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 the act of planting and cultivating crops, and that of raising animals to Butcher or for their produce. 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). No seeds are plantable during winter; only persimmons may be harvested from grown trees.

Crops should be watered daily. A growing plant will turn brown if left unwatered one day and can be revived with water the following day (though its growth will be delayed). If a browned plant is not watered for a second consecutive day, it will die and need to be removed by the scythe.

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 farming levels when sleeping after reaching the next level. Your progress in leveling up the farming skill can be tracked in your Family tab, by clicking on the relevant member of the family and then onto 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 will unlock Blueprints, Recipes, and items, while reaching level 5 or 10 will unlock two perks for the player to choose between.

Perks

Perk Name	Prerequisite	Perk Level	Perk Effect
Farmer	None	Level 5	Greater chance of producing higher quality crops.
Animal Whisperer	None	Level 5	Your Animals will yield more produce.
Orchardist	Farmer Perk	Level 10	Trees produce more yield.
Green Thumb	Farmer Perk	Level 10	Crops will yield more produce.
Breeder	Animal Whisperer Perk	Level 10	Animals will produce more offspring.
Prized	Animal Whisperer Perk	Level 10	Butchering will yield more Meat.

Perks cannot be changed once chosen, so it is important to consider carefully before picking which perk - and it's follow up options, if picking at Level 5 - 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 Bee Farm, and Lavender Boutique as well as from other NPCs through the trade option on a rotating basis. Children are especially likely to have seeds to sell.

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 Seasons: 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 crops on the tree, at which point they must be harvested by shaking the tree for the tree to bear any further fruit.

Fruit tree	Season	Sell Price	Rot time	Candy Maker	Tree
Cherry	Spring	11 17 18	3 days	Yes
Plum	Spring	12 15 17	4 days	No
Apricot	Spring	10 15 16	4 days	Yes
Coffee Bean	Summer	12 12 13	3 days	No
Lemon	Summer	17 18 19	5 days	Yes
Peach	Summer	19 20 22	3 days	Yes
Apple	Fall	17 18 19	?	Yes
Persimmon	Winter	12 13 14	3 days	No

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

Bushes	Season	Sell Price	Rot time	Candy Maker
Raspberry	Summer	14 16 17	3 days	No
Blueberry	Summer	13 15 17	3 days	No

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 in house and animal barn or coop upgrades, while Wheat is primarily ground into flour using the Flour Mill. Both must be harvested using a scythe, and cannot be picked by hand unlike the other crops.

Crop	Growth Time (before harvesting)	Harvest (per crop)	Sell Price	Rot time	Additional Info
Wheat	7 days	1-3 Wheat	9 10 11	14 days	Requires a scythe to harvest.
Straw (Hay)	8 days	1-3 Straw	4	-	Requires a scythe to harvest.

Spring

Including the all-season crops, there are eight crops growable during spring, as well as three fruit trees; cherry, plum, and apricot. Information on the crops can be found in the table below.

Crop	Growth Time (before harvesting)	Harvest (per crop)	Sell Price	Rot time	Additional Info
Turnip	3 days	1-3 turnips	9 10 11	5 days	Spring
Onion	5 days	1-2 onions	9 11 12	7 days	Spring and Fall
Cabbage	6 days	1-2 cabbage	10 11 12	6 days	Spring
Potato	6 days	1-2 potatoes	10 12 14	7 days	Spring and Fall
Peas	8 days	1-3 peas	11 13 14	5 days	Spring Continues to produce every two days after first harvest
Pineapple	12 days	1 pineapple	?  ?	?	Spring Rarely drops seeds, must be purchased

Summer

The summer season is the busiest season to grow food, with the most available seeds and fruits. Including the all-season crops, and Onions, which can also be grown in Spring, Summer has 11 crops and 3 fruit trees; coffee, peach, and lemon. This is also the only season in which Raspberries and Blueberries can be harvested from their bushes. Information on the crops can be found in the table below.

Crop	Growth Time (before harvesting)	Harvest (per crop)	Sell Price	Rot time	Additional info
Tomato	3 days	1-2 Tomatoes	9 10 11	4 days	?
Cucumber	5 days	1-2 Cucumbers	12 12 13	4 days	Continues to produce every two days after first harvest.
Corn	6 days	1-3 Corn	10 11 13	7 days	?
Cotton	7 days	1 Cotton	13 15 17	20 days	?
Watermelon	7 days	1 Watermelon	21 23 24	5 days	?
Hops	7 days	1-2 Hops	11 11 12	7 days	Continues to produce every two days after first harvest.
Indigo	10 days	1-2 Indigo Leaves	9 10 11	7 days	?
Dragon Fruit	12 days	1-2 Dragon Fruits	80 85 91	3 days	?

Fall

Fall is the final season before Winter, in which nothing can be grown. This makes it a key time for stockpiling food to be dried and preserved to sustain the family during the Winter. Including the all-season crops, there are 8 Fall crops and only 1 Fruit Tree. The only fruit tree for Fall is the Apple Tree. Information on the crops can be found in the table below.

Crop	Growth Time (before harvesting)	Harvest (per crop)	Sell Price	Rot time	Additional Info
Beet	3 days	1 Beet	9 11 12	5 days	?
Carrot	4 days	1-2 Carrots	11 13 14	7 days	?
Garlic	5 days	1 Garlic	9 10 12	7 days	?
Oat	7 days	1-3 oats	9 11 12	14 days	Requires a scythe to harvest.
Onion	5 days	1-2 onions	9 11 12	7 days	Can also be grown in Spring.
Pumpkin	7 days	1-2 Pumpkins	17 20 23	6 days	?
Squash	6 days	1 Squash	16 19 22	8 days	?

Winter

Winter has no available crops, including the all-season crops. The only exception to this, and the only thing to produce output in Winter is the Persimmon Tree. 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 6th to ensure it will fruit during that Winter. You can live off forageables in the winter. So be sure to look on the ground or shake bushes near the sea.

Selling

All farmed items can be sold through trade with any Villager for the same price.