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 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. When a field reaches optimal height it will be the same height as a small barrel, no taller, no shorter. The colour of the field is also possible marker, as it changes to a yellowish-green or golden when ripe.
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 appear to effect growth speed, but crop quality is unknown.
Sowing on a sloped tile takes into account its compound slope, however. That is, it's slope both North-South (NS) and East-West (EW). For example, the slope can be level EW and 8-steep NS. Or 4-steep EW, 4-steep NS etc.
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 at full height and ready to harvest! (Used to be: The field is overaged, and some crop has been ruined.)
- (rotten old weeds, crops completely ruined)
Level 30 farmers can determine the growth status of nearby fields using the tool-tip when hovering over a tile. At even higher farming skill this tooltip shows at greater distances.
The stages displayed (in order) are:
- Freshly sown
- Sprouting
- Growing
- Halfway
- Almost ripe
- Ripe
- Only weeds
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
Crops
Titles
- Farmer at 50 skill
- Crofter at 70 skill
- Master Farmer at 90 skill
