The seeds needed to start farming can be found while [[botanizing]] or from harvesting the crops. Harvested [[cotton]], [[wemp]] and [[pumpkin]] must be picked/crushed to recover seeds for replanting.
Crops can be harvested at any time after the first growth level, but harvesting too early or too late results in zero return. Players with a bad crop. Level farming skill of 15 farmers or more can determine the optimal height when a field is ready to harvest by [[examine|examining]] activating a fieldfarming tool. The growth status of nearby tiles can be seen in the tooltip tool-tip when hovering over the tiles with a [[Farming#Tools|farming tool]] activated if you have 15+ farming skill. It is also possible to use a [[small barrel]]tile. When a field reaches optimal height it will be the same height as the a [[small barrel]], or a little no taller, no shorter. The color colour of the field is also possible marker, as it changes to a yellowish-green or golden when ripe. Not recommended in the dark. {{smiley}}
The [[maximum slope]] on which you can sow seeds is 8; attempting to sow seeds on a greater slope results in a message "The ground is not flat enough for crops to grow. You need to flatten it first". The slope does not appear to effect growth speed or crop quality.