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Farming
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Navigation: | Main>The Game World>Gameplay>Player>Skills>Farming | Page updated: Version 39.57 |
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The Farming skill is part of a system added to Project Zomboid in RC2.9. The player has the option of sowing seeds with a trowel to create a sustainable way to gather food. Farming is also influenced by the seasons system, meaning crops will yield more in summer than winter.
Farming skill benefits
Increasing the farming skill provides more information about the crop status when the crop info is viewed (right-click -> Info). At skill level 0, the player cannot discern much useful information about the crop they just planted, and rookie farmers have to rely on visual cues about the plant status.
Farming level | Benefit |
---|---|
1 | |
2 | Current growth phase shows the name. Crop health becomes color coded. |
3 | |
4 | Water level becomes color coded and shows a bar graphic. Disease (if present) shows the name. Hovering mouse cursor over crop shows water level. |
5 | Current growth phase shows the number /7. Health shows a number /100. Water level shows a number /100 including mouse cursor. |
6 | Disease (if present) shows a number /100. |
7 | |
8 | Next growth phase shown in number of hours. |
9 | |
10 |
Increasing farming skill
You only gain farming skill XP when the player successfully harvests a crop they planted. No other actions (watering, checking, digging, or planting) give any farming XP.
Farming experience is gained based upon the crop's health divided by 2, +25 if the crop is in good condition, -15 if it's in bad condition up to a maximum of 100 XP.
From CFarmingSystem.lua (Project Zomboid directory/media/lua/client/Farming/):
-- add xp, depending on the health of the plant function CFarmingSystem:gainXp(player, luaObject) local xp = luaObject.health / 2 if luaObject.badCare == true then xp = xp - 15 else xp = xp + 25 end if xp > 100 then xp = 100 elseif xp < 0 then xp = 0 end player:getXp():AddXP(Perks.Farming, xp) end
Farming guide
Why farm?
No matter how good you are at scavenging, eventually all of the food on the map will be exhausted. Once the power fails, a significant portion of the usable food will rot and become inedible. You cannot continue to survive without finding new, sustainable sources of food. Currently in Project Zomboid, you have four options: 1) Farming, 2) Fishing, 3) Foraging, and, 4) Trapping. Of these, farming requires the most work, but also appears to gives the most rewards. Combining your harvested crops with fish or trapped animals can make significant meals that will replenish hunger, thirst, and unhappiness simultaneously.
Step 1: character creation
This step can often be skipped, however choosing the right occupation and traits can rapidly increase the rate in which it takes to level up the farming skill. There is only one of each occupation and trait that will help with farming. The farmer occupation will give the player 3 farming skill levels, but it will also give an experience boost to that skill. This bonus cannot be gained after the character is created. This is the same for every major skill.
Starting skill level and experience boost
- Level 0 - 25% (Default for all skills)
- Level 1 - 75%
- Level 2 - 100%
- Level 3+ - 125%
Therefore, the farmer occupation will give a major advantage if the player wishes to live their life on a farm.
Occupations
Name | Starting Points | Major Skills | Description | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
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2 | +3 Farming | Can make Mildew Spray and Insecticide Spray. | Usually not the obvious choice when creating a new character, but picking this occupation will certainly make farming more rewarding. |
Traits
Name | Cost | Description | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Gardener | -4 | +1 Farming | Able to make the Mildew Spray and Insecticide Spray without reading The Farming Magazine. |
Step 2: collecting materials
To start farming at all you will need:
- A trowel
or a shovel
- Seeds
(the more seeds and the larger the variety the better)
- Something that can hold water
Additional items that will help to sustain a farm over long periods are:
- Watering Can
- NPK Fertilizer
- Rain Collector Barrel
- Walls
- Composter
- Sack
- Gardening Spray Can x2
- Cigarettes
- Milk
Step 3: preparing your garden
Choose a good location for your farm
- Zombies can trample your crops. This will damage or kill them.
- Players can safely walk over crops without trampling them.
- You must plant in a place where zombies can't get to them while still allowing sunlight in.
- One option is to build walls around the area you will plant in.
- Another option is to plant on top of a second story where zombies cannot access easily.
Moving dirt (optional)
- To move dirt to your chosen location you need to have a shovel and sacks.
- Equip the shovel in both hands
- Put the sacks in your main inventory.
- Right click on an area with dirt (grass is a safe bet, but there is only one layer of usable dirt per tile)
- Click "Take some dirt -> Sack." Each sack can hold four (4) tiles of dirt.
- Right click on the tile you want to drop the dirt on.
- Click "Spill dirt -> Dirt bag."
Repeat until you have enough tiles for the amount of crops you want to plant.
Note: You may want to put space between your farming plots to prevent the spread of disease. See more about disease below. Alternatively you can treat diseases before they spread, without the need for spacing
Preparing the dirt tiles
- Make sure the trowel
is in the main inventory.
- Right click on a nearby section of land, and then select "Dig".
- A patch of dirt with three furrows should appear.
Product | XP Gained | Skill(s) | Recipe | Ingredient 1 | Ingredient 2 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
![]() Plowed Land |
0 XP | none | (keep) |
![]() Grass (consumed) |
Step 4: planting crops
Seed packets
If you found seed packets, you will need to open them. This will give you the loose seeds that you will plant.
- Put a Seed Packet in your main inventory
- Right click on the seed packet and select "open seed packet."
- Make sure your loose seeds
are in your MAIN inventory
Product | XP Gained | Skill(s) | Recipe | Ingredient 1 |
---|---|---|---|---|
![]() Broccoli Seeds x50 |
0 XP | none | ![]() Broccoli Seeds Packet (consumed) | |
![]() Cabbage Seeds x50 |
0 XP | none | ![]() Cabbage Seeds Packet (consumed) | |
![]() Carrot Seeds x50 |
0 XP | none | ![]() Carrot Seeds Packet (consumed) | |
![]() Potato Seeds x50 |
0 XP | none | ![]() Potato Seeds Packet (consumed) | |
![]() Radish Seeds x50 |
0 XP | none | ![]() Radish Seeds Packet (consumed) | |
![]() Strawberry Seeds x50 |
0 XP | none | ![]() Strawberry Seeds Packet (consumed) | |
![]() Tomato Seeds x50 |
0 XP | none | ![]() Tomato Seeds Packet (consumed) |
Planting seeds
- Verify you have some sort of water in your inventory to water your seeds with. You will generally need 50+ units of water per tile.
- Right click on a tile you've tilled (a tile with three furrows).
- Click "Sow Seed -> <Crop Name>"
- Right click on the newly planted seeds and select "Info." Leave this window open to the side so you can see how well watered your crops are.
- Immediately water the crop by right clicking and choosing "Water -> <Number>". It is recommended to water all crops with at least 50 units of water. Alternatively, players can sow fresh seeds while it is already raining.
- Continue watering in 5-10 unit increments until the crop info box says "Well Watered."
Product | XP Gained | Skill(s) | Recipe | Ingredient 1 | Ingredient 2 | Ingredient 3 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
![]() Broccoli Crop |
0 XP | none | ![]() Plowed Land (consumed) |
![]() Broccoli Seeds x6 (consumed) |
![]() Water (70+ units) (consumed) | |
![]() Cabbage Crop |
0 XP | none | ![]() Plowed Land (consumed) |
![]() Cabbage Seeds x9 (consumed) |
![]() Water (85+ units) (consumed) | |
![]() Carrot Crop |
0 XP | none | ![]() Plowed Land (consumed) |
![]() Carrot Seeds x12 (consumed) |
![]() Water (65+ units) (consumed) | |
![]() Potato Crop |
0 XP | none | ![]() Plowed Land (consumed) |
![]() Potato Seeds x4 (consumed) |
![]() Water (65+ units) (consumed) | |
![]() Radish Crop |
0 XP | none | ![]() Plowed Land (consumed) |
![]() Radish Seeds x6 (consumed) |
![]() Water (45–75 units) (consumed) | |
![]() Strawberry Crop |
0 XP | none | ![]() Plowed Land (consumed) |
![]() Strawberry Seeds x12 (consumed) |
![]() Water (85+ units) (consumed) | |
![]() Tomato Crop |
0 XP | none | ![]() Plowed Land (consumed) |
![]() Tomato Seeds x4 (consumed) |
![]() Water (75+ units) (consumed) |
Step 5: growing crops
Watering
Remember to keep your crops in the "Well Watered" state. You will need to check them at least once per day unless it is raining. A watering can will speed up this process significantly.
If you're low on water, you will have to hope that it rains often enough to keep your crops watered. Placing Rain Collector Barrels around your garden to collect rain will be necessary to make sure you don't lose a harvest of crops and starve. Place them near your garden so you don't have to walk far to fill up your watering can. If you haven't got a high enough carpentry skill, a variety of water storage containers have a rain factor, which allows them to be filled when placed in the rain.
Growing time
Crops will take different lengths of time to grow depending on what seeds are planted. The growing phases in the game are divided into 7. The current phase's numerical value is visible from Farming level 5 onwards. Crops can be harvested in growing phase 6 or 7, except for Strawberries and Tomatoes, which can only be harvested in phase 7. Seeds are only acquired when harvesting a crop in phase 7. Once a crop reaches phase 7, the next phase is actually "rotten", with the hours remaining visible in the info window with sufficient Farming skill level. See the table below for estimates on this duration.
Broccoli, Cabbage, Carrots and Radishes share the same progress through basic stages of growth:
- Seedling (Phases 1 to 2)
- Young (Phases 3 to 5)
- Ready to Harvest (Phase 6)
- Seed-bearing (Phase 7)
Potatoes and Strawberries differ slightly through their stages:
- Seedling (Phases 1 to 2)
- Young (Phases 3 to 5)
- Blooming (Phase 6)
- Seed-bearing (Phase 7)
Tomatoes also have different stages:
- Seedling (Phases 1 to 2)
- Young (Phases 3 to 6)
- Seed-bearing (Phase 7)
Crop specifications
Crop | Minimum Water | Maximum Water | Average Days Until Harvest | Additional Days for Seeds | Required Seeds | Days to Rot |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Carrots | 35 | 85 | 10 | 2 | 12 | 10 |
Broccoli | 70 | - | 23 | 5 | 6 | 10 |
Radish | 45 | 85 | 12 | 3 | 6 | 9 |
Strawberries | 85 | - | 28 | 5 | 12 | 10 |
Tomato | 75 | - | 24 | N/A | 4 | 10 |
Potato | 65 | - | 20 | 4 | 4 | 2 |
Cabbage | 85 | - | 10 | 2 | 9 | 2 |
NOTE: Strawberries when harvested go back to stage 2 instead of being removed.
NOTE: Carrots and Radishes need more water to start out: Carrots min 80 in phase 1 and 70 in phase 2, Radishes min 70 in phase 1.
The growing time per phase are configured as follows:
Carrots: 50-55h
Broccoli: 103-117h
Radishes: 56-62h
Strawberry: 103-131h
Tomatoes: 89-103h
Potatoes: 89-103h
Cabbage: 46-52h
Fertilizer
Fertilizing your crops will help them grow more quickly. If you use NPK Fertilizer , it will remove 20 hours off of the current growth cycle of the plant. If there are less than 20 hours remaining on that growth cycle, it will immediately proceed to the next level and the extra hours will be lost. Generally, fertilizer is hard to come by for the large farms needed to sustain yourself, so it should only be used in an emergency to speed plant growth when food is getting scarce. Using too much fertilizer on a plant will kill it (4 or 5 uses).
You can make your own fertilizer as long as you have level 2 of Carpentry and some rotten food, you'll need to build a Composter and once you have built it you can place perishable food that has gone rotten inside, usually it takes 2 week to get some fertilizer, you'll need a sack to get the fertilizer and then you can use it on your plants.
Threats to crops
Zombies
- Your immediate problem is the constant threat of zombies. Zombies can trample your crops and force your hard work (and water) into waste. Keep zombies away from your crops.
- Players can safely walk over crops without trampling them.
- Try to plant in a secure location and always check for zombies in your crops before turning your back to the crops.
- Crawlers (the zombies that crawl on the ground rather than walk around) may go unseen in almost-fully grown crops.
- Growing crops on patches with zombie blood causes the seedlings to become instantly "sickly".
Plant diseases
- There are currently three diseases in Project Zomboid: 1) Mildew, 2) Insects, and 3) Devil's Water Fungi (DWF)
- These diseases will slow the growth of your plants, possibly kill them, and/or cause them to produce a smaller harvest than normal.
- You can combat mildew and insects with a spray.
- Devil's Water Fungi cannot be eliminated with a spray. In order to cure it, the plant must be dehydrated below 90% of the Minimum Water level. For example, a Potato plant requires at least 65 units of water. 90% of 65 is 58, rounded down. That is, 65 * 0.9 = 58. Therefore, your Potato plant must be below 58 units of water for Devil's Water Fungi to begin to cure. It will cure at a rate of 2 points for every interval the plant consumes water (default is 5 hours). Depending on the growth stage of the plant, if you choose not to build a shelter over the plant to avoid rain, it may be best to dig up the plant and start over, or harvest it if it's ready, as DWF can spread to other plants.
Plants can be afflicted by the diseases listed above, and diseases can jump from plant to plant within a 1 tile radius (including diagonals). Strawberries have been reported to be particularly susceptible to disease. The best solutions to keeping disease to a minimum are to treat all infestations as soon as they appear, and to either grow strawberries in an area that is totally separate from your other plants (preferably enclosed within walls and a door), or not to grow strawberries at all.
Plant disease problems
- Mildew causes your plants to mature more slowly than they would normally.
- Insects cause a growing plant to consume more water. Affected plants will need considerably more water and attention than healthy plants.
- Devil's Water Fungi (DWF) is arguably the biggest danger to your garden since it causes plants that are harvested to give smaller yields than healthy plants. The only cure is to dehydrate the diseased plant by keeping it below 10% of the Minimum Water required for that plant type. DWF regularly occurs on plants that have been infected with either Mildew or Pest Flies for some time, so keep those two diseases under control and it should keep DWF to a minimum. Unless a plant is very close to harvesting, it is usually worth removing plants affected with DWF as soon as possible since the biggest threat is that of DWF spreading to your other plants.
Making plant disease cures
Either the gardening trait, farmer profession or have read The Farming Magazine are needed to craft these items. Once a cure is depleted, an empty spray can is available again.
Product | XP Gained | Skill(s) | Recipe | Ingredient 1 | Ingredient 2 | Ingredient 3 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
![]() Insecticide Spray |
0 XP | none | ![]() OR ![]() |
![]() Gardening Spray Can (Empty) (consumed) |
![]() Water (3 units) (consumed) |
![]() Cigarettes x5 (consumed) |
![]() Mildew Spray |
0 XP | none | ![]() OR ![]() |
![]() Gardening Spray Can (Empty) (consumed) |
![]() Milk (consumed) |
Note: Even rotten milk can be used to make Mildew Spray.
Plant health
When you sow seeds to grow crops, a plant's starting health is determined by your Farming skill. The higher your skill, the higher the starting health. The health, as denoted as a percentage, increases slowly over time, unless affected by disease or inappropriate water levels. Currently, radishes and carrots have a maximum water level and thus can be overwatered, causing them to lose health. Thus, it is recommended to grow these crops in an indoors/roofed farm area, so that rain doesn't cause them to lose health from overwatering.
The health of a plant determines the size of the yield upon harvest. Seeds are given to the character when a plant is harvested during its seed-bearing phase; this is the last phase of a plant's life, and appears after the plant is able to be harvested solely for food.
Health levels from least to highest are: Healthy, Flourishing, Verdant, Thriving (not a complete list)
Water levels from driest to wettest are: Parched, Dry, Thirsty, Fine, Well watered
Farm equipment
Seed packets
Seeds
Farm tools
Item | Description |
---|---|
![]() |
A can that can hold water. It is used to water the crops. |
![]() |
A container that can hold water. It can also be used to water the crops. |
![]() |
A small metal shovel. It is used to till the soil. |
See also
Skills v • d • e | |
Passive | Fitness • Strength |
Agility | Sprinting • Lightfooted • Nimble • Sneaking |
Combat | Axe • Long Blunt • Short Blunt • Long Blade • Short Blade • Spear • Maintenance |
Crafting | BlacksmithRemoved! • Carpentry • Cooking • Farming • First Aid • Electrical • Metalworking • Mechanics • Tailoring |
Firearm | Aiming • Reloading |
Survivalist | Fishing • Trapping • Foraging |