] unresponsive … ask them if the EPA and OSHA need to be informed … As an agriculturalist and using pesticides there are only certain days and times that it's ok to spray. They could lose their pesticide chemical spraying license over this."

"File a complaint with your states farming regulatory body," encouraged another commenter. "They take it VERY seriously including taking soil samples and fining offenders for overspray, and contaminating property that isn't their right to adulterate."

If you're trying to maintain a sustainable yard or edible garden, you can protect your space by clearly marking no-spray zones, opening dialogue with neighbors and their contractors, and advocating for city ordinances that protect low-impact gardens.

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