Farming and soil
Farming
Crops need water to grow. How big the harvest is depends on the soil (see below). Hover a farm tile to see what the soil looks like, the crop's progress, any symptoms, and whether it's watered.
| Crop | Grows | Full harvest | Seed | Likes pH | Needs N / P / K | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Potato | 45 s | 2 potatoes + seed back | 5 | 5.0-6.5 | 40 / 40 / 50 | the money crop, loves potassium |
| Radish | 15 s | 1 radish (sells 2) | 1 | 6.0-7.0 | 30 / 30 / 30 | fast, light feeder (notebook ch. 1) |
| Beans | 40 s | 1 beans (sells 1) + seed back | 3 | 6.0-7.5 | - / 40 / 40 | adds nitrogen: +20 here, +5 next door (ch. 4) |
| Corn | 70 s | 2 corn (sells 5 each) | 4 | 5.8-7.0 | 65 / 45 / 45 | heavy feeder, best seller (ch. 4) |
| Duskberry | 60 s, again and again | 2 duskberries (sell 5) per pick | Warden drop / trader | 4.5-6.0 | 30 / 40 / 40 | perennial: pick it 5 times, then the bush is spent and leaves a cutting to replant. Picking it unripe pricks Poncho (+8 heat) |
| Aether Lily | 5 min | 2 lilies (sell 60) + the bulb back | notebook ch. 8 / trader (Trusted) | 6.0-7.0 | 50 / 50 / 50 | the endgame crop. Very picky, see below |
The Aether Lily
The flower this world was named for. While it grows it needs all three, all the time:
- Water. It drinks: every 40 s of growth the tile dries out. Re-water it, or put it next to a well.
-
Soil health 80+ (
get_soil()): every nutrient at 48 or more and pH 6-7. Compost helps with all three. -
Company: at least 3 different crops on the 4 tiles next to it (
get_neighbors()).
If something's missing it stops growing and starts wilting (hover it to see what it needs and how long it has). A happy lily recovers. After a minute of neglect it wilts away and the bulb is lost. Picked healthy, it gives its bulb back, so one bulb can become a field.
Soil chemistry
Every tile has Nitrogen (N), Phosphorus (P) and Potassium (K), each 0-100, and a pH. Your farm has a natural soil map: some patches are more sour, some low in a nutrient. Darker soil is healthier.
- The scarcest nutrient sets the harvest (30% to 120% of normal). A pH outside the crop's range cuts it further. The field never dies, it just gives less.
- Harvests take nutrients out. Corn takes a lot; beans put nitrogen back.
- Empty soil slowly rests: nitrogen creeps back to its natural level.
- Symptoms tell you what's wrong before you can test: yellowing leaves = low N, purple-tinged = low P, brown scorched edges = low K, stunted and pale = pH off. Poncho comments on small harvests too.
Fixing the soil (unlocked as you go)
| Product | Effect | How to unlock |
|---|---|---|
Compost (fertilize() or spread(Compost)) | +6 N, +4 P, +4 K; a growing crop ripens ~25% faster | Notebook ch. 1 |
| Urea | +20 N, pH -0.1 | Notebook ch. 4 |
| Lime / Sulfur | pH +0.5 / -0.5 | Soil Science perk |
| Phosphate / Potash | +20 P / +20 K | Nutrient Balancing perk |
Soil testing (Horticulture perks, P)
-
Soil Science (tier 1):
take_sample()puts a soil core from the tile under Poncho in his sample case (12 max). Open the bag (I) and use Soil Lab: Send to lab (2 potatoes per sample). About 45 s later the exact pH/N/P/K is on each sampled tile. Hover it, read it withget_lab(), or press M for the soil map (cycles pH, N, P, K; untested tiles are dark). - Nutrient Balancing (tier 2): Phosphate and Potash in the shop.
-
Field Probe (tier 3):
probe()reads pH/N/P/K live, no lab. Hover and the soil map show live values. - Precision Spreading (tier 4, 2 ranks): compost and amendments work 25% better per rank.
A good program for this: walk the field taking samples, send them, then walk it again and spread() exactly what each tile's get_lab() says it's missing.
Selling
Open the bag (I): the Sell list buys radishes, beans and corn for potatoes. Potatoes are the money, so they can't be sold.
Each harvest gives 3 XP.