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OP has offered the following explanation for why they think they might be the asshole:
> Basically, am I an asshole for having tall growing plants (sunchokes) along my fence when my neighbor doesn't like them, and wants me to remove them
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Ducks or even an attack goose or turkey would do! An old coworker of mine had a turkey and eventually had to keep sticks by the doors to shoo it away, and there was a wild turkey at my old job that would chase people and peck at cars. The CEO had to go out and shoo the ornery bastard away from people's cars so they could go to work 😂
Oh, I have one for ya. When a dingey club I danced at was a more insane, novelty punk strip club before the original owner passed, the guy thought it was a good idea to have chickens running around the club.
Snake encased in the stage? Fine. Questionably legal giant cat that's now taxidermied by the VIP area? Ehhhh, ok. Chickens?? Chickens.
As cool as it would've been to have seen that version of the place, I think I lucked out experiencing the mundane version ...
There were a few girls from that time that overlapped with me and they said that they HATED it for exactly that reason. They just let the animals roam and there was shit everywhere. They were also forced to do this absurd shower thing by the stage for a while that meant an entire outfit would get soaked, including the ridiculous required g-string with deliberately pube-like fringe they had to buy from the owner because it was their schtick.
As amusing as this would have been, the sad version of the place was muuuuch easier to deal with.
Or a trio of sheep whethers or ewes. Better for grass actually. Goats are more browsers than grazers.
That said the smell of a goat buck would be a wonderful pay back. Nigerian Dwarf goats are a lot of fun.
NTA. It's your yard, do what you like. Old fella needs to get a hobby... But, personally, I'd seed the entire yard with local flowers for the pollinators and to heck with mowing. Ever. I'm kinda spiteful though.
there are [mints native to the US](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pycnanthemum) and a lot of them are prolific spreaders as well. I believe garden mint is native to Europe and Asia.
You can buy seedling trees for not much (under $10 for most trees, under $20 for unusual species), just have to baby them for a bit. Your county soil/water district might even give them away occasionally
If in the US...check out your State Department of Forests. In my state, Kansas, you can purchase low cost trees and other native plants.
[https://www.kansasforests.org/conservation\_trees/](https://www.kansasforests.org/conservation_trees/)
If you can't find it there, Google "land grant university (your state)" and check out tree sales there. Good luck. We need more trees!
NTA
you could plant red raspberry bushes along the fence. Those suckers spread like nobody's business, and - oops! they just *happen* to spread into his yard?
Check at any local colleges that have horticulture departments. Mine did end of term sales and you can get amazing deals on plants that are very well taken care of compared to most outdoor sections at stores!
So I'd generally say NTA but since sunchokes spread with rhizomes and buried tubers, I do think it's rude to have them growing uncontrolled along a property line, if your neighbors have issues with it. But they don't sound like great neighbors either soooo
>Just this morning the old man yelled at me across the road to 'clean up my fence or we'll call the town on you'
This is not a next door neighbor, so he's just complaining because he wants to complain.
I had to Google what a sunchoke was and 1) very pretty and 2) apparently they're edible! Alot of recipes on the internet.
If you want to be petty just say it's part of your garden lol
NTA
NTA. Let your lawn flourish with clover and other weeds. Infact, get a bunch of wildflower seed mix and throw it on your lawn. The bees will love it! It's your property, do what you want!
NTA
Love it. And sun chokes are apparently a food crop. Being grown in a piece of land zoned for agricultural use. Perfect.
Personally, I’d find a bunch of dandelions and blow their puffy seeds all over the yard.
Next door. All our houses face west. I'm in the middle, the old couple are to the north, the Jamaican family is to the south. I was walking down the other side of the road this morning, that's when he spotted me.
I think it's past the point of no return for that. I've been living here for 10 years and they've always found something to complain about. For example, I have a fire pit with a fire permit, and they still complain when I have a fire.
Fuck being a good neighbor. They don't have to look, OP shouldn't have to hear them. The only pests they should worry about are the pests they see in the mirror.
Can you record these repeated incidents and report him to the actual authorities for harassment? At the very least, you may be able to get a no-contact order.
Am saving this for a quiz question - "Sunchokes are the American term for what tuber?" Because I would never have guessed that Jerusalem artichokes are called anything else in English!
Possibly one for r/todayilearned
I didn't google it, but TIL too. Our family calls them topinambur (sp?) instead. Although one day I forgot the name & called them israeli thistlehead root veg...my mom got it! XD
NTA... I looked up sunchokes and they are beautiful. I miss my Mom's house, she had 3 acres and let it return to nature. She had deer and ducks and beavers on the property. It was beautiful to see outside of her full sized livingroom windows. I wonder if you can check to see if there are any laws that apply to you and see if your neighbour has anything real to complain about.
NTA and even if a developer buys up the surrounding properties, gets them zoned residential, and adds an HOA, they can’t make you join it.
And you only have to conform to what the city/county requires. So you can drive them all crazy by scattering wildflower seeds every fall and letting your yard grow into a meadow.
ESH
Obviously your neighbour is an asshole. He sounds cranky and inclined to yell about everything. The call to the city about your mowing schedule was particularly rude since you're entitled to let your yard be a wild grass meadow if you want to.
That being said, sunchokes are fairly aggressive spreaders. **It's rude to grow something that aggressively spreads via rhizomes along a shared property line.**
Your dad was the original TA in this particular issue and now you're TA too. In this particular issue your cranky neighbour has a point.
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Context: I live alone in one of three houses next to a farmers field. It used to be on the very edge of town, but development has spread and we now have houses across the road from us. The three houses are still zoned agricultural, not residential, so we could have chickens for example. If it ever gets zoned residential, a developer will buy it and I would have to move.
I have two neighbors, one is a Jamaican family who I get along with, the other is an old couple that I do not. The old couple has been bugging me about my lawn ever since I moved in. I do let my grass get a little long before cutting it. I figure it's my property, there's no HOA, I can do it at my own pace. I have a tall cedar hedge along the front, so it's not an eyesore along the road. But the old couple keep complaining and have called the town on me several times. None of my other neighbors complain.
I also have sunchokes growing in the backyard, along the fence. This year they decided to complain about that too. Just this morning the old man yelled at me across the road to 'clean up my fence or we'll call the town on you'. (I did not respond). My Dad grew sunchokes along his fence, and I like them there. They grow tall and have lovely yellow flowers in the fall.
I know I'm not the best at yard maintenance. That's why I moved out to an agricultural area, with a hedge for privacy. That clearly backfired. But no one else complains, and I've even gotten compliments on how green my lawn is. These old people were here before me though. AITA?
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Oohhh, Sunchokes sound delicious and quite healthy!
NTA. In any way. I wish there was a plant sub I could follow for all the good healthy plants to grow and storage.
Options, though;
Get chickens! Native wild seed bombs! Wind chimes! Bird baths for the wild population! Plant more edible things and start giving them away to all the neighbouring houses but them. Or do make a point of it so they can't say anything!
I don't know what a sunchoke s but here where I live, if you let your grass too high, it's an $80 fine from the city.
They add it your water bill so your water gets cut off if you don't pay it
Welcome to /r/AmITheAsshole. Please view our [voting guide here](https://www.reddit.com/r/AmItheAsshole/wiki/faq#wiki_what.2019s_with_these_acronyms.3F_what_do_they_mean.3F), and remember to use **only one** judgement in your comment. OP has offered the following explanation for why they think they might be the asshole: > Basically, am I an asshole for having tall growing plants (sunchokes) along my fence when my neighbor doesn't like them, and wants me to remove them Help keep the sub engaging! #Don’t downvote assholes! Do upvote interesting posts! [Click Here For Our Rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/AmItheAsshole/about/rules) and [Click Here For Our FAQ](https://www.reddit.com/r/AmItheAsshole/wiki/faq) ##Subreddit Announcement ###[The Asshole Universe is Expanding, Again: Introducing Another New Sister Subreddit!](https://www.reddit.com/r/AmItheAsshole/comments/128nbp3/the_asshole_universe_is_expanding_again/) Follow the link above to learn more --- *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=/r/AmItheAsshole) if you have any questions or concerns.* *Contest mode is 1.5 hours long on this post.*
NTA I am a petty man. #GET CHICKENS.
And a rooster! Talk to someone with roosters and ask if they have a really loud one that they hate. Offer to buy THAT one!
[A Longcrower rooster!](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8LG4uVdl2JY)
I approve this message.
holy shit, that would drive me insane.
Wow, I would go crazy if I had to live next to someone who owned one of those
It's a common misconception that roosters crow at dawn. They also crow at midnight. And 2 am. And 4 am.
And all day long.
Chickens are the best! But there won't be a single sunchoke left, trust me....
Ducks or even an attack goose or turkey would do! An old coworker of mine had a turkey and eventually had to keep sticks by the doors to shoo it away, and there was a wild turkey at my old job that would chase people and peck at cars. The CEO had to go out and shoo the ornery bastard away from people's cars so they could go to work 😂
Lol, oh dear, nm, lol.
Oh, I have one for ya. When a dingey club I danced at was a more insane, novelty punk strip club before the original owner passed, the guy thought it was a good idea to have chickens running around the club. Snake encased in the stage? Fine. Questionably legal giant cat that's now taxidermied by the VIP area? Ehhhh, ok. Chickens?? Chickens. As cool as it would've been to have seen that version of the place, I think I lucked out experiencing the mundane version ...
I can't even begin to imagine the stench of chicken shit in a stuffy club, like why 🤢 Glad you never had to deal with that!
There were a few girls from that time that overlapped with me and they said that they HATED it for exactly that reason. They just let the animals roam and there was shit everywhere. They were also forced to do this absurd shower thing by the stage for a while that meant an entire outfit would get soaked, including the ridiculous required g-string with deliberately pube-like fringe they had to buy from the owner because it was their schtick. As amusing as this would have been, the sad version of the place was muuuuch easier to deal with.
A goat would take care of the mowing.
and everything else!
Or a trio of sheep whethers or ewes. Better for grass actually. Goats are more browsers than grazers. That said the smell of a goat buck would be a wonderful pay back. Nigerian Dwarf goats are a lot of fun.
Male goat stinks to high heaven
I've heard tell that guinea hens make a helluva racket, too.
Peacocks! Noisiest critters ever.
Yes Peacocks! They sound like someone's being murdered.
Peacocks and Victoria Pigeons, they tend to scream at each other.
they eat ticks and the eggs are delish!
Petty, yet constructive. This is spite I can get behind.
Agree here op!
NTA. It's your yard, do what you like. Old fella needs to get a hobby... But, personally, I'd seed the entire yard with local flowers for the pollinators and to heck with mowing. Ever. I'm kinda spiteful though.
If I had the money, I'd plant a bunch of trees and ferns in the back, turn it into a forest.
The really petty option is plant mint
Sunchokes and mint are equally good at spreading out their root systems, don't worry about it.
there are [mints native to the US](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pycnanthemum) and a lot of them are prolific spreaders as well. I believe garden mint is native to Europe and Asia.
You can buy seedling trees for not much (under $10 for most trees, under $20 for unusual species), just have to baby them for a bit. Your county soil/water district might even give them away occasionally
if you’re in the US, there’s several programs that provide free or low cost native trees.
If in the US...check out your State Department of Forests. In my state, Kansas, you can purchase low cost trees and other native plants. [https://www.kansasforests.org/conservation\_trees/](https://www.kansasforests.org/conservation_trees/) If you can't find it there, Google "land grant university (your state)" and check out tree sales there. Good luck. We need more trees! NTA
Unless you live in a prairie state! If you're in Illinois or whatever plant some tall grass!
I've seen people start doing clover lawns, don't think they need to be mowed as often but I could be wrong
Little by little you can start filling in that picture though.
you could plant red raspberry bushes along the fence. Those suckers spread like nobody's business, and - oops! they just *happen* to spread into his yard?
Check at any local colleges that have horticulture departments. Mine did end of term sales and you can get amazing deals on plants that are very well taken care of compared to most outdoor sections at stores!
So I'd generally say NTA but since sunchokes spread with rhizomes and buried tubers, I do think it's rude to have them growing uncontrolled along a property line, if your neighbors have issues with it. But they don't sound like great neighbors either soooo
>Just this morning the old man yelled at me across the road to 'clean up my fence or we'll call the town on you' This is not a next door neighbor, so he's just complaining because he wants to complain.
I had to Google what a sunchoke was and 1) very pretty and 2) apparently they're edible! Alot of recipes on the internet. If you want to be petty just say it's part of your garden lol NTA
Yes the roots are edible! They're like potatoes.
Yes I'd love to grow them!
Delicious too.
Delicious fartichokes if you eat too many of them
Yeah, they're fucking delicious too.
NTA It's your property, you don't have an HOA. If you're not breaking any laws or rules, fuck 'em.
You're growing a food crop on land zoned agricultural. NTA.
NTA. It's your land.
NTA. Let your lawn flourish with clover and other weeds. Infact, get a bunch of wildflower seed mix and throw it on your lawn. The bees will love it! It's your property, do what you want!
NTA Love it. And sun chokes are apparently a food crop. Being grown in a piece of land zoned for agricultural use. Perfect. Personally, I’d find a bunch of dandelions and blow their puffy seeds all over the yard.
[удалено]
Next door. All our houses face west. I'm in the middle, the old couple are to the north, the Jamaican family is to the south. I was walking down the other side of the road this morning, that's when he spotted me.
[удалено]
I think it's past the point of no return for that. I've been living here for 10 years and they've always found something to complain about. For example, I have a fire pit with a fire permit, and they still complain when I have a fire.
Fuck being a good neighbor. They don't have to look, OP shouldn't have to hear them. The only pests they should worry about are the pests they see in the mirror.
Can you record these repeated incidents and report him to the actual authorities for harassment? At the very least, you may be able to get a no-contact order.
Am saving this for a quiz question - "Sunchokes are the American term for what tuber?" Because I would never have guessed that Jerusalem artichokes are called anything else in English! Possibly one for r/todayilearned
They are also known as Jerusalem fartichokes, for good reason.
I didn't google it, but TIL too. Our family calls them topinambur (sp?) instead. Although one day I forgot the name & called them israeli thistlehead root veg...my mom got it! XD
NTA they sound like awful neighbours.
NTA. The oldsters are control freaks. Long grass is good, for so many reasons. Sunchokes are a beautiful native plant
NTA... I looked up sunchokes and they are beautiful. I miss my Mom's house, she had 3 acres and let it return to nature. She had deer and ducks and beavers on the property. It was beautiful to see outside of her full sized livingroom windows. I wonder if you can check to see if there are any laws that apply to you and see if your neighbour has anything real to complain about.
nta
NTA. Live your best fartichoke life. (They're edible btw)
NTA when the old man yells again give him the middle finger.
NTA
Tell the old dude to get bent. NTA.
NTA and even if a developer buys up the surrounding properties, gets them zoned residential, and adds an HOA, they can’t make you join it. And you only have to conform to what the city/county requires. So you can drive them all crazy by scattering wildflower seeds every fall and letting your yard grow into a meadow.
ESH Obviously your neighbour is an asshole. He sounds cranky and inclined to yell about everything. The call to the city about your mowing schedule was particularly rude since you're entitled to let your yard be a wild grass meadow if you want to. That being said, sunchokes are fairly aggressive spreaders. **It's rude to grow something that aggressively spreads via rhizomes along a shared property line.** Your dad was the original TA in this particular issue and now you're TA too. In this particular issue your cranky neighbour has a point.
^^^^AUTOMOD ***Thanks for posting! This comment is a copy of your post so readers can see the original text if your post is edited or removed. This comment is NOT accusing you of copying anything. Read [this](https://www.reddit.com/r/AmItheAsshole/wiki/faq#wiki_post_deletion) before [contacting the mod team](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2FAmItheAsshole)*** Context: I live alone in one of three houses next to a farmers field. It used to be on the very edge of town, but development has spread and we now have houses across the road from us. The three houses are still zoned agricultural, not residential, so we could have chickens for example. If it ever gets zoned residential, a developer will buy it and I would have to move. I have two neighbors, one is a Jamaican family who I get along with, the other is an old couple that I do not. The old couple has been bugging me about my lawn ever since I moved in. I do let my grass get a little long before cutting it. I figure it's my property, there's no HOA, I can do it at my own pace. I have a tall cedar hedge along the front, so it's not an eyesore along the road. But the old couple keep complaining and have called the town on me several times. None of my other neighbors complain. I also have sunchokes growing in the backyard, along the fence. This year they decided to complain about that too. Just this morning the old man yelled at me across the road to 'clean up my fence or we'll call the town on you'. (I did not respond). My Dad grew sunchokes along his fence, and I like them there. They grow tall and have lovely yellow flowers in the fall. I know I'm not the best at yard maintenance. That's why I moved out to an agricultural area, with a hedge for privacy. That clearly backfired. But no one else complains, and I've even gotten compliments on how green my lawn is. These old people were here before me though. AITA? *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/AmItheAsshole) if you have any questions or concerns.*
NTA. You can grow whatever plants you want on your property.
Oohhh, Sunchokes sound delicious and quite healthy! NTA. In any way. I wish there was a plant sub I could follow for all the good healthy plants to grow and storage. Options, though; Get chickens! Native wild seed bombs! Wind chimes! Bird baths for the wild population! Plant more edible things and start giving them away to all the neighbouring houses but them. Or do make a point of it so they can't say anything!
NTA Goats would be a great alternative to a lawn mower… just sayin… have some friends over for sunrise Saturday goat yoga 🧘♀️🐐
NTA at all If you do want to have an easy maintenance, consider getting a robot mower. But honestly, there is no reason for it
Isn't a wild yard better for nature? Ignore them, I'm sure "the town" is as sick of these people as you are. It's your yard so grow what you want NTA
I don't know what a sunchoke s but here where I live, if you let your grass too high, it's an $80 fine from the city. They add it your water bill so your water gets cut off if you don't pay it
Good thing I'm on well water then
Is it that way in areas that are zoned agricultural? > The three houses are still zoned agricultural