2,461. An Orlah Plant Mixed With Other Plants

Maachalos Assuros 16:24

If bread was baked on coals made from orlah wood, it is permitted, since turning the wood into coals removes the prohibited aspect even if they’re still glowing. If a pot of food was cooked using shells of orlah or from the mixed species of a vineyard along with permitted wood, food cooked in it is prohibited because it was cooked with the prohibited fuel before the permitted fuel was added with the result that part of the cooking process used permitted fuel and part used prohibited fuel.

Maachalos Assuros 16:25

If an orlah plant got mixed with other plants or if a bed of mixed species from a vineyard got mixed with other beds, one should gather all of them. If the permitted plants or beds outnumber their prohibited counterparts 200 to one, everything that was gathered is permitted; if the ratio of permitted to prohibited is less than 200:1, then everything that was gathered is prohibited. It might seem curious that one should gather all the produce when the halacha should presumably prohibit everything until one removes the prohibited plant or bed. The reason is because a person won’t let his whole vineyard be rendered prohibited over one plant; if he knew which one it was, he would simply remove it.