Farming training

Training farming starts with harvesting allotments, hops and bushes at lower levels and shifts focus to wood trees and fruit trees at higher levels.

Doing farm runs for all patches is the general approach to farming until around level 70—specific advice for each of the patches and runs is found below. Hops and bush patches are middling experience and many players avoid them entirely, instead focusing on allotments and wood/fruit trees. After about level 70, patches other than trees and some special patches become inefficient, and should generally be avoided. The exception is herbs: farming herbs from allotments is often nicely profitable, and higher-levelled herbs yield modest experience.

In this article, advice that applies to both wood trees and fruit trees will refer to "trees." When advice applies only to wood trees or to fruit trees, the applicable term is used. Strawberries and watermelon are referred to as vegetables here for convenience.

As with all training guides, players should sample many options before deciding what is best for their specific situation. It is best to experiment with all modes of training before deciding what is optimal; do not blindly follow advice given here.

General tactics

 * Buy a scroll of life as soon as possible. The value of its seed-saving ability cannot be overstated.


 * Using "farm runs," (or "crop runs") which entail rapidly harvesting and re-planting specific sets of patches, is best. There are five sets of patches: allotments, hops, bushes, trees and fruit trees. Special patches, such as cactus or belladonna, may be included in these runs, and doing allotment runs but only harvesting herbs is also common. When starting these runs, withdraw all teleport items, seeds and payments and use the toolbelt for tools. Make sure you have a watering can and compost with the leprechauns, but using the toolbelt will prevent you forgetting tools.


 * All patches (except herb patches) have a farmer attached to them. These farmers will offer advice on farming, but more importantly they will ensure that no crops in their patch will die&mdash;so long as they are paid each time something is planted. The payment depends on the crop planted; it is usually yield from a lower-levelled crop. A full list of all seeds and payments is here. Players need to perform their own calculations on the value of these protections, though advice is given in each section below.


 * Super compost is always a good idea on patches. Patches with variable yield (herb, hops and vegetable patches) will have increased yield when grown with compost. Bushes and fruit trees will always yield the same number of produce (for example, all fruit trees will yield six fruits) and so compost does not affect their yield. However, compost also make plants less likely to die, which saves time and money. It is also good to use compost even on patches which the farmer has been paid to protect: though compost is not needed to ensure survival for these crops, it will make crops grow in less time. (Crops grow in a specific number of cycles of a predetermined time, such as ten cycles of forty minutes for yew trees. If a plant gets diseased during a cycle and is cured, it must start the cycle over. Protecting farmers do not prevent disease, they simply cure it instantly. Since compost reduces the likelihood of disease, it also means that plants are less likely to have to repeat a cycle, thus allowing them to be harvested sooner.)
 * Player-made super compost is inexpensive and should always be used on herbs. Coconut shells and pineapples are cheap and easily purchasable items which can be used to make super compost. It is a simple thing to make a batch of super compost each allotment run, and should be done. Regular compost is perhaps sufficient for many low-levelled crops, but super compost is preferable unless the player is destitute.


 * The Amulet of farming and the Amulet of nature are useful tools. These amulets can be bound to specific patches, and will alert the player about the status of the crop: if the player is wearing the amulet while online, it will hum when the patch becomes diseased or becomes fully grown. They can also be rubbed to check the status of the patch. The amulet of farming will be destroyed after eight charges are used (one is used each time the amulet is rubbed) and can only be bound to allotment patches. The amulet of nature can be bound to any patch, and has unlimited charges. The amulet of nature will further allow players to remotely pay the farmer to watch the patch, as well as be teleported to the patch if the crop becomes diseased. These amulets can be quite useful in ensuring that farm runs are done efficiently, since players can know the instant the crops are fully grown and thus another run may be started. Consider using an amulet of farming for allotment runs, and an amulet of nature for tree runs.


 * Make clever use of time when planting trees. Try to do a run in the morning, once midday and once before retiring. Yews, for example, need six hours to grow but three runs can be done in just over twelve hours (8:00 am, just past 2:00pm and just past 8:00pm).


 * If possible, try doing Fairy Tale 1 - Growing Pains because of its 3500 farming experience reward while requiring no farming level requirement. If done at level 1 farming this reward will level you straight to level 17 farming (nearly 18), allowing you to start farming oak trees which are generally easier and faster experience than farming vegetables.

Farm running
Crop running is rapidly harvesting and replanting all the patches in any given set of crop: allotments (which have two vegetable patches, one flower patch and one herb patch); hops patches; bush patches; wood tree patches; and fruit tree patches.

Allotments
There are four allotments: Falador, Ardougne, Port Phasmatys and Catherby. (Maps are available here.)

Common ways to get to these patches include, in decreasing order of efficiency:
 * Falador: Using the explorer ring to teleport to the cabbage patch; a player-planted spirit tree in Port Sarim; using the Amulet of Glory to teleport to Draynor; Draynor Village lodestone teleport.
 * Ardougne: Any of the capes given as a reward from the Ardougne tasks (though only the elite cape provides unlimited teleports); Fishing Guild Teleport; using the skills necklace to teleport to the Fishing Guild; using the combat bracelet to teleport to Ranging Guild; Ardougne city teleport. Ardougne lodestone teleport.
 * Port Phasmatys: Ectophial; using the Ring of Slaying to teleport to the Slayer Tower; Fairy ring ALQ, Kharyrll Teleport (Ancient Spellbook)
 * Catherby: Catherby Teleport; Camelot teleport. Catherby lodestone teleport.
 * For general allotment runs, the order of patches is unimportant. Many players like to end in Catherby, because there is a bank nearby. A commonly used order is Ardougne→Port Phasmatys→Falador→Catherby.


 * Plant the highest-levelled vegetable possible in the allotments.
 * Specific fully grown flowers will protect specific growing vegetables from disease, thus ensuring their survival. A list of which flowers protect which vegetables is available here, and white lilies protect all vegetables. Players must decide if they wish to harvest the flower patch each time and pay the farmer to protect vegetables, or if they will leave a planted flower in place and use it to protect the vegetables. If using a flower to protect the vegetables, plant the one which corresponds to the vegetable planted. If instead using the farmer to protect the vegetables, plant the highest-levelled flower possible (for experience) or marigolds/limpwurt roots (for profit).
 * Choosing which herb to plant is trickier. Valuable herbs need more-expensive seeds, and herbs always run the risk of dying. Players should use this calculator to decide which herb is best for their situation; snapdragon, toadflax and avantoe are generally considered good options.
 * Using produce on the leprechaun will note it, so do that instead of dropping the produce. Consider also using the produce in the compost bin to make compost.

Hops runs
There are four hops patches: Lumbridge farm, McGrubor's Wood, Yanille and Entrana. (Maps available here.)


 * Lumbridge farm: Using the combat bracelet to teleport to the Champion's Guild; Lumbridge teleport; canoe travel from anywhere on the River Lum.
 * McGrubor's Wood: Camelot teleport; Fairy ring ALS; using the combat bracelet to teleport to the Ranging Guild.
 * Yanille: Watchtower teleport; Teleporting to the Yanille house portal; Fairy ring CIQ.
 * Entrana: Balloon transport system; Amulet of Glory teleport to Draynor.
 * Specific order is unimportant, though keep in mind what items may not be taken to Entrana.


 * Plant the highest-levelled hops available: they are not generally profitable, so experience is the focus.
 * Consider ignoring these runs: they are poor experience and inconveniently located.

Bush runs
There are four bush patches: Champion's Guild, Rimmington, Kandarin Monastery and Etceteria. (Maps available here.)


 * Champion's Guild: Using the combat bracelet to teleport to the Champion's Guild; Lumbridge teleport; canoe travel from anywhere on the River Lum.
 * Rimmington: Teleporting to the Rimmington house portal; using the Skills Necklace to teleport to the Crafting Guild; Balloon transport.
 * Kandarin Monastery: Any of the Ardougne task set capes; Fairy ring DJP.
 * Etceteria: Player-planted spirit tree; Fairy ring CIP.
 * The Champion's Guild bush patch can be done at the same time as the Lumbridge farm hops patch to save trips.


 * Plant the highest-levelled bushes available: they are not generally profitable, so experience is the focus. Poison ivy seeds will always survive and therefore cannot be protected by the farmer.

Wood tree runs
There are five wood tree patches: Lumbridge, Varrock Castle, Tree Gnome Stronghold, Falador Park and Taverley. (Maps available here.)


 * Lumbridge: Lumbridge teleport; using the Amulet of Glory to teleport to Draynor.
 * Varrock Castle: Varrock teleport; Ring of Wealth teleport to the Grand Exchange; GE Spirit Tree.
 * Falador Park: Falador Teleport; Skills Necklace teleport to the Mining Guild.
 * Tree Gnome Stronghold: Spirit tree; Gnome glider.
 * Taverley: Teleporting to the Taverley house portal; Falador teleport.
 * Varrock Castle (Varrock teleport)→Gnome Stronghold (GE Spirit tree)→Lumbridge (Lumbridge teleport)→Taverley (House teleport)→Falador Park (Falador teleport).


 * Unlike allotments, hops and bushes, trees are not grown by using a seed directly in the soil. They must be made into saplings first. Saplings are created by using a seed, with a trowel in the inventory, on a plant pot which has soil in it; they must then be watered with a watering can. Once watered, it will take anywhere from seconds to ten minutes before they sprout into saplings. They will sprout into saplings while stored in the bank. It is good to have a large sum of these saplings already grown when training. Saplings cannot be sold, however, so care should be taken to not make more saplings than needed.
 * Use a sapling on an empty tree plot with a spade in the inventory. To remove a tree, chop it down with a hatchet, and use a spade on the stump to remove it and receive roots.
 * Consider not chopping these trees down, and instead paying the farmer 200 gp to remove it. The leprechaun will not note the logs received from chopping trees down, so they must be dropped (or lit on fire) and this takes time. No roots will be received if the farmer chops the tree down, but there is still a chance to get a seed back from the scroll of life.
 * Nominal experience is gotten from planting the saplings, but most experience is derived from checking the health of the trees once they are done growing. Once the health is checked, they may be chopped down like a normal tree. They will regrow and may be chopped down again for more logs, but the health cannot be checked again.
 * Acorns and willow seeds are cheap: plant acorns from levels 15–30 and willows from 30–45. Maple, yew and magic seeds are more expensive and are plantable at 45, 60 and 75, respectively. Deciding which seed above willow to plant depends on the player's goals and means: the highest-levelled seed will yield the most experience, of course. But players who are conscious of the cost should consider their funds when deciding which seed to plant. This calculator may be of assistance when deciding.
 * Once the health of a willow tree is checked, it will begin to sprout willow branches. These may be trimmed by using secateurs on the fully grown tree. The branches are used as a tertiary in a Giant Ent pouch, and so are modestly profitable. However, only six grow at a time and they cannot be clipped immediately after checking the health. Efficient farming requires that new trees be planted immediately after checking the health of old ones, so serious farmers should ignore these branches.
 * Acorns and willow seeds are cheap and their payments comparatively high; paying for these is only a good idea if players are only interested in the fastest experience possible with no concern for cost. Maple and magic seeds should always be protected, but protecting yew seeds is an inefficient use of funds. The cost of their protection is almost as much as the seed itself: over time players will spend more money if they protect all yew seeds instead of protecting none and having some die. They should only be protected if players are totally unconcerned with money and only seek the fastest experience possible.

Fruit tree runs
There are six fruit tree patches: Gnome Stronghold, Catherby, Gnome Village, Brimhaven, Lletya and the Herblore Habitat. (Maps available here.)


 * Gnome Stronghold: Spirit tree; Gnome Glider.
 * Catherby: Catherby teleport, Gnome Glider to the top of White Wolf Mountain; Camelot teleport.
 * Gnome Village: Spirit tree; Fairy ring CIQ.
 * Brimhaven: Take the boat from Ardougne for 30gp; player-planted spirit tree; Karamja Gloves 3 to Shilo Village, Cart to Brimhaven; House teleport to Brimhaven; Charter ship to Brimhaven
 * Lletya: Elf teleport crystal.
 * Herblore habitat: Witchdoctor mask; juju teleport spiritbag.
 * Gnome Stronghold (GE Spirit Tree)→Gnome Village (Gnome Stronghold Spirit Tree)→Catherby (Catherby Teleport)→Brimhaven (Charter boat from Catherby docks to Brimhaven)→Herblore Habitat (Witchdoctor mask)→Lletya (Elf crystal).


 * The mechanics of these runs are generally similar to wood tree runs. Instead of logs they yield six fruit which will regrow over time once picked. Giant Ent familiars give the possibility of picking two instead of one fruit, so summoning one for runs is advisable. All fruit must be picked to chop the tree down, and no logs will be given when chopping nor will roots be given when removing the stump. Farmers will remove the tree for 200 gp like wood trees, but since these do not give logs it is not necessary.
 * Apple, banana, orange and curry seeds are inexpensive the highest possible of these seeds should be planted. Pineapple, papaya and palm at levels 51, 57 and 68 respectively are more expensive. As with wood trees, players need to consider their financial means as well as their experience goals when deciding which seeds above curry to plant.
 * Apple, banana, orange and curry seeds should only be protected if experience is the only consideration: the seeds are cheap and the payments expensive. Pineapple, papaya and palm seeds should be protected.

Special plants

 * Spirit trees are worth planting. The seeds are generally free to get and the payment is nominal. Only one may be planted at a time (two after Prisoner Of Glouphrie) and so players will need to decide which location is most useful.
 * Calquat seeds, which can only be planted in the middle of Tai Bwo Wannai, should be planted at level 72. The seeds are enormously cheap for the experience they give. The best way to get to the location is the Tai Bwo Wannai teleport scroll. These trees may be harvested individually or made part of another farm run. Fruit tree runs are convenient for this purpose: the Brimhaven fruit tree patch is a quick run north from the calquat patch and so teleporting to Tai Bwo Wannai may be used instead of taking the ship from Ardougne. Calquat have long growth times, however, and are prone to disease. Instead of waiting for the calquat to be done before starting a fruit tree run, simply do fruit tree runs on schedule and check calquats while running by. The amulet of nature is useful for this purpose, as it can be used to check whether calquats are done.
 * No other special crop&mdash;Belladonna and Evil Turnips at Draynor Manor; Mushrooms at Canifis and Cacti in Al Kharid&mdash;is much worth doing regularly. The cactus is useful to plant, as its spines will regrow once picked, and they can be picked whenever in the area. The other three must be replanted after each harvest, and are so not very useful.
 * The Jade vine may be worth farming after Back to my Roots, giving 1500 Farming experience.

Herb runs
Generally, the only way to make considerable money in farming is by growing herbs. Other produce is salable but tends to be poor money. The mechanics for herb runs are similar to allotment runs, though it is advisable to include the patch atop Trollheim, unlocked by doing My Arm's Big Adventure. This patch allows more herbs to be planted and herbs planted in it will not die. Herbs grow in 80 minutes, so several runs may be done a day. It is also highly profitable to use juju farming potions, obtained from the Herblore Habitat. If using juju potions, be sure to start at Trollheim. The potion only lasts five minutes, so drinking it just before harvesting from Trollheim ensures the length from the Trollheim teleport to the patch need not be walked while the potion is active.

Other tips for training

 * Set the gatherers on Miscellania to collect at least some maple logs. This will yield bird nests, which often have high-level seeds in them. More importantly, they may contain spirit seeds. Spirit seeds yield the highest experience for any single seed, and are cheap to farm. While level 83 may seem unattainable at early levels, having collected a nice stack of them over time is helpful when they can finally be planted.


 * If ignoring bush patches, consider planting at least one at the patch next to the Monastery. Wear an Ardougne cape and teleport to the Monastery before each farming run, and pick the berries each time to sell for profit.


 * Growing and High Alching Aloe in Daemonheim has been recorded to realistically gain around 9k xp per patch per hour. More xp per hour could be gained by doing multiple patches, however the xp per hour per patch would be reduced slightly.