Guide to Farming

Being a grower of crops is an important role. You farm both food and cash crops. Growing food is vital for a nation to increase in wealth and power.

Tools

To farm, you will require some basic tools.

Knife Used for harvesting crops. Can be made out of lots of different materials, such as bone and stone.

Plough A plough is made out of wood and used to plough fields for farming! Used once on the grass and once on the dirt underneath the grass. You can also plough snowy dirt and flooded plains dirt (found along the jungle rivers). In case of snowy grass, you will have to shovel the snow first. Lastly, there are places where you cannot plough: infertile soil, permafrost etc. You can also make an iron plough out of iron ingots to plough land faster.

Seeds Some sort of seeds to plant and grow. You may find seeds simply lying on the ground, but you can also collect them in the wilderness by using any type of knife on bushes and small bushes.

Hoe Helps remove those nasty weeds. Essential to prevent premature plant death.

Just plough a plot of land by yourself with the plough tool. Add water and nutrient. Then wait for the plant to grow, keeping an eye on water and nutrient levels.

Watering

Plants need water, some more, others less. Weather conditions and climate also affect the crops in this regard. Each crop has a maximum water level when planted.

Normally, the water level decreases at the rate of approximately 15 per minute (depends on the plant), and when it reaches zero, the plants wither away.

There are a few ways to provide the crops with water:

• Plough land within two tiles of fresh water, which is any water, except for the saltwater. The plants will have all the water they need without any extra labor.

• Water the plants manually. Bring the fresh water in buckets and barrels and splash it on the ploughed field (the ground, not the plant).

• Pray for the eternal rain. Rain will water the fields (at the rate of 20 per minute), but may create other inconveniences.

Soil Nutrition

The soil, as in real life, has its level of nutrition. The plants that you plant in the soil will consume its nutrition little by little, until it reaches zero. This varies by plant, but is approximately 15-20 units per minute.

A freshly ploughed tile will have a nutrition value of 0.

To examine the soil, stand close to it and examine it.

Fertilizing

Many kinds of animals leave manure on the ground, which could be used to fertilize a field. This is one way to restore nutrition to your soil.

Fertilizer: 50 nutrition points.

The compost bin (10 wood) also turns food scraps, plant matter (seeds, some plants) and some other unpleasant things into fertilizer. Just place it in the bin and wait for a while. Fertilizer could also be used to refuel ovens etc.

Severe weather

Be aware that blizzards will freeze the plants and kill them. A heatwave, as noted in the Watering section, will cause the crops to consume more water than usual. Sandstorms will also destroy the plants.