Farming
Farming is a skill involving the cultivating of land and growing of crops, and is arguably one of the most important professions as everyone does need to eat, after all.
Readying the Land
What you'll need:
- Some farmland (one's own, or land one has been granted access to).
- Something to till land with, such as a hoe
- Seeds (make sure they're for crops that will grow well in the local climate and current conditions!)
Steps:
go
to the farmlandtill field
to start work on creating some farmable soiltill plots
to till the farmable soil into plots suitable for plantingplant
the seeds. You can specify the seed type, i.e.plant corn
orplant long pale seed
.
Maintenance
These steps should be performed once a day to ensure a good harvest. Missing a day won't cause a total loss, but there will be some damage. Crops that go without water or are choked by weeds for too long will wither, and too many weeds in a plot will convert it back into wild land, requiring you to till field
again in order to reclaim.
What you'll need:
- Watering bucket
- Water source
- A weeding tool such as a hoe or trowel
Steps:
look soil
to see the state of your farmland.water
your crops as necessaryweed
your plots as necessary
To clear plots of land that are no longer wanted, use till clear <number>
to remove the plot with that number.
Processing Grain
Grains require additional processing after being harvested.
What you'll need:
- Grain crops, such as wheat
- A threshing flail
- A winnowing basket
- Access to a millstone (usually found in a windmill or watermill)
Steps:
drop
the grain on the groundthresh
the grainwinnow
the grainget
ortransfer
the winnowed grains into your inventorygo
to a facility with a millstoneput
the winnowed grains into the grain hopper- Wait for the grains to be ground by the millstones.
get
ortransfer
the ground grains/flour from the basin to your inventory.
Notes
- Not to be confused with Animal Husbandry, which is caring for animals of varying types - cows, sheep, goats, bees, etc.
- You can
till <plotnumber>
in order to till a specific plot and remove any crop that might be planted there, freeing it up for planting something new. Example:till 5
to till plot number 5. - Hopefully there's a water source on your farmland such as a creek or well, but if not, find a friend to help you
fill
a water barrel andheave
it into a handcart or wagon, transport it to your farm, andheave
it back out. - While laymen will need to memorize what different seeds look like, those Competent or better at the Farming skill can identify seeds at a glance, and can
examine
them to see what conditions they grow well in. - Some crops will re-grow multiple times after harvest before needing to be re-planted.
- Consider hiring someone to
build
some fencing around your farmland to help prevent wild animals and brigands from stealing or ruining your crops. - Some produce may need to be
slice
d with a knife before they can be eaten, such as watermelon. Other produce, such as tomatoes, can optionally beslice
d (good for sharing!) but can also simply be eaten whole.