OSRS Farming Guide

 

Oct 18, 2021

Farming is one of the most hated skills in Oldschool RuneScape, mostly due to the confusing nature of some of the mechanisms of the skill. Additionally, there are a small amount of benefits of having a high Farming level (compared to other skills in the game), and finally, training the skill in a fast or ‘efficient’ manner is prohibitively expensive for many players. The fastest (and recommended) method of achieving Level 99 Farming is via planting Magic Trees, which at present costs almost 200M GP to go the entire way. If you don’t have this amount of gold then that’s no problem! We sell the cheapest gold on our website!

Why should you train your Farming skill in Oldschool Runescape?

Reasons for training Farming in OSRS are somewhat limited. Many players will level the Farming skill solely for the additional total levels and overall XP that it provides. Many players would consider Farming to be a ‘buyable’ skill, alongside the likes of Construction, Crafting, Herblore, Fletching and others. Unfortunately, the reasons for levelling the Farming skill are not very compelling in comparison to many other skills in the game.

 

Quest Requirements

Unfortunately, one of the main reasons players decide to train Farming at all is due to the fact that several quests have a Farming Level requirement before they are able to start the quest. The most notable mentions of this are the Fairy Tale Part II quest, which requires a Farming Level of 49. Partial completion of this quest will unlock the Fairy Ring transportation method, which is extremely useful and considered essential by many players.

Other worthy mentions are the Enlightened Journey quest (Level 30 Farming required) which unlocks the Balloon transportation method, which is slightly less useful than Fairy Rings. Finally, Level 29 Farming allows the player to complete My Arm’s Big Adventure, which unlocks the disease-free herb patch in Trollheim, a useful perk that we’ll discuss later.

Farming Guild

A recent addition to OSRS is the introduction of the Farming Guild. Level 45 Farming is required to enter the guild, alongside 60% Hosidius House favour. Additionally, players will have access to Farming Contracts, with the Beginner Tier being unlocked at Level 45, the Intermediate Tier being unlocked at Level 65, and the Advanced Tier being unlocked at Level 85.

 

Herb Runs

Herb runs are a popular method of making some gold semi-passively whilst playing the game. I’ll cover Herb Runs in detail further on in the guide, but essentially by having a higher Farming Level, you are able to plant higher level herb seeds, which are often more profitable than lower level seeds. Seeds such as Ranarr Seeds, Snapdragon Seeds and Torstol Seeds are among the most profitable to plant historically.

The Basics Of Farming

Before planting anything, it is useful to understand how the Farming process works within OSRS. The mechanics behind growth cycles are complicated to explain, but the basic gist is this: each type of seed has a built-in ‘grow time’, after which the patch will be ready to harvest. Notable grow times are as follows:

Allotment Seeds - 40/50/60/70 Minutes for a full cycle, depending on the level of the seed

All Herb Seeds - 80 Minutes for a full cycle

Maple Tree Seeds - 5 Hours 20 Minutes for a full cycle

Yew Tree Seeds - 6 Hours 40 Minutes for a full cycle

Magic Tree Seeds - 8 Hours for a full cycle

 

Tools

You’ll need to take a Rake, Spade and Seed Dibber on every Farming run that you undertake. The Rake is used to clear empty patches of the weeds that will grow over time if the patch is left uninhabited. The spade is used to clear dead crops, and also to harvest crops that are fully grown. The Seed Dibber is required for planting seeds in a patch.

You’ll also want to take a Watering Can with you if you’re growing within allotment, flower or hop patches. A Watering Can is also required to grow a tree sapling, which is a tree seed planted in a plant pot.