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Farming in ALOFT is needed for growing various crops, which can be cooked or processed into cooking ingredients. To start farming, you need to unlock the following formulas:
- Leaf Bucket (for watering);
- Stone Dorkip (for plowing);
- Stone Sickle (for harvesting from plots and in the wilderness);
- Compost Bin (for making compost);
- Rustic Farming Plots (for planting crops).
How to Unlock Tools Quickly
To unlock the Compost Bin and Rustic Farming Plots, explore islands and look for “hidden knowledge” (stones, anchors, frescos). There is an easy way to unlock everything you need much faster, which I discussed in my video linked here.
The formulas are not linked to specific stones or anchors, so you can interact with the same stone or anchor in different worlds to unlock formulas one by one. For example, the starting island contains as many as 3 stones with “hidden knowledge”: one in the starting cave, one on a small island near the waterfall, and one in the cave hidden behind the waterfall itself. By switching worlds and interacting with these stones, you will discover three new formulas every time.
Here is the list of recipes for the required tools:
- Leaf Bucket = 3 Leaf Cloth, 1 Wood, 1 Rope;
- Stone Dorkip = 2 Wood, 1 Rope, 1 Sharp Stone;
- Stone Sickle = 1 Wood, 1 Rope, 2 Sharp Stones.
You can craft all these tools on a workbench. Also, don’t forget to collect some water, as you will need it for watering your farming plots.
How to Plant Seeds
First of all, you need to create compost. The easiest and cheapest way to do this is by processing leaves (1 Leaf = 1 Compost) using the Compost Bin.
With compost, you can build Rustic Farming Plots (4 Compost + 4 Wood for each).
After you place them, take a Stone Dorkip in your hand and hit (LMB) the plots with it to till the soil. In the treated soil, you can plant seeds. Press “E” to interact with a farming plot and select seeds from the list of available ones. The seeds must be in your inventory.
Finally, you must water the plots to make the crops grow. Put a Leaf Bucket on a quick-access panel, take it in hand, and press LMB while aiming at the plots. You will see that the soil becomes damp-dark, which means the growth cycle has started.
Now you only need to wait a few days. Note that sleeping (skipping time in bed) does not speed up crop growth. Also, you will have to periodically water the plots again if the soil dries out.
How to Harvest
You need to equip a Stone Sickle to harvest some crops, such as wheat or sugar beet. Some plants, however, don’t require it and can be harvested multiple times. For example, if you plant berries, you will get a bush that bears fruit every few days.
How to Get Seeds
You obtain seeds for crops while exploring islands in the wilderness. Always carry a sickle with you to gather new crops you might find. To make mushroom seeds (Reishi Inoculant), you need to process Reishi Mushrooms using a Millstone. However, you can only plant and grow them on trees, not on farming plots.