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The Art of Farming , by ファームノーム - sirtrex - 03-05-2024
Google Drive Link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1FIi_PtBjPo6ooaJAitLBrs8smZELe0uJpolUytAhqiE/edit?usp=sharing
Copies of a book have been stealthfully placed or donated to the libaries of Korvara.
"
The Art of Farming
By: ファームノーム
(stuff in parenthesis like this is OOC)
Introduction:
The art of farming is of vital importance to a community. Skilled farmers create surpluses. Surpluses that can enrich their communities by selling extra crops, or be preserved as supplies for tough times. An unskilled farmer lets their crops wither, soil harden, and community starve, or at the very least, presents it with an eyesore. Study this text well, practice its techniques, and you shall be a skilled farmer, with an abundance of crops that will make you a fond companion of cooks, doctors, and lovers of natural beauty. Fail, and your efforts will crumble in the wind.
Chapter 1: Prospecting Ground
In order to farm, a farmer requires land to tend. Not any land will do. Grassy, icy, rocky, sandy, or waterlogged ground will not support crops, assuming it's even tillable. Only flat dirt tends to support farming. Some seemingly flat dirt has hidden obstructions that defy any hoe. Look hard enough in nearly any terrain, and you'll often find some arable land. Riversides, the tops of some plateaus, silt filled depressions, and less traveled dirt patches can be dug, tilled, and farmed on. When selecting a spot, try to pick somewhere close to a water source.
Designated farmland is scattered across Korvara, but this has often been owned or claimed. When possible, obtain full legal ownership of the land, or at least license to use it. Dealing with these property holders is a mixed bag, but many seem amenable to having an extra hand tending their fields. They will often require some type of payment, either a share of any yields or some type of rental fee. Be prepared to negotiate whenever initiating such a meeting. Generosity should be appreciated, but never expected. If land has been left unattended for a while, a farmer will rarely attract ire for cultivating it, but be warned. This cultivation, and potentially the yields gained from it, may be snatched away if legal ownership of, or license to use the land isn't secured.
Chapter 2: Preparing the Land
Once appropriate land has been found, preparing it is simple. A farmer requires only a shovel and a hoe….
(Plot Preparation:
1. Stand on the spot you want to turn into a plot
2. Use a shovel to dig a hole
3. Use a hoe to turn the hole into a farm plot.
4. Move to the next spot.
5. Repeat steps 1-4 until all the land the farmer wishes to cultivate has been prepared.
6. Count the exact number of plots prepared and note it down for seeding. )
… Shovels and hoes can be made of a variety of materials, but they each act the same way. The material only determines how quickly its job is done, how many times the tool can be used, and how much stamina it takes to use. It doesn't impact the plot’s quality. The experience of the worker also matters. Novices attempting to dig and hoe will do so at a snail's pace. Meanwhile professionals can dig and till several fields before a novice can finish one.
(Talents like Fieldworker and Trenchman speed up hoeing and digging respectively.)
Note the stamina required. Farming is no easy job. Preparing a large field can take days for a person to do alone, longer if they are inexperienced. Proper soil maintenance is paramount. Without it, a farmer may need to prepare the land each time they want to plant. With it, harvesting and planting is as easy as plucking fresh fruit and laying down new seeds.
(Fully leveling the Talent Fieldworker, Trenchman, or lumberjack talents gives a player access to the workhorse character trait. This trait increases a player's stamina by 50. Making long hours of digging, tilling, or gathering far more manageable. Preparing each plot takes around 4-8 physical stamina depending on the tools used.)
Chapter 3: Gathering Seed.
For the prepared land to be useful, the farmer must have something to plant on it. Seeds are the items a farmer must sow into the soil before a harvest can be considered. Some seeds can be found in chests, but these are relatively rare. Most seeds are garnered by processing fully developed crops. Crops designated for this purpose are known as seed crops.
New Seed Crops can be acquired in three ways.
1. Getting them from an already established farmer (preferably with permission)
2. Finding each crop in the wild via:
by chopping down fruit trees,
or gathering the herbs in certain locations.
3. Finding the crop in a chest, inexplicably preserved.
Once acquired, fully developed fruits and veggies can be processed at a chopping board or tailoring table to make seeds. The instructions for how to process each crop are located at each station. However it usually takes 1-2 of a fully harvested crop to make a seed bag for it.
It takes one bag of seeds to fully seed one plot. Seed varieties can become heavy if not managed. Prepare only the amount of seed needed for the field that has been prepared. Any more is wasted crop, and dead weight in one's pack.
Chapter 4: Planting Seed.
Planting seeds is simple…
(
To plant seeds:
1. Stand on a prepared plot.
2. Use a bag of seeds.
3. Move to the next plot
4. Repeat steps 1-3 until all plots have been seeded.
Planting techniques:
0. Inventory:
Walk to a plot, open your inventory, use a seed bag, close your inventory, walk to the next plot. Can it be done? Yes. Is it efficient? Heck no, would not recommend it unless the garden being managed is extremely small. Like <10 plots or so.
1. Hotbar:
Drag the seed bags into a hotbar slot, and use the Function keys to plant them. Each F key has a cooldown, restricting a player to only planting one seed every few seconds or so. Doesn’t require a player to open their inventory so it's a bit more convenient.
2. Piano keying:
To get around the cooldown You can drag and drop the same bag of seeds into multiple hotbar slots. Then switch keys each time your char walks over a different tile.
For instance a farmer could seed plot one with F1, plot two with F2, plot three with F3, F1 again for plot 4, etc.
This method allows a farmer to plant a plot once or twice a second, and provides good performance for small to medium sized fields.
3. Macros:
To maximize one's speed at planting, a player can use macros to auto plant seeds whenever a player steps on a prepared tile. I don't know how to do this [none of my farms have gotten big enough to require it] , but It's worth a mention for anyone that wants to seed at the speed of sound.
The above techniques can be used to speed up watering as well. Just replace the word bag of seeds with bucket. Golden buckets are easy, but iron buckets may need a bit more finesse.)
… At first, one may struggle to do this quickly, but with some practice a farmer can plant dozens of crops in less than a minute.
Chapter 5: Watering
In order for plants to grow, they must be watered properly. A farmer may get lucky. Nature can fully water their crops with rain. (Only rain waters crops. snow, hail, and sandstorms have no effect) However mother nature is often a fickle mistress. To achieve maximum yield, and to ensure that their plants won't wither and die, a farmer must water their fields themself. This is most commonly done with a bucket….
( Watering with an Iron Bucket
1. Fill the bucket up at a water source.
Water Sources are streams, wells, ponds, etc.
To fill up the bucket:
Stand right next to the water source,
Face your character towards it,
and use the iron bucket.
A system message will tell you if your bucket has been filled.
A system message will also tell you when your bucket is empty
2. Stand on the plot to be watered
3. Use the filled iron bucket, pouring some of the water out on the developing crop.
The soil should get darker as it moistens.
4. Repeat steps 2-3 until the bucket is empty.
5. Repeat steps 1-4 until the entire field has been watered.
6. Wait for the water to seep into the soil. The soil will lose its dark coloration
7. Repeat step 5-6 until the field has been watered 3 times. )
…Making multiple trips back to a water source is often the most time consuming part of watering. This is why it's best to locate a farm near a water source such as a well, stream, or pond. However developments in Aquamancy have created golden buckets that produce their own water. They are fairly expensive, but anyone possessing one becomes a mobile water source. They only produce small amounts of water at a time. Enough to water crops, but inadequate for filling reservoirs. To use them effectively …
( Watering with a Golden Bucket:
1. Stand on the plot to be watered.
2. Use the golden bucket, pouring some of the water out of it onto the developing crop.
The soil should get darker as it moistens.
3. Repeat steps 1-2 until the entire field has been watered.
4. Wait for the water to seep into the soil. The soil will lose its dark coloration
5. Repeat steps 1-4 until the field has been watered 3 times.)
(Remember watering can be sped up by using the techniques in the planting section. Especially with a golden bucket)
In order to have a maximum yield, a field must be watered 3 times. The crops may survive if watered less, but the amount of produce harvested will be sub-optimal. Even fully grown crops will wither over time if not harvested fast enough. Crops that have been watered 3 times can go around… (an ooc week)... without harvesting. Crops that have been watered less may only be harvestable for…. (an ooc day)... or so before drying out assuming they even reach maturity.
Once a crop dries out, any produce acquired from it is useless, and the farmer will have to dispose of the dead foliage and replant. However dry crops do have one use. While they are in the ground the soil will maintain its form for a time.
Chapter 6: Soil Preservation
Having any crops, including dry crops, planted in the soil will preserve its arability. If a prepared farm plot is left empty for too long, the plot will dry out and compact, requiring the farmer to redig and rehoe the land to make it farmable again. Some farmers don't mind people taking from their fields, but only if the gleaner plants and waters something back in its place. Don't leave dry plants on a plot for too long. Even dry crops will eventually degrade and leave the plot empty. Empty plots swiftly become hard soil.
The soil of each nation is slightly different, requiring different regimes of care. Telegrad’s rich soil allows for multiple harvests a year with minimal preparation. Meanwhile Geladyne’s soil is rocky and poor aside from the volcanic sediments scattered around the Terra Flama. Regardless of region, techniques such as crop rotation, cover cropping, composting, irrigation, and the proper use of fertilizers help ensure a farm will last many years. Study these well and consult local farmers for the most sustainable means of maintaining soil.
(The second paragraph is mostly IC fluff. Soil fertility isn’t a factor in-game. Nor are there any fertilizers in-game aside from miracle fertilizer which is explained later)
Chapter 7: Harvesting
If the plot preparation, planting, and watering have been done properly a farmer should eventually see their field filled with mature plants, ready to be harvested.
Harvesting each crop is slightly different. Root crops need to be dug out of the ground. Trees need to have their fruit picked, pumpkins need to be cut off their vines etc. Exact harvesting techniques can be found at a cutting board or tailoring table…
(To harvest crops simply :
Stand within a two tile radius of them,
Point and click on them.
Continue until all the plants have been harvested.
Warning: Harvesting plants you or a guildmate have planted won't cost any stamina.
Harvesting the plants of anyone, but a guildmate will cost 10 physical stamina
This is an anti-theft measure to ensure crop thieves can't take an entire field at once, or at least not do it quickly )
Harvest crops regularly, Immediately after they become mature to maximize the yield of a farm. Waiting too long to harvest crops will result in them drying out. Once a plant dries out, it becomes useless as anything but a cover crop. It's best to plant the new crop right after harvesting the old one to minimize the chance of the soil hardening while it's left alone.
(Normally you have at least a few OOC hours to plant in an empty plot, but if a plot is left empty and the server resets, the land will dry out by the time you reconnect. Planting right after harvesting eliminates the risk of the land drying out like this.
Realistically stuff pops off in SL2 all the time, and farms are easy to forget so getting harvesting and planting done in one sitting is generally the best. Before harvesting a crop, make the seeds for the next one in advance then plant them right after you harvest.)
Chapter 8: Farm Security
Bountiful harvests attract sticky fingers. Crop thieves will often take portions of, or steal an entire field if left to their own devices. A bit of crop theft is expected, and even condoned within limits. Many farmers choose to leave their land open for all to harvest from, so long as the land is productive. If one is farming properly, a few losses shouldn't hurt much. Not all crop thieves are restrained, nor do property owners need to be generous.
Before messing with another’s farm, read any signs to know the owner’s stance. Messing with another farmer's field without their consent could lead to serious consequences. Once a farm is established, a farmer should leave a sign noting their name, and how they'd like strangers to interact with their plot.
Methods of defense vary based on the location, and the means of the land acquisition. If the crops were stolen from land a farmer legally owns, they can petition their local law enforcement to investigate and track down any unwanted gleaners. If the farmer doesn't own the land, or has a field located in a remote location, defending that farm is entirely the farmer's responsibility.
The best defense a farmer can have is diligence. Crop thieves will only steal crops that are fully mature. The easiest way to stop crop theft is to harvest crops before any crop thieves can get their hands on them. Fields that are left idle too long are prime targets for crop thieves. Consistent monitoring of fields is the best means, but simple anti-theft measures have been developed to supplement it.
Seeds can be enchanted at their processing station to resist being harvested by anyone other than those the planter approves of. This enchantment makes stealing crops a harder, slower process, but it won't stop a determined thief outright. Enchanted scarecrows can prevent thieves from harvesting a crop, but timing their placement is key. Each one lasts little more than a day…
( Scarecrows do exactly what they say in the description. They stop anyone but the original planter from harvesting the plants nearby while they are up. However their effectiveness is limited by their longevity and range. Scarecrows can be placed directly onto a plot that is growing a plant with no negative effects to the plant.
Scarecrows last at most 36 in-game hours,or around 12 OOC hours. This means that they protect a farm while its player is sleeping or working a shift, but they aren’t the end all be all. Additionally, crops that aren’t fully grown can’t be harvested. So any time a scarecrow presides over a developing field, it is superfluous until the plant is fully grown, and its disintegration clock is ticking all throughout.
Range also needs to be considered. The longest lasting scarecrows have the smallest area of effect, and vice versa. So a farmer has to choose between having less scarecrows that cover more ground for less time, or having to use more scarecrows to increase protection time.
Cotton scarecrows can be made by anyone at a toolmaking table. They cover a 5 tile radius and last 24 in-game ours (8 OOC hours). Breezecloth and Demonsilk scarecrows require lvls 2 and 3 toolmaking respectively. Breezecloth covers a 10 tile radius for 12 in-game hours . Demonsilk lasts 36 in-game hours, but only have a 3 tile radius of coverage.
Individually they are fairly cheap, requiring only some cloth and wood, but producing them at scale can become pricey, especially for the more specialized scarecrows. Acquiring wood costs stamina, and the cotton for the cloth will likely take up a fraction of the farmers' fields . The temporary protection they provide requires the farmer to regularly check their crops 2-4 times a OOC day, either to harvest them in time or at least replace the scarecrows for unbroken protection.)
Chapter 9: Speeding Growth
Galdr is an effective tool to influence plant growth. Galdr can be used to inspire plants to grow faster with a plant song. Plant songs increase the number of harvests a farmer can make, and can help prevent crop theft. When the farmer is nearby, he can use galdr to make the plants grow faster while he is there to harvest them. If the farmer expects to be away for a long time, he can let plants grow slowly on their own. Lengthening the growing time gives thieves less of an opportunity to steal.
(To use plant song, a player needs to have talent points placed in the Galdr talent tree. Specifically the performance skill and the plant song skill. Once talent points have been allocated use plant song by:
1. Standing near the crops you want amped up. [around 9-10 tile radius]
2. Start a performance on a free instrument.
3. Wait for the performance to finish.
If done right the plants should move up at least one stage of growth right as the song finishes. The more points put into plant song the faster the plants will grow. )
Miracle fertilizer can create near instant harvests, but it's expensive. It causes a germinating seed to sprout into a fully grown plant within minutes. Each dose requires two rottingbloom mushrooms and a mid level (lvl 3) Alchemist to create it. Rottingblooms are only found in one place, and grow in relatively small amounts. Acquiring large amounts of this fertilizer is costly. It’s best used to grow small numbers of crops quickly, either to grow enough seed crops to fill a field or during an emergency. Watering a plot 3 times before using the fertilizer is recommended to ensure maximum yield. Moderate use is advised. Overuse leads to dependence. To administer …
(to use the miracle fertilizer:
- Have some Miracle fertilizer in your inventory
- Right click on the plot you want to fertilize.
- In the drop down menu select the crop -> use special tool -> Miracle fertilizer
- Watch the crop grow instantly. )
Crop thieves aren't the only hazard a farmer can face. Disease, pillagers, harsh weather, and all manner of other obstacles can threaten a farmer's harvest. However the greatest obstacle a farmer can face is themself. Most problems occur when the farmer fails to be diligent. Choosing the right land to cultivate, selecting the right crops, watering them fully, harvesting them regularly, managing crop thieves, and other interlopers is the farmer's responsibility. So long as a farmer persistently applies the right techniques, he needn't fear any hardship faced by his farm. Fail to apply the right techniques, and even Telegrad's soil can be bleached white. Carefully read and follow the advice above, and your farm will flourish. Other hazards beyond what is mentioned in this text exist. No text is complete, but with diligence and perseverance they can be overcome.
農場の井戸 ,
ファームノーム
Acknowledgements
Author: ファームノームCommissioned by: Evizu Va Valentine Rose-Marie Leclerc
Published by: Korstain LLC
Special Thanks to my teachers:
Harklan Orstead
Ochette
Ori
Ouroboros
Sophie Caine
Dr. Valentine
(ooc author: xertris/sirtrex)
"
(I post this here because knowing how to farm is valuable knowledge in SL2, but please RP finding it in a library with the relavant librarian if you want to site it)
RE: The Art of Farming , by ファームノーム - Kiyo Takamine - 03-10-2024
A well made and well needed guide! Well done.