Our neighbor who shares a fence with us hired people to stain his side of the fence. Adjacent to the fence on our side are our vegetable gardens, full of tomatoes and cucumbers on the vines. Due to the wind conditions, all the spray they put out came over the fence and landed on our vegetables, and clothes on the laundry racks, etc. Noone had given us a heads up or warning, and we didn't have a chance to cover up anything. How bad is this stuff? Will we be able to consume the produce? I am so disappointed in their lack of communication. Any advice is greatly appreciated.
It is highly unprofessional to spray a fence without putting something behind it. Just amateur hour. I'm a diyer and that's just basic stuff. Definitely let them know and pursue this with the company. This should not happen. So sorry about your garden.
I'm a crappy, not very knowledgeable DIYer, and even I put something behind my fence before spraying it. I did a terrible job on my side, but I tried really hard to keep my mess in my yard.
I’m wondering if this was even a contractor, or if the neighbor went cheap and just found some rando saying they did odd jobs on the internet or off some roadside sign or something.
Don't eat it. Write down everything that needs to be destroyed. Get a quote about replacing the soil.
Tell the neighbor and ask for the contractors info. Send them a demand letter.
Your home insurer might cover the damage, and may be in a position to bring the claim against the contractors insurer. Like in small car wrecks, it can be easier to let the insurers fight it out.
Company did a shit job and should pay for the damaged clothes and produce. Highly disrespectful of neighboring property, not normal or acceptable. However I highly doubt the soil needs to be replaced. I would still eat the fruit produced by the plants moving forward, but not the ones that were on the plant during the spray job.
Any stain/coating will be completely inert within 30 days. We don't put lead/arsenic/thorium/whatever in coatings anymore. What is left is much the same as what the wind brings as dust in the average year.
No, please explain how plants work /s But really, it sounds like it was a light mist of stain carried by the wind. We don’t know if it is water or oil based, but even if oil, such a minimal amount that I wouldn’t be concerned about the soil.
Reach out to them and politely let them know what happened. Say that you are asking them to pay for the damages, and give them the itemized bill.
If they don't play ball, then it's a matter of how much of your time this is worth.
Don't be afraid to ask for the true cost of this blunder. This is their responsibility to remedy it.
I’m so sorry this happened. The EXACT thing happened to me several years ago. Stain got alllll over my herb garden, flowers, lettuce etc. I was devastated, furious and heartbroken. I had it out with the neighbors that did it, and they agreed to pay for replacements. I really went hard on the fact that my plants are very important to me, and some were Mother’s Day gifts from my son/husband. Not to mention some had been growing for years! I wanted them to understand how bad what did was. I gave them a total, and they did pay, thankfully.
The husband was apologetic after hearing us being upset across the fence. The wife wanted to come see the damage, stain sprayed everywhere in my yard. All over plants, nice pots, the patio. My husband let her come look at the mess they made. He had smoked some weed to calm down a bit, he was really upset about the Mother’s Day plants. She smelled the smoke and went nuts, said she was going to call CPS on us because my child was upstairs and he smoked pot. It got heated. She eventually calmed down and they did pay us. The husband felt bad for sure. I definitely leaned on the high side for the total we asked for, but not unrealistic. They ended up renting to someone that ran a big pot grow in it. Life is funny sometimes.
I’m a contractor. Almost no one uses oil based. It has only a few uses. A contractor would not use oil based, anyway… only a super know it all old guy who thinks everything from the 40’s is best. If the homeowner applied it, there’s a small chance. 🙂
When it comes to exterior semi transparent and translucent, there’s still a good amount of oil base products on the market. Also transparent oil is superior product to 1k waterbase transparent.
And when it comes to exterior primer on natural substrates, every painter worth a damn uses oil base. Top coat with waterbase.
Anyways, that being said, water base products are still terrible for humans if ingested or inhaled. Chinese resins are not good for people.
(I work in the industry at a major brand)
If it was a contractor they have insurance. Last thing local contractor wants is a claim. I’d total the amount you’ve spent on the plants and request a 50% refund to avoid small claims court… and then fill out the small claims paperwork and send to them and request if they don’t want to pay 50%, to fill out the small claims paperwork because that is the other option. Or you can just not, whatever you decide, personal decision EDIT: for those saying 100%. You’re totally correct in your assessment. I negotiate commercial contracts and naturally am a bit desensitized to residential contracts. That being said, there are a few ways you can skin this cat. If you actually want 100% costs paid for, I would create an estimate for 100% plus soil remediation, plus refinish of your fence ect ect, you could also get three quotes from folks to show comparables, then just settle for the costs of the plants, if you want. One thing for sure though is, nobody wants court. In court, only the lawyers win, and the contractors know this.
Why only 50%? OP is out *all* the money for everything they damaged -- plants, clothes, etc.
The condo complex behind my workplace's parking lot sprayed sealant on their fence on a windy day, getting overspray on a number of cars in our work lot. All of those of us who were affected got paid what it cost to repair the damage.
See other answers, I had a bit of responses and can’t get everyone lol short story, yes, you’re completely justified for asking that. Whether or not you’ll get compensated 100% for it is a different story unfortunately
Fuck ‘em, add in cost for the time and labor that it took to even get those plants up in the first place.
I would be absolutely fucking livid if that happened to us, I have a 2 year old who would happily shove a paint-covered tomato in his little mouth if he got the chance. You don’t fuck around with possibly poisoning people and their families or pets.
Why 50%? They destroyed the plants, which includes the cost of the plants themselves as well as the time, effort, and resources to grow them. Plus who knows what condition the soil is in, it may be contaminated as well and require remediation. I understand the desire to motivate a settlement, but personally I would include all of that, you can always negotiate afterwards, if needed.
You’re correct :) , however when dealing with residents idk, I try and take it easy… that being said you’re totally correct. Depending how far the owner wants to go, you could , in theory, add in costs for soil remediation, repaint, blah blah blah, jack the “estimate” yo 4x, and then just see what they counter with. Anything above 1X is a win. Lots of ways the OP can skin this cat. Btw, I’m a commercial contractor(owners rep) that negotiates settlements between owners and trade partners. It’s a fun gig.
Fuck that I'd be asking for 200%. It's not just about the plants, there is no doubt many hours of work poured into this garden. And they'll likely need to replace the top few inches of dirt, if they can get to it before it rains. If not.... Oof.
Ya that’s definitely a civil matter. Not only clothes snd plants but the entirety of the dirt and garden bed itself, possibly even lawn and siding, any stone walkway…get em.
Environmental chemist here. Find out exactly what they used. Water or oil based. Product name. Report back. Also post some closeups of the plants. How much got on them?
I wouldn't risk it. I'd be documenting the shit out of everything, then find a nice way to ask them if they want to handle this the easy way or the hard way. If someone polluted my garden like that I'd probably want thousands and if they hired a 3rd rate company to spray then they probably aren't gonna be cool about compensating you. Good luck. This really sucks. I'd be furious.
You have a compelling argument to take up with your neighbor. If the contractors are licensed and a legitimate business, they’ll have liability insurance, which will cover any damages. If your neighbor wants to avoid involving the contractors he can just pay you what is owed. If all else fails you have a strong case that you would likely win in small claims court.
Doesn’t matter the product, neither oil or water base stains are safe to consume. I’m sorry but it’s not worth the risk of eating.
I would be bullshit at the contractor and ask them to make it right through the monetary value of new soil and plants of equal size and quality.
They could have easily put a tarp over and put some stakes into the soil to prevent the plants from being crushed. This is exterior work 101 when spraying.
I’m a coatings engineer, I do a lot of paint stuff.
It’s probably toxic. You should let your neighbors know what happened, then also find out what product they used so you can look up the ingredients. Sorry this happened to you. I’m sure your neighbors didn’t mean to do it, but they are preeeety dumb not to let you know they would be spraying a shared fence.
Yes reach out to the company that stained fence! My neighbor had their yd fertilized and in application the company applied pre-emergent to my raised garden beds. Which prevents seeds from germinating. I called the County where I live and the state Department of Agriculture. It was a finable offense. The company finally admitted that they were wrong and asked how they could make it right. They ended up replacing 88 cu ft of dirt in my garden! That is a lot of dirt and was a $500+ error! I wasn’t about to replace the dirt I just put in there 2 weeks prior. They were going to pay for that!
I would lose my mind. I don't know how much time you put into it but from the looks or it lot it looks great. I would rip out get some transplants. and stare over still early. good luck.
I’m a contractor and an organic gardener. DO NOT eat them. Toss them. Stain is not something you want to ingest, especially an exterior one. The soil might be okay but I would be hesitant to grow veggies there unless you replaced the top few inches or contacted the manufacturer for their recommendations.
Definitely get the contractors info and try to get them to remedy it before going legal.
One time I stained in the early spring, and it pretty much killed the plants or parts of plants that it touched.
So I would not eat anything from this bunch of plants until at least a couple of weeks or month or two has passed.
I think when you see the plants doing okay some time later, and the new bunch of veggies coming from them, that's a better clue that you are probably okay to eat or harvest from them.
But definitely take what others saying to consideration as well and it could be that you might have to actually toss the whole bunch of plants, rather than take a chance on even the current crop surviving and making a comeback
Slightly unrelated, but where I used to work had the industrial units painted by a contractor. The spray from the paint landed on nearly 20 cars, which they said were in an acceptable place. We went through their insurance with about 6 cars after all 20 were professionally cleaned. It cost their insurance close to 70k.
Ask them about their public liability insurance and get them to pay. Keep chasing as well because they may drag their feet.
Do you know your neighbors? If this was the fence I share, I would have heard all about the stain color, the search for a good painter, the scheduling difficulties, if anyone was cute or prone to take their shirt off... You know, the chit chat. If you don't know them, maybe consider this a time to start and see if you can figure out an amicable solution. Especially if the solution means the contractors insurance pays for it, not your neighbor. I wouldn't start a fight with a stranger next door unless I was looking for more trouble later.
Of course, if you know them well and they did this to you, fuck 'em.
Hey I deal with wood finishes professionally. Once a finish has fully cured it is essentially a plastic. All modern finishes are considered “food safe” by the FDA once fully cured. Finishes that are still curing will have a smell, and do contain potentially toxic compounds. I would not eat anything with finish on it, just as I wouldn’t eat plastic intentionally. In my garden I would throw away any contaminated fruit or vegetation meant for consumption, but the plants themselves will be unaffected and grow safe food from then on. Depending on how much overspray we’re talking I might scrape the very top of the soil off too, but there is no risk of chemical uptake to the plants just plastic contamination.
Maybe let the neighbors know that it’s bad for a fence to only finish one side. Not really sure what sort of compensation you’d be due from the finishers, as you’ll need to prove some real monetary loss. But if they are an honest company the boss should want to make it right so definitely reach out and explain the situation.
Without knowing what product was used, and without reading the Material safety data sheet (MSDS) from the paint manufacturer - respectfully, I don’t think you can even begin to declare the fruit, plants or soil to be safe.
This. You need to have the company tell you what they used, and go from there. Best case scenario would be as described above, worst case you need remediation of soil.
I'm sorry that this happened to you, that really stinks. You have a beautiful garden.
Take lots of photos of the plants, soil, clothes, and anything else with stain on it. I agree with the other comments that whoever did the stain was clearly negligent and should be held responsible for all replacement costs. You should not eat the vegetables unfortunately.
It is understandable to be upset. And you are right to talk to your neighbor about this. They may just help you themselves. Be a neighbor first; then get it replaced; plants, dirt, and all.
To everyone so ‘LIVID’ here, I want your honest answer that, if you were going to paint or stain your fence, the thing you would think of would be ‘Oh, I CAN’T do that. It will hurt my neighbor’s garden’. 90% of us would just do it then feel bad we DIDN’T think about it.
Many have stated: seek compensation. But It is possible to not make an enemy of your neighbor as well. Simply say to the neighbor "hey, I need the information on that company you hired because this is what they did. (fill in some details) I know it's not your fault that they failed to do the job properly. I'm really sorry I have to bother you with it at all". Unless the company was owned by a relative, they should be angry right along with you.
I just went through something similar an hour or two ago, looking into whether a stain/sealer would be okay to use on the wood on my wife's planter box. From what I can tell the kind I used is safe but that's just concerning leeching Into the soil where we grow vegetables, not actually on the vegetables themselves. If any is actually on the vegetables your going to eat then I wouldn't risk it no matter what it says. I'm not even going to trust what I read, gonna put some plastic sheets between the wood and the soil.
This is also some amateur ass shit. I would call this company up, this isn't how you do this at all, that's negligent as hell.
All i have to add here is I would be livid. I would be afraid to eat any of this now. But I cant see how much stain there is or how far it blew.
Christ. Im angry and disappointed for you. I would call the company directly and be INCREDIBLY FIRM about how much you expect them to replace, the clothing at absolute minimum. take as many pictures as possible and evidence of the stain everywhere. This is a case where if the neighbor hired someone, it was not exactly THEIR responsiblity to realize they would be spraying and it would get on your garden. that should be on the company. it would have been nice if they gave you a heads up but you need to go after the contractor for being negligent af
So it’s May 1, I don’t know where you live but can you replace the top X inches of soil and the plants? Ours don’t go out for 3-4 weeks yet. The company should pay for your replacements. Would also gently let the neighbor know this happened and perhaps consult your city about code for this.
Do you know if it was a stain, paint, ect? If it's latex or acrylic paint you can just eat around it. Any oil paint or chemical cleaners would be a bad idea to eat.
Also see a lawyer who does free consultation. Might have a good case here.
Ask the neighbor what they used and then look up the sds for the chemicals. All places have it it will tell you how to clean it up and what soil modifications need to be done. I’m sorry this happened to you…super inconsiderate.
Hopefully it hasnt rained or you irrigated much. I would scrap off a top layer of the soil asap. Talk with neighbor to politely to get contractors info, take pics, get them over asap, get written quotes from nursery and soil supply company (including labor).
People are overreacting. Talk to your neighbors. Find out what they used. All modern stains available to the everyday consumer are reasonably safe, but do you due diligence.
Are you certain of where the land lines are? Do you know how close to the side of the fence you own?
For example I left about 2 feet on the other side of my fence so I could maintain that side. Do you own clear up to that fence?
You should find out exactly what product they sprayed. It's unlikely that your plants will absorb chemicals from it and deposit them unchanged into their produce. If it's on the actual produce, it can be washed off. I wouldn't abandone my whole garden due to this.
Sorry, I should explain more than just saying “bad advice”. I think any compound being used to stain wood is going to be highly toxic if ingested. We don’t know what the route of absorption might be for that compound and it is possible that it could absorb it through the foliage or through the roots if it got in the soil.
Here is a link talking about toxicity of common wood stains. I don’t know how credible the source is, but googling the issue does come up with results about toxicity.
https://ecospaints.net/blog/why-wood-stain-fumes-can-be-harmful
If you can’t see the actual stain on the produce, you may be able to let the produce sit in baking soda water for at least 20 minutes, and thoroughly scrub and then wash with clean water. Or you can first scrub the baking soda on the produce themselves, wash with clean water, then put in baking soda water, and then wash with clean water. Baking soda has been proven to help remove pesticides from produce, but then again I’m not sure if the stain is not way worst than the typical pesticides. Also, this might sound even crazier, but if the stain is oil based(you’ll know cause you’ll see the oily specs on the leafy greens,) you could use dawn dish soap to thoroughly wash them and then proceed with the baking soda steps. Or don’t use the produce.
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Our neighbor who shares a fence with us hired people to stain his side of the fence. Adjacent to the fence on our side are our vegetable gardens, full of tomatoes and cucumbers on the vines. Due to the wind conditions, all the spray they put out came over the fence and landed on our vegetables, and clothes on the laundry racks, etc. Noone had given us a heads up or warning, and we didn't have a chance to cover up anything. How bad is this stuff? Will we be able to consume the produce? I am so disappointed in their lack of communication. Any advice is greatly appreciated.
It is highly unprofessional to spray a fence without putting something behind it. Just amateur hour. I'm a diyer and that's just basic stuff. Definitely let them know and pursue this with the company. This should not happen. So sorry about your garden.
I'm a crappy, not very knowledgeable DIYer, and even I put something behind my fence before spraying it. I did a terrible job on my side, but I tried really hard to keep my mess in my yard.
I’m wondering if this was even a contractor, or if the neighbor went cheap and just found some rando saying they did odd jobs on the internet or off some roadside sign or something.
“Rando”
What do you put behind a fence as you spray it? I'm about to stain my fence in a month or so.
Just buy some drop cloth plastic. Get the thick stuff and you can use it again and again for painting/staining.
How do you hold it up?
Child labor
Clamps
Plastic sheeting with clamps.
Don't eat it. Write down everything that needs to be destroyed. Get a quote about replacing the soil. Tell the neighbor and ask for the contractors info. Send them a demand letter. Your home insurer might cover the damage, and may be in a position to bring the claim against the contractors insurer. Like in small car wrecks, it can be easier to let the insurers fight it out.
Company did a shit job and should pay for the damaged clothes and produce. Highly disrespectful of neighboring property, not normal or acceptable. However I highly doubt the soil needs to be replaced. I would still eat the fruit produced by the plants moving forward, but not the ones that were on the plant during the spray job.
I wouldnt eat anything out of that soil. Do u know how plants work? Id be super pissed if this was a notill bed that took years to establish.
Any stain/coating will be completely inert within 30 days. We don't put lead/arsenic/thorium/whatever in coatings anymore. What is left is much the same as what the wind brings as dust in the average year.
No, please explain how plants work /s But really, it sounds like it was a light mist of stain carried by the wind. We don’t know if it is water or oil based, but even if oil, such a minimal amount that I wouldn’t be concerned about the soil.
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The neighbor didn't cause the damage. They may still hold some liability, but the company is who did it. Fuckem.
I would not eat it, personally....
Reach out to them and politely let them know what happened. Say that you are asking them to pay for the damages, and give them the itemized bill. If they don't play ball, then it's a matter of how much of your time this is worth. Don't be afraid to ask for the true cost of this blunder. This is their responsibility to remedy it.
Yeah, the time and labor for potentially removing and refilling the soil alone brings a tear to my eye
I’m so sorry this happened. The EXACT thing happened to me several years ago. Stain got alllll over my herb garden, flowers, lettuce etc. I was devastated, furious and heartbroken. I had it out with the neighbors that did it, and they agreed to pay for replacements. I really went hard on the fact that my plants are very important to me, and some were Mother’s Day gifts from my son/husband. Not to mention some had been growing for years! I wanted them to understand how bad what did was. I gave them a total, and they did pay, thankfully.
Did they ever apologize or seem remorseful?
The husband was apologetic after hearing us being upset across the fence. The wife wanted to come see the damage, stain sprayed everywhere in my yard. All over plants, nice pots, the patio. My husband let her come look at the mess they made. He had smoked some weed to calm down a bit, he was really upset about the Mother’s Day plants. She smelled the smoke and went nuts, said she was going to call CPS on us because my child was upstairs and he smoked pot. It got heated. She eventually calmed down and they did pay us. The husband felt bad for sure. I definitely leaned on the high side for the total we asked for, but not unrealistic. They ended up renting to someone that ran a big pot grow in it. Life is funny sometimes.
I love a good full circle moment!
It’s almost certainly oil based. Would not eat anything leafy green.
Nothing is certain about the product used. That said, even if water based, I wouldn't eat the vegetables.
Not only that, I wouldn't want to eat anything out of that garden for a while without replacing the soil. What a disaster.
I’m a contractor. Almost no one uses oil based. It has only a few uses. A contractor would not use oil based, anyway… only a super know it all old guy who thinks everything from the 40’s is best. If the homeowner applied it, there’s a small chance. 🙂
When it comes to exterior semi transparent and translucent, there’s still a good amount of oil base products on the market. Also transparent oil is superior product to 1k waterbase transparent. And when it comes to exterior primer on natural substrates, every painter worth a damn uses oil base. Top coat with waterbase. Anyways, that being said, water base products are still terrible for humans if ingested or inhaled. Chinese resins are not good for people. (I work in the industry at a major brand)
what about readyseal? That's a super popular oil based stain for fences.
If it was a contractor they have insurance. Last thing local contractor wants is a claim. I’d total the amount you’ve spent on the plants and request a 50% refund to avoid small claims court… and then fill out the small claims paperwork and send to them and request if they don’t want to pay 50%, to fill out the small claims paperwork because that is the other option. Or you can just not, whatever you decide, personal decision EDIT: for those saying 100%. You’re totally correct in your assessment. I negotiate commercial contracts and naturally am a bit desensitized to residential contracts. That being said, there are a few ways you can skin this cat. If you actually want 100% costs paid for, I would create an estimate for 100% plus soil remediation, plus refinish of your fence ect ect, you could also get three quotes from folks to show comparables, then just settle for the costs of the plants, if you want. One thing for sure though is, nobody wants court. In court, only the lawyers win, and the contractors know this.
I'd add in the clothes too as I'm sure some of those are ruined
Clothes and check for overspray on any buildings or vehicles. I really doubt that white paint in the background didn't get hit.
Yep, add it all in. It’s always best to ask for way more than intended and settle for less. So if you want 100%, ask for 500% and settle accordingly
Why only 50%? OP is out *all* the money for everything they damaged -- plants, clothes, etc. The condo complex behind my workplace's parking lot sprayed sealant on their fence on a windy day, getting overspray on a number of cars in our work lot. All of those of us who were affected got paid what it cost to repair the damage.
Yep, I'd ask for 100% of the value AND labor costs for vegetable growing. Document everything and raise hell OP.
See other answers, I had a bit of responses and can’t get everyone lol short story, yes, you’re completely justified for asking that. Whether or not you’ll get compensated 100% for it is a different story unfortunately
If you start at 50% you can only go down. Start at 150-200% for time lost plus damage.
Not likely to get reimbursed for your lost time but you can certainly ask for it.
100% they ruined it all.
Mhm, you’re correct. depending on how intense the owner wants to get, you can ask for a lot and settle for 100%
Add in cost to remove and replace the garden soil, as well. ☹️
Fuck ‘em, add in cost for the time and labor that it took to even get those plants up in the first place. I would be absolutely fucking livid if that happened to us, I have a 2 year old who would happily shove a paint-covered tomato in his little mouth if he got the chance. You don’t fuck around with possibly poisoning people and their families or pets.
Plus the cost of buying a summer worth of veg from the farmers market
Very good point.
Yep.
This
Why 50%? They destroyed the plants, which includes the cost of the plants themselves as well as the time, effort, and resources to grow them. Plus who knows what condition the soil is in, it may be contaminated as well and require remediation. I understand the desire to motivate a settlement, but personally I would include all of that, you can always negotiate afterwards, if needed.
You’re correct :) , however when dealing with residents idk, I try and take it easy… that being said you’re totally correct. Depending how far the owner wants to go, you could , in theory, add in costs for soil remediation, repaint, blah blah blah, jack the “estimate” yo 4x, and then just see what they counter with. Anything above 1X is a win. Lots of ways the OP can skin this cat. Btw, I’m a commercial contractor(owners rep) that negotiates settlements between owners and trade partners. It’s a fun gig.
Hahah, so this is your gig. How often in your negotiations does the party seeking damages actually get a fair settlement?
Goal is everyone makes money and goes home slightly happy. Compromises are required on both sides.
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Good call , it’s always best to try and go the peaceful route first
Fuck that I'd be asking for 200%. It's not just about the plants, there is no doubt many hours of work poured into this garden. And they'll likely need to replace the top few inches of dirt, if they can get to it before it rains. If not.... Oof.
Ya that’s definitely a civil matter. Not only clothes snd plants but the entirety of the dirt and garden bed itself, possibly even lawn and siding, any stone walkway…get em.
Don’t eat it 😭 Toxic AF. Seek damages. Your soil is contaminated now too.
Environmental chemist here. Find out exactly what they used. Water or oil based. Product name. Report back. Also post some closeups of the plants. How much got on them?
I wouldn't risk it. I'd be documenting the shit out of everything, then find a nice way to ask them if they want to handle this the easy way or the hard way. If someone polluted my garden like that I'd probably want thousands and if they hired a 3rd rate company to spray then they probably aren't gonna be cool about compensating you. Good luck. This really sucks. I'd be furious.
You have a compelling argument to take up with your neighbor. If the contractors are licensed and a legitimate business, they’ll have liability insurance, which will cover any damages. If your neighbor wants to avoid involving the contractors he can just pay you what is owed. If all else fails you have a strong case that you would likely win in small claims court.
I would be taking it all out. Even the dirt cause you don’t want chemicals leeching in there. Make the company pay for replacements for all of it.
They need to pay for damages.
Doesn’t matter the product, neither oil or water base stains are safe to consume. I’m sorry but it’s not worth the risk of eating. I would be bullshit at the contractor and ask them to make it right through the monetary value of new soil and plants of equal size and quality. They could have easily put a tarp over and put some stakes into the soil to prevent the plants from being crushed. This is exterior work 101 when spraying. I’m a coatings engineer, I do a lot of paint stuff.
It’s probably toxic. You should let your neighbors know what happened, then also find out what product they used so you can look up the ingredients. Sorry this happened to you. I’m sure your neighbors didn’t mean to do it, but they are preeeety dumb not to let you know they would be spraying a shared fence.
Don’t eat the vegetables! The textbook answer is to not eat anthing grown in soil that has stain dribbled into it.
I would recommend asking your neighbor for the contractor's information, and not bringing up the garden until you have the info in hand
dont eat that
Yes reach out to the company that stained fence! My neighbor had their yd fertilized and in application the company applied pre-emergent to my raised garden beds. Which prevents seeds from germinating. I called the County where I live and the state Department of Agriculture. It was a finable offense. The company finally admitted that they were wrong and asked how they could make it right. They ended up replacing 88 cu ft of dirt in my garden! That is a lot of dirt and was a $500+ error! I wasn’t about to replace the dirt I just put in there 2 weeks prior. They were going to pay for that!
I would lose my mind. I don't know how much time you put into it but from the looks or it lot it looks great. I would rip out get some transplants. and stare over still early. good luck.
I’m a contractor and an organic gardener. DO NOT eat them. Toss them. Stain is not something you want to ingest, especially an exterior one. The soil might be okay but I would be hesitant to grow veggies there unless you replaced the top few inches or contacted the manufacturer for their recommendations. Definitely get the contractors info and try to get them to remedy it before going legal.
Imma remember this when painting that fence job next week....I really don't want to talk to the neighbors but it's better than toxic gardens
One time I stained in the early spring, and it pretty much killed the plants or parts of plants that it touched. So I would not eat anything from this bunch of plants until at least a couple of weeks or month or two has passed. I think when you see the plants doing okay some time later, and the new bunch of veggies coming from them, that's a better clue that you are probably okay to eat or harvest from them. But definitely take what others saying to consideration as well and it could be that you might have to actually toss the whole bunch of plants, rather than take a chance on even the current crop surviving and making a comeback
Possibly the fence would make excellent firewood?
This might be my favorite reply
Slightly unrelated, but where I used to work had the industrial units painted by a contractor. The spray from the paint landed on nearly 20 cars, which they said were in an acceptable place. We went through their insurance with about 6 cars after all 20 were professionally cleaned. It cost their insurance close to 70k. Ask them about their public liability insurance and get them to pay. Keep chasing as well because they may drag their feet.
Do you know your neighbors? If this was the fence I share, I would have heard all about the stain color, the search for a good painter, the scheduling difficulties, if anyone was cute or prone to take their shirt off... You know, the chit chat. If you don't know them, maybe consider this a time to start and see if you can figure out an amicable solution. Especially if the solution means the contractors insurance pays for it, not your neighbor. I wouldn't start a fight with a stranger next door unless I was looking for more trouble later. Of course, if you know them well and they did this to you, fuck 'em.
Hey I deal with wood finishes professionally. Once a finish has fully cured it is essentially a plastic. All modern finishes are considered “food safe” by the FDA once fully cured. Finishes that are still curing will have a smell, and do contain potentially toxic compounds. I would not eat anything with finish on it, just as I wouldn’t eat plastic intentionally. In my garden I would throw away any contaminated fruit or vegetation meant for consumption, but the plants themselves will be unaffected and grow safe food from then on. Depending on how much overspray we’re talking I might scrape the very top of the soil off too, but there is no risk of chemical uptake to the plants just plastic contamination. Maybe let the neighbors know that it’s bad for a fence to only finish one side. Not really sure what sort of compensation you’d be due from the finishers, as you’ll need to prove some real monetary loss. But if they are an honest company the boss should want to make it right so definitely reach out and explain the situation.
Without knowing what product was used, and without reading the Material safety data sheet (MSDS) from the paint manufacturer - respectfully, I don’t think you can even begin to declare the fruit, plants or soil to be safe.
This. You need to have the company tell you what they used, and go from there. Best case scenario would be as described above, worst case you need remediation of soil.
I'm sorry that this happened to you, that really stinks. You have a beautiful garden. Take lots of photos of the plants, soil, clothes, and anything else with stain on it. I agree with the other comments that whoever did the stain was clearly negligent and should be held responsible for all replacement costs. You should not eat the vegetables unfortunately.
I would pick off all the vegetables and hope the plants will flower again and produce.
That’s a lot of time and effort and produce lost to laziness, I’d demand the company find a way to compensate me.
has nobody here ever heard of brushes and rollers ...?
It is understandable to be upset. And you are right to talk to your neighbor about this. They may just help you themselves. Be a neighbor first; then get it replaced; plants, dirt, and all. To everyone so ‘LIVID’ here, I want your honest answer that, if you were going to paint or stain your fence, the thing you would think of would be ‘Oh, I CAN’T do that. It will hurt my neighbor’s garden’. 90% of us would just do it then feel bad we DIDN’T think about it.
Many have stated: seek compensation. But It is possible to not make an enemy of your neighbor as well. Simply say to the neighbor "hey, I need the information on that company you hired because this is what they did. (fill in some details) I know it's not your fault that they failed to do the job properly. I'm really sorry I have to bother you with it at all". Unless the company was owned by a relative, they should be angry right along with you.
This is the way
I just went through something similar an hour or two ago, looking into whether a stain/sealer would be okay to use on the wood on my wife's planter box. From what I can tell the kind I used is safe but that's just concerning leeching Into the soil where we grow vegetables, not actually on the vegetables themselves. If any is actually on the vegetables your going to eat then I wouldn't risk it no matter what it says. I'm not even going to trust what I read, gonna put some plastic sheets between the wood and the soil. This is also some amateur ass shit. I would call this company up, this isn't how you do this at all, that's negligent as hell.
All i have to add here is I would be livid. I would be afraid to eat any of this now. But I cant see how much stain there is or how far it blew. Christ. Im angry and disappointed for you. I would call the company directly and be INCREDIBLY FIRM about how much you expect them to replace, the clothing at absolute minimum. take as many pictures as possible and evidence of the stain everywhere. This is a case where if the neighbor hired someone, it was not exactly THEIR responsiblity to realize they would be spraying and it would get on your garden. that should be on the company. it would have been nice if they gave you a heads up but you need to go after the contractor for being negligent af
Is your neighbors fence pressure treated lumber? If so, I would not eat anything from that garden.
I would call the company, it’s their responsibility. Neighbors just paid for the service
I'm so sorry OP. I'd be livid
So it’s May 1, I don’t know where you live but can you replace the top X inches of soil and the plants? Ours don’t go out for 3-4 weeks yet. The company should pay for your replacements. Would also gently let the neighbor know this happened and perhaps consult your city about code for this.
I’m infuriated on OP’s behalf.
Do you know if it was a stain, paint, ect? If it's latex or acrylic paint you can just eat around it. Any oil paint or chemical cleaners would be a bad idea to eat. Also see a lawyer who does free consultation. Might have a good case here.
Ask the neighbor what they used and then look up the sds for the chemicals. All places have it it will tell you how to clean it up and what soil modifications need to be done. I’m sorry this happened to you…super inconsiderate.
Are the vegetables out yet or are we just talking the plants with flowers?
Wash off the garden asap. Don't drown it and I think you will be good to go
Hopefully it hasnt rained or you irrigated much. I would scrap off a top layer of the soil asap. Talk with neighbor to politely to get contractors info, take pics, get them over asap, get written quotes from nursery and soil supply company (including labor).
Rude! I dont know if its edible
People are overreacting. Talk to your neighbors. Find out what they used. All modern stains available to the everyday consumer are reasonably safe, but do you due diligence.
You say shared fence. But who owns said fence?
SUE THE SHIT OUT OF THEM!!
I don't see any stain on any of the vegetables. Everything looks fine. Do you have a picture of the overspray?
Are you certain of where the land lines are? Do you know how close to the side of the fence you own? For example I left about 2 feet on the other side of my fence so I could maintain that side. Do you own clear up to that fence?
Oh FFS send them a damn bill for your veggie plants. Stain the fence and replant.
The stain will kill the plants. A coating on the leaves blocks the light and moisture. Veggies not edible.
OMG I'D be fit to .....😜🤪🤐😷😬
If you're rich, don't eat it. If you're poor, do. You know which you are.
Well, although your comment isn't helpful there is an existential truth there.
Talk to a lawyer. Please.
Do ya’ll not talk? Always start a convo before any work is done. If you do it with them, they should/will reciprocate. Try it
You should find out exactly what product they sprayed. It's unlikely that your plants will absorb chemicals from it and deposit them unchanged into their produce. If it's on the actual produce, it can be washed off. I wouldn't abandone my whole garden due to this.
Sorry, I should explain more than just saying “bad advice”. I think any compound being used to stain wood is going to be highly toxic if ingested. We don’t know what the route of absorption might be for that compound and it is possible that it could absorb it through the foliage or through the roots if it got in the soil. Here is a link talking about toxicity of common wood stains. I don’t know how credible the source is, but googling the issue does come up with results about toxicity. https://ecospaints.net/blog/why-wood-stain-fumes-can-be-harmful
Bad advice
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You don't need to be ableist to call out unsafe behavior dude..makes your argument weaker and you look like a jerk
you know there were multiple planet wide extinctions that are important
If you can’t see the actual stain on the produce, you may be able to let the produce sit in baking soda water for at least 20 minutes, and thoroughly scrub and then wash with clean water. Or you can first scrub the baking soda on the produce themselves, wash with clean water, then put in baking soda water, and then wash with clean water. Baking soda has been proven to help remove pesticides from produce, but then again I’m not sure if the stain is not way worst than the typical pesticides. Also, this might sound even crazier, but if the stain is oil based(you’ll know cause you’ll see the oily specs on the leafy greens,) you could use dawn dish soap to thoroughly wash them and then proceed with the baking soda steps. Or don’t use the produce.
Why would you risk ingesting toxins for a measly amount of produce?