Farming

Using farms you can grow plants. After researching crop rotation you can start farming multiple plants in a single farm. Crops need water to survive, and can be fertilized to improve the fertility threshold, which determines the amount of units you will receive from the crop. In most cases ordering of the plants in the "growth calendar" does not matter, as long as the two plants next to each other are different, as having two identical plants farmed after each other will result in growth penalty. Growing the same plant in the first and last "growth calendar" counts as the crops being grown after each other therefore it adds the growth penalty.

Fertilizer mechanically increases Soil Fertility by supplying Fertilizers, raising the farm’s fertility to the target level, which directly boosts crop yields. High-fertility-need crops like Soybean (0.5% fertility per day) benefit more than low-need crops like potatoes (0.35% per day) due to greater fertility consumption. Yields scale linearly with fertility, even above 100%, but maintaining fertility above 100% requires significantly more fertilizer due to a 200% demand multiplier, though yield benefits remain consistent without diminishing returns.

Crop Schedule

Given that you can specify up to 4 types of plants to be farmed on a single farm, there are many combinations which a player can reach, and below you can find a few of them. For the sake of consistency, we consider Green Manure to be a plant as well, but not a crop.

Farm with 1 plant

Initially, farms can grow only a single plant, and later on the player can keep farming a single plant on a farm if they wish to. However, after researching crop rotation, if the player wishes to improve the average yield of any crop, it is always beneficial to add in a single Green Manure plant. You should only use Green Manure when only one crop is unlocked, as it produces no caloric yield. Once a second crop is available, it is always more calorie-efficient to grow a second crop (e.g., Potato or Vegetables) to maximize food output, as Green Manure’s fertility boost does not outweigh the benefit of additional crop production.

Farm with 2 plants

As mentioned, farming 1 crop with Green Manure always returns a better average yield than farming a single crop when only one crop is unlocked. However, if the player wishes to maximize the average crop yield, growing two crops of different kind results in both plants having the highest yield possible when combined. For example, alternating Potato and Vegetables avoids the same-crop penalty and provides higher caloric output than using Green Manure, which produces no food. Meaning that if you have two farms, and you decide to grow Potatoes + Vegetables in both farms, your final yield of both crops will be higher than if you grew Potatoes + Green Manure in one farm, and Vegetables + Green Manure in the other.

Farm with 3 plants

Having two plants of the same type adds a penalty, therefore it is optimal to grow 3 plants of different kinds. Having Green Manure as one of them does not make a noticeable difference in the final crop yields, therefore having 3 different crops is better. However, if you remove one of the crops, and place it into another farm, you can get higher yields by adding another crop or Green Manure.

Farm with 4 plants

They work, but you can always split them into two farms, giving you similar yields.

Soil fertility

Soil Fertility affects crop yield: the actual yield is one that the recipe of crops says times Soil Fertility. For example, the yield will be 60% of the recipe if fertility is 60% while the crop grows.

Every crop consumes Soil Fertility by growing, typically between 0.2% and 0.5% per day depending on the crop. Fertility replenishes naturally when below 100% at a rate of 0.6% of the missing fertility per day (e.g., at 0% fertility, it regenerates 0.6% per day; at 50%, 0.3% per day). Then, Soil Fertility is settled at a value depending on the corp schedule. You can use Green Manure or File:FertilizerI.png Fertilizers to increase the yield of crop(s).

Fertility needed

“Fertility needed” is the amount of extra fertility per day required to maintain the target fertility level, supplied by Fertilizers. When the target fertility is 100%, the “fertility needed” equals the crop’s fertility consumption (as specified in the recipe, adjusted for rotation penalties). The formula for fertility needed is:

Fertility Needed (% / 60 ) = F_C P - 0.006 (100% - F_T)    if F_T ≤ 100%

Fertility Needed (% / 60 ) = F_C P + [2 F_C P + 0.002] (F_T - 100%)    if F_T > 100%

F_T: Target Fertility (%)

F_C: Fertility Consumed that recipe says (% / 60 )

P: if lacking rotation (same crop follows), then 1.5, else 1.0

For example, for Soybeans (F_C = 0.5%) with proper rotation (P = 1.0) at F_T = 110%:

Fertility Needed = 0.5% + [2 × 0.5% + 0.002] × (110% - 100%) = 0.5% + 1.002 × 10% = 0.6002% per day.