Farming
Description
The farming skill covers tending fields, sowing and harvesting the crops. Crops can take several days to grow, during which a farmer should farm the field tiles to remove weeds. This will improve the harvest. Quality and amount of the harvest increases when you have a high farming skill. Quality of the seed also effects the growth time of the fields.
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 a bad crop. Level 20 farmers can determine the optimal height by examining a field. It is also possible to use a small barrel. When a field reaches optimal height it will be the same height as the small barrel, or a little taller. The color of the field is also possible marker, as it changes to a yellowish-green when ripe. Not recommended in the dark. Template: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.
Examine details
Anyone can verify if a field needs tending. "The crops grow steadily" means the field is in order, while "It could use a touch from the rake or some other farming tool" means it must be tidied with a rake. If the description mentions "rotting old weeds", the field is overgrown and can no longer be harvested.
Level 10 farmers can determine which type of crop is growing in a field, except at the lowest growth level ("freshly sown").
Level 20 farmers can determine the growth level of a field. The levels are, chronologically sorted:
- You see a patch of freshly sown field.
- A few green blades pop out of the ground.
- Small sprouts with many blades grow here.
- The sprouts are growing, a bit above half their mature height.
- The field is almost at full height.
- The field is at full height and ready to harvest!
- The field is overaged, and some crop has been ruined.
- (rotten old weeds, crops completely ruined)
Level 60 farmers can determine the number of items they will get after a harvest when they examine the field. It should be noticed however that the number it shows it not very accurate but more of a minimum since luck and other factors change the final number.
Tools
Farming Products
Titles
- Farmer at 50 skill
Tritus' Quick Guide
Farming can be a difficult skill to start, in the sense that getting your hands on the seeds as a new player can be extremely time consuming.
So, unless you can buy or are in a village that will provide you with seeds, you are almost wasting your time to think about starting Farming until you have at least 10, probably nearer 15 Botany.
You want a good few tiles fenced off for your farm with either a gate or a gatehouse so that noone can just walk in and Farm or Harvest your crops. I started with a 48 tile enclosure and it took me about two weeks to get my Farming skill to 13 after starting with about 30 seeds that I bought from a seed Merchant in NT.
Once you have sown your seeds, you want to Farm the tile at least once every real day. You will raise your skill more quickly if you spend more time Farm'ing each farmable tile.
Your crops should ripen in about three days but this is not precise. Each tile will grow at a different rate and if you sow 10 seeds at the same time then those ten tiles may ripen indiviually in 2-4 days. 3 days does seem to be about the average though with the tiles needing to be harvested within about 8 hours of becoming ripe.
Your crops will be ripe when the top of the crop, when groomed) is exactly level with the top of a Small Barrel placed in the tile.
If you Harvest early you will get reduced yield and if you Harvest late you will get reduced yield. If you are only get one potato or whatever anyway then you will get nothing.
At higher skill levels you "should" be able to harvest early or late withoput losing all of your crop. (I cannot confirm that personally yet but it seems to be the general opinion).
After you harvest you should Sow the result right back into the tile. You get Farming skill for Harvest'ing and Sow'ing and you will get Farming skill in the following days when you tend the crop and then re-harvest it.
At around 10, I was getting one field in ten giving me back more than one unit of crop.
From 14.0 to 14.67 I harvested around 12 potato fields and 5 of those gave increased yield.
So far, at 14.67 I have only had higher yields from potato fields.
Your best bet is to assume that you will not be making any real crop gain from your Farming until your skill is at 15.
In other words, up to that point all your Farming will be very much sowing one seed get one seed back.
With a 50 tile farm you will get roughly 1 point of farming per day if you tend your fields twice a day. Takes about 10 mins to tend 40 tiles with a QL 10 Rake.
As your skill level improves yield increases from 1 through 3 and 4 to 6 with 6 being achievable at around skill level 45.
First high yield Wemp Field at 17.46
