Farming (Rune Factory 4)

Farming is an important part of Rune Factory 4's gameplay. Through the use of tools, players are able to grow crops and flowers, harvest seeds, and, occasionally, find runes. Crops grown on your field can be shipped in exchange for money, used as ingredients for cooking, given to neighbors as presents, or used in synthesis. Farming can also raises players skills, such as farming, earth, and water.

Players are first introduced to farming on Day 2, when Vishnal explains the basics of farming. He gives players a cheap hoe, a cheap waterpot, and a turnip seed. After completing the farming tutorial, Vishnal will give players nine more turnip seeds.

Field
When players first receive their field, it is covered in weeds, branches, stumps, rocks, and boulders due to a typhoon. These materials can be cleared by hand or through the use tools. There are four main tools players require in order to farm effectively: the hoe, the waterpot, the magnifying glass, and the sickle.

Field Quality
The quality field received at the start of the game is Level 1. Details of the soil in the field can be checked with a magnifying glass. The table below summarizes the meaning of each item and the action required to change each value. The higher the quality of each item, the better, but it is difficult to increase every aspect on average. === Field Information Seen with a Magnifying Glass ===

Soil Quality
As growing crops raises the soil quality, crops with a short growth time, such as turnips and spinach, can be grown repeatedly in order to raise the General Soil Level, Speed Level, Quality Level, etc. Nutrients, such as formulas and gigantizers, greatly reduces the health of the soil. This can be counteracted by tilling the soil with corn, clover, and withered grass, allowing players to siginificantly restore the soil's health. Withered grass, for example, which is readily available in the field, can be sowed into the soil, which will increase soil health by about +50 per piece.

Growth Rate
Formulas can be used to speed up crop growth. These can be made through synthesis or purchased at the Florist. When Formula A is used on arable land where the growth rate is 1.0, the growth rate will increase to around 1.5. When Formula B is used, it will increase to around 2.0. When Formula C is used, it will increase to around 3.0. Formula supplements effect can be stacked, so by using Formula A twice, the growth rate will increase to 2.0. When using Formula B twice, it will increase to 4.0. When using Formula C twice, it will increase to the maximum growth rate of 5.0.

When growing slow-growing crops, formulas can be used to speed up their growth. For example, golden crops can be grown in 1/5 of the time if the soil growth rate has been increased to 5.0.

Crop Quality
The use of Greenifiers increases the soils Quality +. Harvesting crops grown on the soil and repeating the process of obtaining and growing high-level seeds will eventually lead to the production of LV 10 crops. Additionally, the level of crops harvested raises the longer the player waits to harvest a harvestable crop. For example, players unable to raise a crop to LV 10 through harvesting can try harvesting crops after a few days. It is also possible to save before harvesting crops with a sickle to ensure that that the product it is a higher level.

Continuously Harvastable Crops
Some crops, such as pumpkins and cucumbers, can be harvested repeatedly. This has many benefits, such as synthesizing large quantities of food made from that crop or shipping them to make money. However, when the HP of the crop is low or the soil health is 0, harvesting cannot be repeated. When growing a crop that can be harvested repeatedly, the soil is damaged more quickly than it is when growing single-harvest crops. The soil damage caused by vine plants may be counteracted through the frequent use of nutrients, which raises crop HP, and the use withered grass, which increases soil health.

Growing Large Crops
Large crops can be sold at a higher price than regular crops and may be needed to fulfill a request. Crops which are given the nutrients Gigantizer look bigger than normal crops. However, harvesting at this stage will be treated the same as harvesting a normal crop. In order to harvest large crops, there is a three-step process that makes a crop grow to occupy four-squares of soil and receive the 'large' descriptor. 1. Fertilize with Gigantizer 2. Grow the Crops 3. Wait
 * Sow four seeds of the crop or flower in a 2x2 plot of soil and give them Gigantizer.
 * When the soil quality is above a certain level, crops will appear to grow larger. However, harvesting at this stage will be treated the same as harvesting a normal crop.
 * After severl days without harvesting the growing crop, it grows even larger. When harvested at this stage, it becomes a large crop with a different size and name.

Growing Crops
Most crops have a season that is suitable for growing and a season that is not. Seasonal adequacy is displayed at the bottom right of the screen when hovering over the species. Growing it in the wrong season will slow its growth and makes it hard to grow. Additionally, it is unlikely to become a big crop outside of its suitable season. An exception to this rule is the field outside of town, whose season does not change.

Crops & Soil Impact
☆=best - ◎=good - ○=neutral - △=not good

Seeds
In order to grow crops, players need to either purchase or harvest seeds. Seeds can be purchased at either the General Store or the Florist, as well as be obtained from requests. In order to grow higher-level crops, players must harvest seeds from high-level crops. This can be done by harvesting crops with the sickle, instead of by hand.