First Spring farming: crops, deadlines and the Meadowlands start
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Start with a patch you can comfortably water, then check how many growing days remain before buying more seeds. A small crop bed leaves room in your day to try fishing and explore. These dates use unmodded 1.6 mechanics, ordinary outdoor soil and no growth-speed bonuses.
Check your starting gift
Most farm maps give you 15 Parsnip Seeds. Meadowlands gives you a coop, two chickens and 15 Hay instead. If you chose Meadowlands and want to grow crops, obtain seeds separately; the hay is not a seed packet. Starting farm gifts
Clear a small patch, hoe the soil, plant your seeds and water the tiles that day. Refill your watering can by using it at a water source. Check your bed each morning: outdoor rain handles watering, while dry days need your attention. Watering
Growth time counts nights after planting. A four-day crop planted and watered on Spring 1 is ready on Spring 5. Missing a watering day pauses growth for that night; it does not kill the crop. Spring-only crops wither when Summer begins, so a late planting needs enough time to finish. Crop growth
Choose seeds that fit your calendar
At Pierre’s, Parsnip Seeds cost 20g, Potato Seeds 50g, Bean Starters 60g and Cauliflower Seeds 80g. Parsnips give a short first growing cycle. A small mix lets you try different crops without committing your whole bed to the slowest one. Spring seed prices
| Crop | Growth nights | Planted Spring 1: first harvest | Latest plant-and-water day for a Spring 28 harvest |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parsnip | 4 | Spring 5 | Spring 24 |
| Potato | 6 | Spring 7 | Spring 22 |
| Green Bean | 10 | Spring 11 | Spring 18 |
| Cauliflower | 12 | Spring 13 | Spring 16 |
The last column is a one-harvest deadline. It assumes daily watering and no speed bonus. Green Beans regrow every three days after the first harvest, so planting at their deadline leaves no time for another picking. Keep bean trellises reachable: you cannot walk through them. Potato plants can produce extra potatoes, but do not budget around a guaranteed bonus. Parsnip, Potato, Green Bean, Cauliflower
Plan your Egg Festival purchase
The Egg Festival is on Spring 13. Enter Pelican Town between 9am and 2pm, and buy Strawberry Seeds before starting the Egg Hunt. They cost 100g each. Shopping ends with the hunt, and leaving the festival returns you to the farm at 10pm. Prepare and water a small empty bed before attending if you want to plant that night. Egg Festival, seed price
Strawberries take eight nights to reach their first harvest, then regrow every four days. With daily watering and prompt harvesting:
- Plant Spring 13: harvest Spring 21 and 25.
- Plant Spring 14: harvest Spring 22 and 26.
Both schedules give two ordinary Spring harvests. Missing the festival-night planting does not automatically cost you a picking. Strawberry growth
Before you expand or sell
More than 15 growing crops can attract crows if no scarecrow covers them. Before expanding, protect the bed and make sure you can still reach every plant. If watering was missed, move the expected harvest later and check it against Spring 28. Harvest Spring-only crops before the season ends. Crop protection and seasons
For the standard Community Center route, save one Parsnip, Green Bean, Cauliflower and Potato for the Spring Crops Bundle. Check your actual scroll if you selected remixed bundles. Spring Crops Bundle