Gardening

Gardening covers seeds, seed packets, fertilizer, plant sprays and other farm supplies. These items turn a patch of soil into a steady food supply once the shops run dry. Crops range from Carrots and Potatoes to Winter Wheat, Flax, Hemp and medicinal herbs. Every harvest from a crop planted by the character trains the Agriculture skill. Farming needs patience, water and an eye on the season. The Farmer is the best occupation for gardening. It starts with the most Agriculture skill.

All Tools and Equipment Categories

Best Gardening

The top pick for each role, by the game's own figures.

For	Name	Image	Stats	Spawn ID
Lightest	Flax Seeds		0.02 weight	/additem Base.FlaxSeed
Heaviest	Compost Bag		5 weight	/additem Base.CompostBag

Seeds and Packets

Seeds start in packets. The game's guide says seeds must be removed from their packets before planting. Open Seed Packet does this, and the context menu works too. Put 5 Seeds in Packet packs loose seeds back for storage, so each packet holds 5.

There is a packet for almost every crop. Seed Packet - Carrot, Seed Packet - Potato, Seed Packet - Tomato and Seed Packet - Cabbage are common examples. Herb packets include Seed Packet - Basil and Seed Packet - Chamomile. Medicinal packets include Seed Packet - Comfrey and Seed Packet - Broadleaf Plantain.

Crops give seeds back. Collect Seeds takes seeds from a Bell Pepper, a Tomato, a Pumpkin or a Watermelon with a knife or tweezers. Collect Sunflower Seeds gives 10 Sunflower Seeds from a dried head. Thresh Grain turns a dried sheaf of Wheat, Barley or Rye into seeds.

Planting and Growing

Seeds go only into outdoor furrows at ground level. The guide says to dig a furrow with a trowel, a shovel or bare hands. Use the Dig Furrows option under Gardening in the context menu. Then plant the seeds in the furrow.

Each crop has a season. The plant tooltip marks each month as a Planting Season, a Best Month, a Poor Month or Out of Season. The Farmer occupation knows the growing season of every crop. The Gardener trait knows most of them.

A crop grows through phases. They run Seedling, Young, Almost Ready for Harvest and Ready for Harvest. Some crops then reach Blooming and Seed-bearing. A neglected crop turns Rotten or Dead.

Water keeps a crop alive. The water level shows Well watered, Fine, Thirsty, Dry or Parched. A Watering Can waters them by hand.

Pests and Disease

Four problems attack crops. Mildew, Pest Flies, Slugs and Snails, and Aphids each harm the plant. Weeds also appear in a garden.

Each problem has a cure. Make Mildew Cure fills an Empty Gardening Spray Can with milk to make Mildew Spray. Make Aphids Cure mixes water and Rubbing Alcohol into Aphids Spray. Make Flies Cure from Cigarettes uses 5 Cigarette and water to make Pest Flies Spray. Slug Repellent keeps slugs and snails away.

The cure recipes must be learned first. The Farmer occupation and the Gardener trait know them all. Make Scarecrow builds a Scarecrow from Long Johns, sticks and hay, and those two starts know it too.

Fertilizer and Compost

Fertilizer and the Compost Bag both carry the same tooltip. They are used on crops to increase growth speed and health. The plant panel warns when a crop has too much fertilizer.

Compost comes from waste. A Composter turns rotten food into Compost Bag items. The Composter (Shoddy) needs Carpentry 3. The Composter (Craftsman) needs Carpentry 6. Both use a hammer, Planks and Nails.

A Scythe can be used to get Grass Cuttings. Grass Cuttings or Hay go into a Scarecrow.

Skill and Harvest

The Agriculture skill governs farming. Its in-game text says it increases the available information for crops. It is trained by harvesting crops planted by the character. A higher Agriculture skill gives bigger harvests.

Several starts help. The Farmer starts with Agriculture 4 and Animal Care 1. The Gardener trait adds Agriculture 1. Agriculture has five skill books, from Agriculture I to Agriculture V.

Harvests feed the kitchen and the workshop. Grind Flour turns 12 Wheat Seeds, Rye Seeds or Barley Seeds into Flour at a Stone Quern. Mill Seeds turns Flax Seeds or Hemp Seeds into Seed Paste. Press Oil turns 30 Seed Paste into Vegetable Oil.

Drying and Fibre

Many crops must dry before use. Dry Corn, Dry Wheat, Dry Barley, Dry Rye, Dry Flax and Dry Hemp all use a Large Plant Drying Rack. Herbs such as Basil, Mint and Sage dry on a Small Plant Drying Rack. Simple versions of both racks can be built from Long Stick and Twine.

Flax and Hemp become cloth and rope. Ripple Flax at a Ripple Comb gives Flax (Rippled) and Flax Seeds. Scutch Fibre at a Scutching Board turns it into scutched fibre. Heckle Flax at a Heckle Comb gives Flax (Heckled), which spins into Thread. Weave Burlap turns 3 Hemp (Scutched) into a Burlap Piece at a Loom.

Hemp also makes cord without any station. Craft Twine and Twist Rope from Dogbane both use scutched hemp and a sharp knife.

Locations

Seed packets fill garden stores, farm crates, Gigamart farming aisles and homesteads. Tool stores sell them on their farming shelves. Fertilizer comes in fertilizer crates and garden crates.

Slug Repellent sits in garden stores and with farmer and gardener gear. Scythes hang in barns and fill farming crates. Watering Cans fill garden store tool racks.

Notes

• Save a few vegetables at the end of each harvest to collect seeds.

All Gardening