Basic Fertilizer
| Basic Fertilizer | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Type | Crafted Item |
| Recipe | Farming Level 1 |
| Produces | 1 Basic Fertilizer per craft |
| Sell Price | 2g |
Basic Fertilizer is the first quality fertiliser most farms ever use. Mixed into tilled soil, it nudges more of the harvest towards silver and gold stars. The recipe arrives with the very first Farming level, and it needs nothing but Sap, which falls from every tree that gets chopped. Pierre's General Store also stocks it from the middle of the first Spring for anyone short on Sap. Its boost is modest, but it costs almost nothing to make, so it is an easy habit to start on the first fields.
The in-game description reads: Improves soil quality a little, increasing your chance to grow quality crops. Mix into tilled soil.
Recipe
Reaching Farming level 1 teaches the recipe. Chopping down trees on the farm leaves Sap behind, and Slimes in the Mines drop it too. Two pieces of Sap make one bag of fertiliser. Sap is worth very little at the Shipping Bin, so crafting is far cheaper than buying from Pierre. Clearing the trees that cover a new farm is the natural way to build up a stock. Pierre puts it back on his shelves from the middle of Spring every year.
These are the ingredients one batch needs.
| Name | Image | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Sap | 
|
2 |
Use
Timing matters with this fertiliser. It has to go onto tilled soil before the seed sprouts. The easiest routine is to till, spread the fertiliser, then plant, all on the same day. Once a sprout appears, the tile no longer accepts it.
The effect only shows at harvest. A fertilised crop has a better chance of coming up silver or gold than one grown in bare soil. The fertiliser never changes how fast the crop grows. For speed, Speed-Gro does that job instead.
Fertiliser outdoors does not last forever. When the season changes and the field resets, the fertiliser goes with it, so each new planting needs a fresh dose. In the Greenhouse the soil keeps its fertiliser until the tile is broken up, which makes a single application last a long time there.
Variants
The other fertilisers in the game, with what each one takes and where the recipe comes from.
| Name | Image | Ingredients | Recipe |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic Retaining Soil | 
|
Stone (2) | Farming Level 4 |
| Deluxe Fertilizer | 
|
Iridium Bar (1), Sap (40) | Qi's Walnut Room (20) |
| Deluxe Retaining Soil | 
|
Stone (5), Fiber (3), Clay (1) | Island Trader for Cinder Shard (50) |
| Deluxe Speed-Gro | 
|
Oak Resin (1), Bone Fragment (5) | Farming Level 8 |
| Hyper Speed-Gro | 
|
Radioactive Ore (1), Bone Fragment (3), Solar Essence (1) | Qi's Walnut Room for 30 |
| Quality Fertilizer | 
|
Sap (4), Any Fish (1) | Farming Level 9 |
| Quality Retaining Soil | 
|
Stone (3), Clay (1) | Farming Level 7 |
| Speed-Gro | 
|
Pine Tar (1), Moss (5) | Farming Level 3 |
| Tree Fertilizer | 
|
Fiber (5), Stone (5) | Foraging Level 7 |
Notes
Star quality matters most on crops that are sold raw or given as gifts. Kegs, Preserves Jars and Dehydrators ignore the quality of the crop that goes in. A field meant entirely for artisan goods gains little from quality fertiliser.
Basic Fertilizer is the bottom rung of a ladder. Quality Fertilizer arrives at Farming level 9, and Pierre starts selling it from the second year. Deluxe Fertilizer, the strongest tier, is bought as a recipe in Qi's Walnut Room on Ginger Island. Until those are available, Basic Fertilizer is the cheapest way to lift the value of a high-priced crop.
All Crafting
Every entry in this group, with its key details.
