FarmVille 102 - The basics

The farmer toils for the harvest.

There are 3 distinctive jobs in FarmVille: harvesting, harvesting and ... harvesting.

1. Crops: plowing - planting - harvesting
2. Animals: placing - housing - harvesting
3. Trees: placing - orchards - harvesting

Everything is optional in this game.

	The beginning farmer usually takes it as it comes. You can plow and plant all the available space, or keep open space to place buildings. Trees and animals often arrive uninvited or can be acquired from sharing by neighbors.
	More advanced farmers often specialize.

1. Seeds and Crops.

You plow. You plant. You harvest. You do it over and over and over again.
For the beginning farmer this will be the main activity.
Animals and trees are not available to the beginning farmer in sufficient quantities to make much difference in your game progress.

a. Seeds.

	You can purchase the seeds for your crop in your market window.
	You can find hybrid seeds for free when you visit your neighbors and harvest their greenhouses.
	You can receive seeds for free from neighbors when they share them on the feeds or send them to you as gifts.
	You can also make those hybrid seeds in your own greenhouse. That will cost you and it takes time...

A beginning farmer will benefit most from repeated shorter-growing crops. (see crop cost-benefit analysis)

b. Crop withering.

Your crops do not stay nice forever. According to the Zynga support website, crops start withering after a period of time equal to 1.5 times the growing time after they become ready for harvesting.
e.g.
strawberries take 4 hours to grow, they will start to wither approximately 6 hours after they have ripened = 10 hours after you planted them. They do not wither all at once. It takes a while longer before all plots are withered.
 

Make sure you plant something with a growing time that allows you to be back at your computer to harvest before your crop withers.

There are 3 options for withered crops:

1. Plow it under. (= the reality of life)
   You lose the crop = the experience and the money you invested in it.
    
2. ??? Unwither them ??? (Doesn't make sense to me.)
   1. But of course, a miracle like that will cost ye! An unwither potion, or 5 FV cash at least.
   2. Unwither potions can sometimes be received from the feeds, or as a prize in the raffle.
       
3. Wait for a neighbor to come along and hope that they take pity on you and they spend the farm cash to unwither your crop.

c. Fertilizing a crop

1. The crop looks bigger and sparkles,
2. You receive +1XP at harvest for each fertilized plot.
    
3. You can fertilize up to 5 plots in a neighbor's farm once a day + receive 10 coins + 1XP per fertilized plot.
4. You can earn 'Crop Whisperer' Ribbons by fertilizing your neighbors' crops.

e. Mastering a crop.

1. When you harvest a crop, you receive +1MP (Mastery Point) for each harvested plot.
2. When you reach the required amount of MPs for that crop, you receive a mastery bonus (coins and experience)
3. There are three mastery levels. After the 3rd level, you have "mastered" that crop.
   You'll receive a mastery sign that you can display on your farm.
4. After mastering a crop, there is a chance the crop will become a "Premium" Crop.
   A premium Crop will appear larger than normal crops, and will give 1 XP when it is harvested. (as if fertilized)
5. more details on THIS PAGE (Zynga support)
    

d. Bushels and bushel boost.

	During harvest, you will occasionally find bushels.
	You can 'sell' those bushels to your neighbors in a market stall.
	You get a coin bonus when a neighbor gets a bushel from you. They do not have to pay but are limited to 3 bushels/day per player.
	You can get bushels of crops from your neighbors too, even of crops you have not planted. 'Look inside' the market stall to see what they have available, Bushels can be used in crafts buildings as well. These bushels are the ingredients for your crafting recipes.
	Also 'look inside' the market stall and 'use' a bushel of the crop you will harvest to get a boost The bushel boost lasts for up to 2  hours, but ... You can change to another crop bushel at any time. The type of bonus depends on whether you have access to the crop or not. When active, these bonuses will be displayed in the lower right corner of your screen, above your Farming menu. 1. Crop is mastered. Using a bushel gives you a bonus of +1 XP per harvest of that crop. 2. Crop is not mastered yet, but you are able to plant this crop. Using a bushel gives you a bonus of +1 Crop Mastery Point. 3. Crop is locked. You do not have the ability to plant this crop yet due to level or crop requirements. Using a bushel gives you a temporary license to plant that crop for two hours. This appears to be a one-time only thing, so make sure to use it to plant an entire field while it lasts. Next time you try this, the crop will remain locked, even though it might still say you have a license. (At least that's what happened to me)
	You can also place an order for your neighbor's crops and sell them in your trading post. You get a coin reward + MP + XP if your neighbor fills your order.

For more details on crops, see THIS PAGE

2. Animals.

	Animals are harvested after a specific time, just like crops. When an animal is ready to be harvested, a pink 'teardrop' or a star will be displayed above the animal.
	Animals don't wither. When ready, they stay so until you harvest them.
	You get coins and mastery points for harvesting an animal.
	Animals can also be mastered.
	Animals do not harvest for XP. You may receive a one-time XP at purchase.

There are many buildings that house a certain animal type together. (e.g. horse paddock, sheep pen, etc.)

	You can find these buildings in your market window.
	Most animal buildings are available in template form. Building parts need to be added to complete or upgrade the building. You can ask your neighbors to send you the necessary building parts.

These buildings let you harvest

	quicker = more often
	with a single click for the entire group within the building
	with additional benefits like breeding new animals , sharing babies, etc.

Recommendation: Build only one building at a  time.

Many beginning farmers are tempted to put a lot of buildings down at the same time.

It takes forever before you get all the building parts for all the buildings. 'Special Deliveries' usually give you something you need. If you have too many buildings, you will not receive the materials for 1 building at a time, but a little bit for everything. Nothing gets completed until you have almost all materials for all buildings. Better to build and complete one building at a time, so you have the benefit from it sooner.

For more details on animals, see THIS PAGE
 

3. Trees + orchards.

	Trees are also harvested after a specific time for coins and mastery points. No stars or pink teardrops here. A tree that is ready can be recognized by the fruits or flowers it bears or a color change. Trees do not wither. They stay ready until you harvest them. You may receive a one-time XP if you purchase a tree from the market. You do NOT get experience points for harvesting a tree. (not useful to beginning players for leveling up)
	Trees can be grouped in an orchard. An orchard can hold up to 20 trees and can be harvested once every 2 days. You can place as many orchards as you want.
	The orchard is available as a template. Building parts need to be added to complete it. (10 boards, 9 bricks, and 10 nails) You can ask your neighbors to send you the necessary building parts. There is no upgrade for the orchard in the free game.
	When harvesting the Orchard, you will have a chance of finding Mystery Seedlings. Mystery Seedlings can be planted on your farm and need to be watered 8 times to fully grow. You can receive Watering Cans as free gifts from Neighbors.
	Harvesting the orchard and the trees on your farm will count towards Tree Mastery. You will receive a Tree Mastery Sign after achieving the third star.

For more details, see THIS PAGE
 

4. Buildings.

There are 4 categories of buildings:

1. Animal buildings for housing and breeding your animals
2. Craft and trade buildings where you can make things and where you can trade goods you grew or crafted.
3. Storage buildings where you can store things that you do not want to display for the moment.
4. Decorative buildings do nothing for your game play, but they look pretty.
   You may receive a one-time XP at purchase from the market.

For more details, see THIS PAGE

5. Decorations.

FarmVille has many decorative elements.

	You can make your farm look as pretty (or as cluttered) as you want.
	Decorative elements take up space, but they do nothing to advance your game. They do not generate coins. You may receive a one-time XP at purchase.
	Depending on your goal and/or your personal need to decorate things, you decide if you use them early on, or wait until you have a more mature farm.

        For more details, see THIS PAGE

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Page last modified: November 16, 2012
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