[Guide] Valheim: grow your first crops and spot planting problems

Once you have planted, hover over the seedlings to read their status. Valheim.tools recommends this check because it can reveal an unsuitable biome, insufficient space or an obstructed sky. The appearance of the ground alone will not tell you whether these planting conditions are suitable. If a warning appears, begin by checking what the message tells you to look for.

The fan guide describes a cycle of preparation, planting, waiting, harvesting and replanting from part of the harvest. Treat the next planting as a use for your produce from the outset, rather than allocating everything to immediate needs. Remember to plan for replanting after the harvest, too.

Use the seedling warning to find the problem

Read the condition reported by the seedling before changing the plot. A biome warning concerns the planting location. A space warning points to the room around the plant. An obstructed-sky warning concerns what is overhead. These messages direct you toward different checks, so a change that addresses one condition may leave another unresolved.

After addressing the reported condition, hover over the seedling again and check whether the warning has disappeared. This gives you a result to verify: a visibly altered plot is not enough to confirm that the plant’s problem has been resolved. If the same message remains, continue checking that condition before waiting and checking whether the crop is ready to harvest.

For a spacing problem, use the plant’s status to assess your adjustment rather than choosing an arbitrary distance. If the warning instead names the biome or the sky, focus on the location or overhead obstruction. The benefits of Farming and the Scythe concern tool use and harvesting, so they serve a different purpose from diagnosing planting conditions.

Allow growing time, then check the crop

The growing cycle described by Valheim.tools allows roughly two game days between planting and harvesting. Use that as an approximate time to return to the plot, not a guaranteed deadline for every crop. It refers to days passing within Valheim, rather than two real-world days.

When you return, check whether the crop is ready to harvest. If it is not, read its status again: a warning about the biome, space or obstructed sky calls for troubleshooting the planting conditions. Without such a warning, the estimate alone is not a reason to declare the planting unsuccessful; allow more time and check again.

Harvest quantity is a separate consideration. The Farming skill gives a chance of bonus yield, according to the official The Bog Witch patch notes. Plan around what you actually collect rather than treating that possible extra produce as part of your expected harvest.

Keep a reserve for the next planting

Before using your harvest, set aside the portion intended for another growing cycle. Replanting is the final step in the Valheim.tools process, and reserving produce first makes that choice concrete: you know what remains available for other needs.

The compromise is immediate availability. Produce kept for replanting cannot also be used elsewhere, so match your reserve to the planting you want to repeat and the amount you collected. If an immediate need takes priority, reduce your next planting plans to fit what remains. A possible bonus yield cannot cover that decision until you have harvested it.

To begin another cycle, follow the same sequence: prepare the plot with the Cultivator, plant and inspect the new seedlings. Once planting conditions are suitable, consider which part of the work you want to make easier—using farming tools or collecting mature crops. The official The Bog Witch patch notes describe the effects of Farming and the Scythe.

Farming and the Scythe help with different tasks

The official The Bog Witch patch notes, published on October 29, 2024 for version 0.219.13, give the Farming skill several effects: it reduces the stamina cost of using the Cultivator, increases the durability of farming items and gives a chance of bonus yield when harvesting. These benefits concern tool use and the amount collected; keep those purposes distinct when deciding what would help your routine.

The harvest bonus is a chance, not guaranteed extra produce in every cycle. When it occurs, it gives you more to divide between replanting and other uses. Make that allocation after collecting the crop, when the available amount is known.

The Scythe speeds up crop harvesting, according to the same notes. If collecting mature crops is the task you want to accelerate, that is its stated benefit. If Cultivator use consumes more stamina than you would like, Farming’s stamina reduction addresses that concern instead. Faster harvesting and a chance of greater yield are separate benefits.

The official Valheim 1.0 launch notes list Kale, Oats, Poteitr and Timberwood under “Plantable”. That listing does not establish shared growing conditions for all of them, so check the status of the plants you place rather than assuming the same plot suits every entry. The notes appear in the official Valheim announcement archive.

For a first cycle, resolve seedling warnings before relying on the waiting-time estimate. At harvest, keep enough to start growing again before allocating the remainder. For later cycles, choose the benefit that addresses your actual task: easier Cultivator use through Farming, or faster harvesting with the Scythe.

Sources and references

• Valheim game page: store.steampowered.com
• Official August 4, 2020 update on the Cultivator and the Hoe: store.steampowered.com
• Official The Bog Witch patch notes: store.steampowered.com
• Official Valheim 1.0 launch notes: store.steampowered.com
• Unofficial growing guide: Valheim.tools
• Other articles from the publication: JEU.VIDEO