Farming

A basic patch of crops in Echoes of the Plum Grove

Farming is a key element of Echoes of the Plum Grove, and is the primary mechanic for the player to earn money. It is one of the Skills the player can level up over time. Farming refers to both planting and cultivating crops, and raising animals. Crop farming requires the use of Tools such as the Hoe and Watering Can. Animal farming requires the player to build a Coop or Barn.

Farming Basics

In order to plant crops or build Coops and Barns, the land will need to be cleared. Various tools are needed for clearing different obstacles: the Scythe for large weeds, the Hoe for large bushes, a Pickaxe for rocks, and an Axe for stumps or trees. Once clear, the land can be hoed to make seeds plantable. Hoed ground will revert to unhoed, unplantable ground overnight if left empty. Hoed ground may also be fertilized to improve crop yield and quality. A Composter can be constructed to turn rot into fertilizer.

Seeds are planted in hoed ground. Planted seeds must be watered the day they are planted; if not, they will be lost at midnight. All crops are seasonal, and their seeds may only be planted in their specified season(s). The exception to this is trees and bushes, which can be planted out of season but only produce during their season. No seeds are plantable during winter; only persimmons may be harvested from grown trees.

Crops must be watered daily. A growing plant will turn brown if left unwatered for one day and can be revived with water the following day, though the unwatered day does not count towards its growth. If a browned plant is not watered for a second consecutive day, it will die and need to be removed with the scythe. Crops will also die when the season changes, if they are not growable in the new season.

Farming Skill

An in-game screenshot of the icon that leads to the Skills tab.

Doing farming related actions will level up your farming skill over time. You will receive the rewards for reaching the next level when you sleep. Your progress in leveling up the farming skill can be tracked in your Family tab, by clicking on the middle icon, which leads to the skills tab.

The farming skill can be increased by the following actions: harvesting crops, fruit trees, or bushes, milking goats and cows, and shearing sheep.

Leveling up in the skill increases the chance of harvesting silver or gold crops. You may also unlock Blueprints and Recipes. Levels 5 and 10 will unlock two perks for the player to choose between. The level 10 perks are based on the chosen level 5 perk.

Level 5 Perk	Effect	Level 10 Perk	Effect
Farmer	Greater chance of producing higher quality crops	Orchardist	Trees produce more yield
		Green Thumb	Crops produce more yield
Animal Whisperer	Animals yield more products	Breeder	Animals have more children
		Prized	Butchering yields more meat

Perks cannot be changed once chosen, so it is important to carefully consider which perk - and its follow up options - will benefit your current playstyle or generation more.

Seeds

To start, the player is provided with 15 Turnip seeds after completing the beginning story of the game, found within the chest in your house alongside the tools needed to start farming. The player can also receive 5 each of Turnip, Onion, Pea, Cabbage, Potato and Wheat seeds from Quentin Whitfield after completing the Know Your Neighbors quest given after signing the deed to the farm in the Town Hall.

Seeds may be stored in chests indefinitely, and do not rot. Once harvested, crops have a chance to yield seeds again, allowing for replanting. The player can purchase seeds from the farmers at the Ryle Family Farm, Bloom's Bee Farm, and Lavender Boutique as well as from other NPCs and from Sailors through the trade option on a rotating basis. Children are especially likely to have seeds to sell.

Seeds has detailed information about individual seeds.

Fruit Trees and Bushes

There are 8 available fruit trees, and 2 berry bushes, which unlike other crops persist from season to season. Fruit trees can be planted in any growing Season: Spring, Summer, or Fall. They will grow to maturity, but will only bear fruit in their specific season. Whilst growing, trees and bushes will require daily water like other crops; once fully grown, they do not require watering again.

Fruit trees and bushes will not grow during Winter. If wishing to plant before Winter, ensure the seed is planted and watered before midnight on the last day of Fall, or the seed will disappear. Growth will resume once Spring begins.

Fruit trees will never drop seeds when being harvested, meaning that seeds will need to be purchased from Villagers or passing ships. Villagers and Children with the farming hobby may carry seeds for fruit trees, as well as Villagers who live and work on the various farms. This can be a lucrative investment, as it guarantees crop output every year without replanting, watering, or having to buy seeds on a yearly basis.

All fruit trees take 15 days before they mature. Fruit trees grow 1 crop every day during their season until there are 5 total on the tree, at which point they must be harvested by shaking the tree before it can bear any further fruit.

Bushes take 10 days before they mature, and are harvested by the same rules as trees, needing to be shaken at least every 5 days to produce at full capacity.

Crops by Season

There are only two crops that can be grown in all planting seasons; Straw and Wheat. Straw is primarily used to feed livestock and is also used to build and upgrade a barn or coop, while Wheat is primarily ground into flour using the Flour Mill.

Spring

Including the all-season crops, there are eight crops growable during spring, as well as three fruit trees.

Crops

Crop	Days to Maturity	Sell Price	Rot Time	Energy	Notes
Cabbage	6 days	6 7 8	6 days	2
Onion	6 days	9 11 12	5 days	2	Spring and Fall
Peas	8 days	7 9 10	5 days	2	Continues to produce every 3 days after first harvest
Pineapple	12 days	54 59 66	4 days	3	Rarely drops seeds, must be purchased from Sailors
Potato	6 days	10 12 14	7 days	2	Spring and Fall
Straw	8 days	4	N/A	N/A	Spring, Summer and Fall Requires a scythe to harvest
Turnip	3 days	9 10 11	5 days	2
Wheat	7 days	6 7 8	14 days	N/A	Spring, Summer and Fall Requires a scythe to harvest

Trees

Fruit	Sell Price	Rot Time	Energy	Candy Maker	Image
Cherry	15 17 18	3 days	3
Plum	16 19 21	4 days	3
Apricot	14 15 16	4 days	3

Summer

Summer is the busiest season to grow food, with the most available seeds and fruits. Including the all-season crops, summer has ten crops and three fruit trees. This is also the only season in which Raspberries and Blueberries can be harvested from their bushes.

Crops

Crop	Days to Maturity	Sell Price	Rot Time	Energy	Notes
Corn	6 days	6 7 8	7 days	3
Cotton	7 days	13 15 17	20 days	N/A
Cucumber	5 days	12 12 13	4 days	2	Continues to produce every 2 days after first harvest
Dragon Fruit	12 days	80 85 91	3 days	3	Rarely drops seeds, must be purchased from Sailors
Hops	7 days	11 11 12	7 days	N/A	Continues to produce every 2 days after first harvest
Indigo Leaves	10 days	9 10 11	7 days	N/A
Straw	8 days	4	N/A	N/A	Spring, Summer and Fall Requires a scythe to harvest
Tomato	3 days	5 6 7	4 days	2
Watermelon	7 days	21 23 24	5 days	3
Wheat	7 days	6 7 8	14 days	N/A	Spring, Summer and Fall Requires a scythe to harvest

Trees and Bushes

Fruit	Sell Price	Rot Time	Energy	Candy Maker	Image
Lemon	17 18 19	5 days	2
Raspberry	15 16 17	3 days	2
Coffee Bean	7 8 9	3 days	N/A
Blueberry	13 15 17	3 days	3
Peach	19 20 22	3 days	2

Fall

Fall is the final growing season before winter, when nothing can be grown. This makes it a key time for stockpiling food to be dried and preserved to sustain yourself during the winter. Including the all-season crops, there are ten fall crops and only one fruit tree.

Crops

Crop	Days to Maturity	Sell Price	Rot Time	Energy	Notes
Beet	3 days	9 11 12	5 days	2
Carrot	4 days	11 13 14	7 days	2
Garlic	5 days	9 10 12	7 days	2
Oat	7 days	9 11 12	14 days	N/A	Requires a scythe to harvest
Onion	6 days	9 11 12	5 days	2	Spring and Fall
Potato	6 days	10 12 14	7 days	2	Spring and Fall
Pumpkin	7 days	17 20 23	6 days	3
Squash	6 days	16 19 22	8 days	3
Straw	8 days	4	N/A	N/A	Spring, Summer and Fall Requires a scythe to harvest
Wheat	7 days	6 7 8	14 days	N/A	Spring, Summer and Fall Requires a scythe to harvest

Trees

Fruit	Sell Price	Rot Time	Energy	Candy Maker	Image
Apple	17 18 19	5 days	3

Winter

Winter has no available crops, including the all-season crops. The only exception to this is the persimmon tree, which produces fruit during the winter. However, the tree will not grow in winter, and must be mature before winter starts in order to produce throughout the season. For this reason, it is recommended to plant a persimmon tree no later than Fall 5th to ensure it will fruit during that winter. You can live off foraging in the winter, so be sure to look on the ground or shake bushes around the island.

Trees

Fruit	Sell Price	Rot Time	Energy	Candy Maker	Image
Persimmon	16 17 18	3 days	3

Selling

All farmed items can be sold through trade with any villager or visitor with no difference in price between buyers.