This is a guide to farming in Rune Factory 5, with details on each step to growing crops. Learn the meaning of all the farming terms like Soil Level and Crop Level, and how to raise each of them to grow crops efficiently.

How to Farm and Grow Crops

1. Use a Hoe to Cultivate the Land

Cultivating the land with the Hoe makes it ready for planting seeds. You can only use the Hoe on one square at a time at first, but higher-level Hoes are able to cultivate multiple squares at once by charging the B button.

2. Plant Seeds in the Cultivated Land

Plant a seed in each square of land you cultivated with the Hoe. You can't plant seeds in spaces which haven't been cultivated or already have a seed, so don't worry about accidentally dropping them. By charging the B button, you can plant seeds in a 2x2 square.

3. Give it Water Every Day until it Bears Fruit

Use the Watering Can to give water to each crop. You'll know that a crop has been successfully watered if the ground turns a darker shade of brown. If it doesn't change color, check the Watering Can icon in the lower left of the screen to see if you have water left; if it's empty, go to the well and press B to refill.

Each crop will begin to sprout and grow bigger every day as long as you give it water. If you do not water a plant, it will not grow, and will sometimes even wither and die, so be sure to water any crops you've planted every day.

On rainy days, crops will gradually be watered automatically, but if the rain suddenly stops, the crops might not be watered completely. Check your crops if the rain stops and make sure the ground has turn a darker shade of brown.

4. Either Harvest the Crop or Use the Sickle to Get Higher-Level Seeds

Once the crop bears fruit, you will be able to tell by the yellow indicator which appears over it. You can either press A to pick the crop, or use the Sickle to turn it into a bag of higher-level Seeds.

When the crop has been picked, the soil will return to the state from before it was cultivated, so you'll need to use the Hoe to cultivate it again each time.

Some Crops will Replant Automatically

Crops like the Pumpkin and Tomato will automatically continue to grow after they have been picked as long as they still have HP. As long as you continue to water them, they will continue to bear fruit continually.

Use the Sickle to Get Higher-Level Seeds

If you use the Sickle on a fully-grown crop instead of picking it, you'll get Seeds of a higher level than the plant they were grown from. Crops of a higher level can be sold for a higher profit, so if you're planning on selling Crops to earn money, continuing to re-grow Seeds from the same Crops will help you maximize your profit.

The maximum level of the resulting Seeds has a level cap based on the quality of the Sickle used, so if the level of the resulting Seeds stops increasing, you'll need to craft a better Sickle to continue raising the Seeds' level.

Farming Basics

Farms have 4 Squares in Each Plot

Each Farm has 2x2 squares of arable land in a single plot. Nutrient items like Greenifier and Formula A, as well as the soil-improving effects of Corn and Withered Grass, each have an effect on the plot of 4 squares. Giant Crops also require a space within one plot, so it's best to consider your fields on a plot-by-plot basis.

To Every Crop, There is a Season

Each crop has seasons in which it is easy to grow in, and seasons which it is difficult to grow in. Crops will grow at a 1.5x rate in advantageous seasons, and at a 0.5x rate in disadvantageous seasons.

However, seasons only affects the speed at which crops grow, and it is possible to grow any crop in any season.

Harvest Reports

By talking to Livia when she is on duty, you'll be able to get information on the bountiful harvests and poor harvests for the current week and the following week.

The crops which will have a bountiful harvest and a poor harvest change on a weekly basis. Crops with a bountiful harvest will yield more resulting items than normal, while crops with a poor harvest will yield fewer resulting items. When a crop you're planting or want to plant has a poor harvest, continue water plants without picking them to wait for a normal or bountiful harvest. When a bountiful harvest comes for a crop you're planting, use items like Formula A to make them grow faster and maximize your results.

Crop Stats and Meanings

Use the Magnifying Glass to Check Crop Stats

You can check the stats of each of your Crops and Soil using the Magnifying Glass item for sale in the Serendipity General Store for 2000G.

Soil Level Increases as you Plant Crops

In Rune Factory 5, as you continue to plant crops in the same soil, the Soil Level will also increase. This will make it more resistant to hurricanes and produce better crops, making Soil Level highly important. Besides simply continuing to plant crops in the same soil, players can also improve the Soil Level using items like Greenifier and Formula A.

All Crop Stats and Meanings

Health and HP

Health of the Soil and HP of Crops are two more stats which affect Farming. When these values decrease, the speed at which Crops grow will slow down. Plants which grow continually like Pumpkins and Tomatoes will disappear completely when their HP or the Health of the soil they are on reaches 0.

You can recover the HP and Health of Soil by placing Withered Grass, Corn, or 4-Leaf Clovers on top of it and hitting it with the Hoe.

Special Weather Which Affects Farming

Typhoons and Blizzards

Typhoons occurring in Summer and Snowstorms occurring in Winter are both weather conditions which can destroy your crops and cause stones and branches to appear on your Farms, and greatly decrease the HP of all planted Crops. Using the Wettable Powder item on Crops will help mitigate the disaster, but its effectiveness is not 100%.

On the day before a typhoon or a blizzard will come, the townspeople will discuss the oncoming weather, so be sure to prepare your Crops with Wettable Powder or harvest them in advance.

Runey Weather

A rare weather known as Runey Days will allow Crops to grow at 5x the usual rate. Runeys, a special item which increase your RP, are also more likely to appear from harvested Crops. This weather has only positive effects, so be sure to take advantage of Runey Days as much as possible.

Rune Factory 5 Related Guides

Tips and Tricks