Chapter 1
Farming in Build 42
In old versions, a farm was a timer. Plant, wait, eat. In Build 42, a farm is a calendar. Plant in the wrong month and nothing grows.
The skill was renamed from Farming to Agriculture. It now has around 55 crops, real planting seasons, plant health, weeds, curses and 4 diseases. It is harder. It is also the best long-term food in the game.
Seasons
Every crop has good months and bad months. Wrong month means slow growth, a curse, or death.
Plant health
A hidden score that rises with care and falls with drought, floods, weeds and disease.
New crops
Corn, peas, garlic, barley, flax, hemp, hops, rye, sugar beet, sunflowers, tobacco, hot peppers and herbs.
The farming loop
- DigTrowel or shovel makes a furrow.
- SowSeeds in the right month.
- WaterNot too little, not too much.
- WatchWeeds, bugs, mildew.
- HarvestThe only step that gives XP.
- Save seedsNext year's crop.
Why it matters
Cans run out. Animals need feeding. A farm is the only food source that grows itself from a handful of seeds.
Chapter 2
Build your farmer
What each Agriculture level gives you, and who starts with it.
What the skill does, per level
- Lower chance a crop gets cursed in a bad month, 5% per level.
- Higher chance of bonus yield in a best month or with fertilizer, 5% per level.
- +1 starting health for every plant.
- Disease drops faster when treated.
- +1 yield per harvest.
- More information when you inspect a plant. Rookies see only pictures. Experts see numbers.
Farmer (job)
Starts with Agriculture and knows how to craft disease cures. The natural pick.
Gardener (trait, 2 points)
+1 Agriculture and the cure recipes. Cheap and good on any character.
Park Ranger (job)
No farming levels, but great at foraging the seeds and herbs a farm needs.
Fast Learner (trait)
130% XP. Handy, because farming XP is slow.
Watch out: point costs change
The game makers still tune traits and jobs. Always read the numbers on your own character screen.
Agriculture is a normal skill with 5 books at 3, 5, 8, 12 and 16 times XP. Life and Living has a farming show for the first 3 levels.
Chapter 3
Tools and seeds
Farming needs 3 things: something to dig with, something to plant, and something to water with.
Digging tool
Trowel, hand shovel, shovel, hoe or rake. Digging with bare hands can injure your hand.
Seeds
Seed packets from sheds, farms, supermarkets and garden shops. Loose seeds from harvested crops and from foraging.
Watering can
The standard. A backpack sprayer is a big upgrade for large farms. Any water container works in a pinch.
Spray can
Needed to craft disease cures.
Watch out: plant bag seeds, not dried junk
Some seed-like items are food, not seeds. Read the item name. If it does not say seeds, it will not grow.
Secret: foraging gives seeds
Crops found with the Crops focus on farmland come with seeds. See the Foraging guide.
Chapter 4
Plant a plot, step by step
From bare ground to a green row.
Dig a furrow
Right-click a patch of dirt or grass with a digging tool in your inventory. Choose Dig Furrow. One furrow holds one plant.
Sow the seeds
Right-click the furrow. Choose the seed. Check the month first. Chapter 5 explains why.
Water it
Right-click the plant with a watering can. Fill the can from any water source first.
Inspect it often
Right-click the plant and choose Info. Low skill shows pictures. Higher skill shows water, health and disease numbers. Look every day.
Harvest
When the plant reaches its harvest stage, right-click and harvest. You get the crop, usually seeds, and Agriculture XP.
Secret: the seed packet knows the season
Read a seed packet and its planting months appear in your Discovered Recipes and Media page. Check there before you sow.
Chapter 5
The calendar: months matter
This is the big change. Every crop has best months and bad months. The wrong month can curse a plant.
Best month
Faster growth. A chance of bonus yield.
Normal month
Grows fine.
Bad month
A 50% chance of a curse at level 0. Cursed plants grow badly and get sick more.
The full table is around 55 crops long and lives on the official wiki. A few examples players lean on:
| Crop | Good to know |
|---|---|
| Cabbage | Fast, filling, the classic stew crop. |
| Potato | Hardy and calorie-heavy. |
| Carrot and onion | Get a growth bonus when planted in March. |
| Corn | New. Big yields in summer. Also trap bait. |
| Garlic, onion, leek, rosemary, marigold | Immune to disease. From stage 3 they protect the plants next to them. |
| Hemp and flax | Not food. They become rope, twine and cloth. |
Watch out: winter kills most crops
Cold months are bad months for nearly everything. Plant in spring and summer. Harvest and jar in autumn. Rest in winter.
Secret: some crops shrug off bad months if they are big enough
Each crop has a "hardy" growth stage. Once past it, a bad month cannot hurt it. Plant early enough and the crop outgrows the danger.
Chapter 6
Water
Too little water and the plant withers. Too much and it drowns. Both cost health.
- Inspect the plant. Rookies see a wilting picture. Experts see a water number.
- Water when it is low. Stop when it is full.
- Rain waters outdoor plants for free.
- Plants in a greenhouse or under a roof get no rain. You water them.
Secret: the rain collector is a farm tool
A Carpentry 3 rain collector next to the plot means you never walk to the river. See the Carpentry guide.
Secret: drought fights aphids
Letting a plant dry out on purpose lowers aphids by a little every 2 hours. It is a rough cure when you have no spray.
Chapter 7
Plant health and the moon
Every plant has a hidden health score. It decides how much you harvest, and whether it survives.
Starting health
A new plant starts around 50 health, but the moon phase nudges it. Planting under a full moon gives the best start, around 57 to 64. A waning moon gives the worst, around 37 to 44. Each Agriculture level adds 1.
What changes health after that
Raises it
- Right water level
- Best month
- Fertilizer or compost, once
- No weeds
Lowers it
- Drought or flooding
- Bad months and cold
- Weeds
- Disease
- Too much fertilizer
Secret: check the moon before a big sowing day
A full moon plot starts 10 to 20 health ahead of a waning moon plot. That is free yield. Wait a few nights if you can.
Sowing day odds
Built from the numbers in this guide. Approximate.
Chapter 8
Fertilizer and compost
Fertilizer is a boost with a bite. Use it once. Never spam it.
| Dose of chemical fertilizer | Effect |
|---|---|
| 1st | Cuts growth time, +10 health if the plant is still growing, and a chance of bonus yield |
| 2nd | −25 health |
| 3rd or more | Curses the plant and keeps damaging it. Can kill it. |
Compost
Build a composter at Carpentry 3. Feed it rotten food. It makes compost. Compost gives one fertilizer-style boost per plant. Animal manure works too.
Watch out: "more fertilizer, bigger plant" is false
The second dose hurts. The third can kill. One and done.
Secret: the rotten food loop
Nothing in the kitchen is wasted. Rotten food goes in the composter. Compost goes on the crops. Crops go in the pot. Leftovers rot. Repeat.
Chapter 9
Diseases and cures
4 diseases. Each rolls when a plant enters a new growth stage. Catch them early or lose the plant.
Base chance is about 2% per stage. Weeds or a curse double it. Bonus yield halves it. Untreated disease rises every 2 hours. At 60 or more, the plant dies at its next stage.
| Disease | Cure |
|---|---|
| Mildew | Spray can plus milk |
| Pest flies | Spray can plus tobacco |
| Aphids | Spray can plus rubbing alcohol. Or let the plant dry out. |
| Slugs | Slug repellent. Loot only. Cannot be crafted. |
Watch out: you must know the recipes
Farmer and Gardener know the cures. Everyone else needs the farming magazine. Get it before your first crop, not after it gets sick.
Secret: plant a bodyguard
Garlic, onion, leek, rosemary and marigold never get sick. From growth stage 3 they protect the plants beside them. Put one every few furrows.
Secret: grow your own cures
Tobacco is a crop now. Grow a row and you never run out of fly spray.
Chapter 10
Weeds, zombies and fences
Things that eat your farm besides you.
- Weeds appear on their own. They lower health and double disease chance. Right-click and remove them.
- Zombies trample crops when they walk through. Fence the plot, or put it somewhere they cannot reach.
- Slugs and pests come with the seasons. Rosemary and chickens both help.
Secret: the rooftop farm
Carry sacks of dirt to a flat roof and pour them out. Dig furrows in the dirt. Zombies cannot climb, and the plants get sun and rain. A rooftop farm is the safest farm in the game.
Secret: a greenhouse room
Crops indoors need light. A room with big windows or an open roof works. You must water by hand.
Chapter 11
Harvest and seeds for next year
Harvest is the payoff, and the only step that gives XP.
- Harvest at the harvest stage. Wait too long and the plant rots.
- Most crops give seeds back. Keep some every time.
- Yield rises with plant health, best month, fertilizer and your skill.
- XP is about half the plant's health, plus 25 if you cared for it well, minus 15 if you did not.
Secret: sunflower heads become seeds
Dry a sunflower head on a plant drying rack and it gives 10 seeds. Drying racks come from Carpentry.
Watch out: only your own plants give XP
Harvesting a friend's crop gives food but no Agriculture XP. Plant your own.
Chapter 12
Training plan: 0 to 10
Only harvesting gives XP. So the plan is: many small, healthy plots, harvested often.
Levels 0 to 3: TV, books, cabbages
Read Agriculture I. Watch the farming show. Plant a fast crop in its best month under a full moon. Water it right. Harvest. Every harvest is XP, and healthy plants give more.
Levels 3 to 6: rows of fast crops
Read II and III. Plant 10 or more furrows of quick crops. Fertilize once. Weed daily. Harvest in waves. Bonus yield rolls more often now.
Levels 6 to 10: the full farm
Read IV and V. Grow the slow, valuable crops. Grow tobacco for cures and hemp for rope. Keep guard plants in every row.
Secret: health is XP
XP is tied to plant health at harvest. A perfectly tended plant is worth twice a neglected one. Care is the grind.
Level by level: Agriculture
The best single thing to do at each level. Read the matching book first when one exists.
| Level | Do this for most of your XP | Why |
|---|---|---|
| 0 to 1 | Watch the farming show. Read Agriculture I. Harvest a cabbage row | Only harvesting gives XP |
| 1 to 2 | 10 furrows of a fast crop in its best month | Plant health at harvest sets XP |
| 2 to 3 | Sow under a full moon, one fertilizer dose | Higher health, more XP per plant |
| 3 to 4 | Read Agriculture II. Weed daily, water right | Care is the grind |
| 4 to 5 | 20 furrows in waves, staggered by a few days | Harvests every day |
| 5 to 6 | Read Agriculture III. Grow tobacco and guard plants | Fewer sick plants, more harvests |
| 6 to 7 | Slow valuable crops now: corn, potatoes | Bigger plants, bigger yields |
| 7 to 8 | Read Agriculture IV. Rooftop or fenced farm at full scale | Zombies stop eating your XP |
| 8 to 9 | Save seeds, replant same day | No downtime between harvests |
| 9 to 10 | Read Agriculture V. Two full seasons | Winter is a forced rest |
Planting day checklist
Before you dig
At the plot
For later
Your ticks are saved in this browser, on this device only.
Chapter 13
Tips, tricks and fixes
20 tips from the field
Setting up
- Take Gardener. 2 points for the cure recipes.
- Read the seed packet. It tells you the months.
- Dig with a tool, never your hands.
- Put the plot next to a rain collector.
- Fence it, or farm on a roof.
Growing
- Plant in the best month.
- Sow under a full moon.
- Fertilize once. Never twice.
- Inspect every plant every day.
- Pull weeds the moment they appear.
- Water to the line, not past it.
- Plant garlic or rosemary as bodyguards.
- Grow tobacco for fly spray.
Harvest and beyond
- Harvest on time.
- Keep seeds from every crop.
- Compost every rotten thing.
- Jar the surplus. See the Cooking guide.
- Dry sunflower heads for seeds.
- Rest the farm in winter.
- Only your own harvests give XP.
Fix-it table
| Problem | Likely cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Nothing grows. | Wrong month, or the item is not a seed. | Check the packet's months. Plant real seeds. |
| The plant is cursed. | Planted in a bad month. | Harvest what you can. Replant in a good month. |
| The plant is wilting. | Thirsty, or drowning. | Inspect it. Adjust water. |
| White spots or bugs. | Mildew, flies, aphids or slugs. | Craft the cure and spray. Slugs need loot repellent. |
| I cannot craft the cure. | Recipe not known. | Farmer, Gardener, or the farming magazine. |
| The plant died after fertilizer. | Too many doses. | One dose only. |
| Zombies flattened my crops. | No fence. | Fence the plot or move to a roof. |
| I get no XP. | Not your plant, or not harvested yet. | Plant and harvest your own. |
| Everything died in winter. | Cold is a bad month for most crops. | Plan for spring. Jar autumn crops. |
| Low yield. | Low plant health. | Full moon, best month, water, weeding, one fertilizer. |
Chapter 14
Farmer's test
7 questions. Get them all right and you can feed a village.
Chapter 15
Words and sources
Farmer's word list
- Agriculture
- The Build 42 name for the Farming skill.
- Furrow
- A dug strip of dirt that holds one plant.
- Sow
- Planting seeds.
- Best month, bad month
- The months a crop loves or hates.
- Curse
- A penalty from planting in a bad month.
- Plant health
- The hidden score that decides yield and survival.
- Bonus yield
- Extra harvest from a lucky roll.
- Compost
- Rotten food turned into fertilizer.
- Mildew, aphids, pest flies, slugs
- The 4 plant diseases.
- Guard plant
- A disease-immune crop that protects its neighbors.
- Harvest stage
- The growth stage when the crop is ready.
How sure are we?
Every fact here was checked in September 2026 for game version 42.20.4. Order of trust: the official wiki, then well-sourced fan guides, then player reports.
- Skill effects per level, XP rules and the rename. Confirmed on the official wiki.
- Moon phase health ranges, fertilizer dose effects, disease chances and cures. From fan guides citing the official wiki's 42.18 page. Numbers are approximate.
- The crop list. Around 55 crops. This guide gives examples only. The full table is on the official wiki.
- Carrot and onion in March. From a fan guide cross-checked against the wiki.
- Job and trait values. May change.
Sources
- PZwiki (the official wiki): Agriculture
- Build42guide.wiki farming page (diseases, cures, guard plants, new crops), citing PZwiki's 42.18 Agriculture page
- PZfans farming guide (moon phase health, fertilizer doses, harvest XP formula)
- Guides-factory agriculture guide, cross-checked against the wiki (seasons, tools, seed packets)
- Bamboo Gaming farming database for 42.20.4 (crop count, rooftop farming)
- XGamingServer farming guide (Farmer and Gardener cure recipes)