Farming and Animals

Farming and Animals covers growing crops and raising livestock. Canned food runs out, but a field of potatoes and a pen of chickens keep a base fed for years. Crops need furrows, water, the right season and protection from disease. Animals need food, water, a safe zone and a calm life away from zombies. The Farmer is the best occupation for farming and animals. It starts with the most Agriculture skill. For Animal Care, the Rancher starts strongest.

Planting Crops

The game's guide walks through farming step by step. Seeds have to be removed from their packets before planting. Open Seed Packet does this, and Put 5 Seeds in Packet packs loose seeds again. Seeds can only be planted in outdoor furrows at ground level.

Dig the furrow next. The guide says to use a Trowel, a Shovel or, if desperate, bare hands to dig a furrow in soil or grass. The Gardening Trowel weighs 1.0. Digging can also turn up worms, which make good fishing bait. Then plant seeds in the dug furrow and check the plant's information panel. The guide warns to mind the season and the needs of each crop.

Crops in the game include Carrots, Broccoli, Potatoes, Cabbages, Corn, Winter Wheat, Barley, Rye, Flax, Hemp, Hops, Sunflower, Pumpkin, Watermelon and many herbs. Each crop has its own growing season. The Empty Seed Packet for a crop teaches its season, and the Farmer occupation knows them all.

Growing and Harvest

A crop passes through named phases. It starts as a Seedling, then grows Young, Almost Ready for Harvest and Ready for Harvest. Some crops go on to Blooming and Seed-bearing, which is the time to collect seeds. A crop left too long becomes Rotten or Dead.

Water matters every day. The panel shows the water state as Well watered, Fine, Thirsty, Dry or Parched. Check it often and water before the plant turns Dry. Compost and Fertilizer both carry the tooltip "Used on crops to increase growth speed and health." Too much fertilizer shows as "Yes (Too Much)" on the panel.

Harvest when the crop is ready. The guide notes that a high Agriculture skill means more crops are harvested. Agriculture "Increases the available information for crops." It trains only by harvesting crops the survivor planted. At Agriculture 10, the character learns every growing season.

Pests and Disease

Crops can fall sick. The diseases are Mildew, Pest Flies, Slugs and Snails, and Aphids. Weeds also appear. A Magnifying Glass helps spot disease, so a character with lower Agriculture can still see when a plant is sick.

Each pest has a spray. Make Mildew Cure fills an Empty Gardening Spray Can with Cow's Milk or Sheep's Milk to make Mildew Spray. Make Aphids Cure mixes water and Rubbing Alcohol into Aphids Spray. Make Flies Cure from Cigarettes mixes water and cigarettes into Pest Flies Spray. Magazine: Kentucky Farmer - June 1993 and Magazine: Kentucky Farmer - May 1993 teach these. The Farmer knows them from the start.

Some plants protect others. The panel marks a plant that "Repels Aphids" or is "Slug-Proof". Make Scarecrow builds a scarecrow from sticks, long johns, rags and a pile of Hay or Grass Cutting.

Raising Animals

The game's guide covers ranching in detail. Animal zones keep animals in place. Calm animals never leave their zone, even unfenced, as long as they have water and no zombies are around. A zone's info panel shows its food, water and every animal inside.

Animals need food and water. These go into a trough or straight onto the ground in the zone. The Short Wood Feeding Trough needs Carpentry 1, the Long Wood Feeding Trough needs Carpentry 3 and the Metal Feeding Trough needs Welding 3. An Animal Feed Bag weighs 4.0.

Animals breed on their own. The guide jokes to keep bloodlines "a tree, and not a circle." Chickens and turkeys need a hutch to sleep safely at night. Close the hutch door at night and open it in the morning to keep the birds calm. A hen needs a rooster to lay fertilised eggs.

The game defines chickens, cows, deer, pigs, rabbits, sheep and turkeys, along with mice, rats and raccoons. Pigs and sheep mate from September to February, and turkeys from April to May.

Animal Care

Stress harms animals. The guide explains that zombies, noise and gunfire nearby stress animals and affect their health. Trust grows with time and treats. Petting an animal lowers its stress and the survivor's too, once per day. The guide even notes that rats can be befriended.

A rope moves an animal around. It can also tie the animal to a tree or a pole. A stressed animal can break the rope. The Milk option milks cows and sheep, and the Shear option shears sheep for Raw Wool. A Spinning Wheel turns that wool into Thread or Yarn.

The Butcher Hook gives leather and more meat at the end of an animal's life. The Rancher occupation starts with Animal Care 4, Butchering 3 and Fitness 1. The Farmer starts with Agriculture 4, Animal Care 1 and Strength 1. Animal Care raises the information shown about animals and the resources taken from them.

Processing the Harvest

Many crops need work before use. The Large Plant Drying Rack dries larger plants like Wheat, Barley and Rye. The Small Plant Drying Rack dries herbs, peppers and flowers. Dry Flax and Dry Tobacco both use a drying rack. Thresh Grain then separates dried grain sheaves.

Grain and seeds go to the stone. The Stone Quern grinds grain into flour. The Stone Mill grinds grains and seeds into flour or paste. The Hand Operated Press turns Seed Paste into Oil. Flax goes on to the Ripple Comb, the Scutching Board and the Heckle Comb, and its fibre ends up as Thread at the Spinning Wheel.

Notes

The Composter turns unwanted and rotten food into compost. Collect it with a Sack.
A Churn Bucket turns Milk into Butter.
Hemp Dogbane and scutched hemp give fibre for Twine and Rope.