sims 4 gardening grafting

When The Sims 4: Seasons was released the gardening skill gained a huge update, making it more profitable. Plants were changed so that they now evolve quicker, and weeding and watering can be done for several plants with one click. You'll also notice that plants are synchronized, with the game checking at 6 am each Sim day if the plant needs attention so by tending to plants late in the day you can prolong the time between watering.

However, the revamped gardening skill comes with some other complexities that you'll need to figure out in order to master it. Here's everything you need to know about gardening with Seasons.

Getting Started With Gardening

You can plant seeds either into a pot or directly into the ground meaning all you need to get started are some seed packets or produce from plants around the world. These are available by clicking on the pots and selecting purchase seeds or you can order them using a PC or your phone. If Harvestfest comes around and you appease your gnomes you'll also gain enough seeds to last your Sim a lifetime.

Most seeds can be planted into the small round pots or the large square ones. The exception to this is fruit such as apples and plantains as these will grow into large trees. The majority of trees must be planted into the ground or into the large square planters. If you try to plant a tree into a tub that is too small you'll get an error notification saying that the seed failed to germinate.

Plants And The Weather

The biggest change that came with Seasons is that plants have now become seasonal, unless you only own the base game. Each season has a specific selection of plants that will be harvestable during that time. Some plants are harvestable during more than one season but they all have dormant times. This adds realism to the game but can be frustrating if you only have a small amount of garden space.

Luckily there is a way to avoid this by creating greenhouses or other forms of shelter. Adding a roof above a plant makes the game consider the item "inside" and the weather and seasons will no longer affect it. You will need to tend plants inside more often though as they are also unable to be watered by the rain.

If your plants are outdoors the rain will water them and you can also use the weather machine to give them a dose of H2O before the timer ticks over. Just be aware that cold snaps aren't good for plants and only a few can blossom in the harsh winters.

Seasonal Harvests

As previously mentioned plants are now only able to be harvested during specific seasons. Below is a list of all the available fruits, herbs, and flowers and which seasons they will bloom in.

Spring

Base Game: Bird of paradise, bluebell, carrot, daisy, mushroom, orchid, parsley, rose, snapdragon, strawberry, tulip.

Seasons: Crocus, green peas. Outdoor Retreat: Fireleaf, morel mushroom. Get To Work: Fang flower

Summer

Base Game: Basil, blackberry, bluebell, bird of paradise, cherry, chrysanthemum, lily, parsley, plantain, tomato.

Seasons: Bell pepper, begonias, green beans. Outdoor Retreat: Chamomile, elderberry, fireleaf, huckleberry, morel mushroom. Jungle Adventure: Black beans. Get To Work: Quill fruit.

Via: simsvip.com

Fall

Base Game: Apple, basil, carrot, chrysanthemum, dragonfruit, grapes, mushrooms, onion, pear, rose, snapdragon.

Seasons: Begonias, dahlias, green beans, holly. Outdoor Retreat: Elderberry, huckleberry. Jungle Adventure: Black beans.

Winter

Base Game: Death flower, onion, orchid, pear, pomegranate, potato, spinach.

Seasons: Christmas rose, crocus, holly, snowdrop. Get To Work: Glow Orb.

Evergreen

Base Game: Bonsai buds, cowberry, grow fruit, lemon, sage, trash fruit, U.F.O.

Seasons: Money Tree. Jungle adventure: Emotion berries. Cats & Dogs: Catnip. Vampires: Garlic, mosquito trap, plasma fruit, wolfsbane.

Patchy The Scarecrow

Another addition to Seasons is Patchy. He's a scarecrow that starts out chilling in his tree before coming to life once befriended. You simply need to talk to him several times over a few days and he will eventually get up and walk around. While interacting with him on his tree you'll also find options to ask for gardening tips and search his pockets for seed packets. These can be handy to give your garden a boost.

Once he is walking around you can build up a relationship with him as you would any other Sim. He will continue to wander around your home, chill out and do some gardening. You can add him to your household and even have a family with him.

The Gardening Skill

There is a range of different tasks that level up gardening skills. These are planting, weeding, evolving, fertilizing, and killing bugs. You can also gain gardening skills by talking to plants (once available), reading books, and tending to bonsai trees.

Evolving can only be done when you've kept your plants healthy and happy. They will take on a glow and you can then select evolve, making them higher quality and able to produce items that sell for more simoleons.

As you level up your skills you'll also gain other abilities that make your life much easier. Here's what unlocks at each skill level.

Level 2: Research Gardening

This improves your focus which will help you build gardening skills a little faster.

Level 3: Fertilize Plants

This will mean your plants can evolve faster. Add fertilizer when you can to increase quality quicker.

Level 4: Talk to Plants

Talking to plants builds social needs and gardening experience. You can also purchase fall and spring seeds at this level.

Level 5: Cutting and Grafting

You will now have the ability to take a cutting of a plant and graft it to another, unlocking new plants in the process. You can also purchase winter and summer-specific seeds.

Level 6: AOE Weeding

As you weed it will benefit nearby plants as well, making the task much faster.

Level 7: Tend Garden

The tend garden ability means your Sim will automatically water and weed the garden with one click. This means no more checking every plant to see what's needed. You can also purchase farmer and uncommon seed packets through your phone or a pc.

Level 8: Super Sell

The super sell ability allows you to sell many plants at once to make money fast.

Level 9: Better Efficiency

Sims will water plants and weed faster.

Level 10: Rare Seeds Available

You can now purchase rare seed packets in order to help complete your plant collection.

Making Money With Gardening

The key to making money with gardening is to choose the right plants. While some high-value plants can be difficult to find, there are a surprising number of easy-to-find flowers and fruits that will bring in profit. Here are our top choices.

Grapes

These will only be in season during Fall but are now found in seed packets and sell for 33 simoleons.

Blackberry

Another easy-to-find fruit since Seasons, blackberries will ripen in the summer. They are a slower-growing fruit but yield 55 simoleons at harvest.

Orchids

These can be found in rare seed packets but also made by grafting lily and snapdragon, both of which are very common. Orchids will flower in both spring and winter filling in the gaps of the other choices. They sell for 22 Simoleons each and have a quick growth period.

Money Tree

You can purchase a money tree with 5,000 satisfaction points and literally grow simoleons on trees. If you move it to your inventory while it's full of produce it also has a chance to give you a seed. This will help you complete the gardening collection and allow you to grow an extra tree without spending more satisfaction points.

Grafting Plants For Profit And Convenience

Reaching level five skill is well worth it as this is when grafting unlocks and this will help your profits hugely. This is because grafting high-value plants onto fast-growing plants will give you more frequent yields. While you will get less of the high-value plant per harvest, the speed can make it worthwhile.

Green beans are the fastest-growing regular plant and are easy to find in seed packets. They also have and reasonable value and only take 12-24 hours to grow. Strawberries are another good choice as they take around 24 hours to grow and are also reasonably priced. For those with Outdoor Retreat huckleberries, huckleberries, and fireleaf all take around 18 hours to yield produce but are all low value.

All plants can now be found in seed packets, by fishing, or out in the world. However, grafting apple and cherry is still the easiest way to get pomegranates, while tulips and Chrysanthemums produce birds of paradise, and daisies and grapes produce bonsai buds. If the seed packet pulls are not in your favor then bluebells and strawberries will give you grapes

You can also graft dragonfruit by putting strawberries and snapdragon together. Combine the dragonfruit with more snapdragons in order to create cowberries.

Tips For Gardening In The Sims 4

Making money from gardening mostly comes down to time and patience. Plant as much as you can manage and check your garden once a day. If you evolve plants as soon as you are able to they'll also make more money quicker. Here are a few other final tips to help you make the most out of your garden.

Gardening is great for rags to riches scenarios as you can collect plants from around the world and plant them straight into the ground, meaning no initial investment is needed.
As well as making money from selling produce directly, flowers can also be used for flower arranging, a new skill in Seasons.
When grafting make sure you add a cutting of the second plant to the fastest-growing plant and not the other way around. The growth time in grafted plants is taken from the plant that has a cutting grafted into it.
Sprinklers can be added to the ground and will water plants in range once a day on a timer. Just make sure you check how far they reach and the pathing of your Sim to each plant when placing them.
Gardeners can also help keep on top of plants but they do cost money to hire. Speak to them on the phone for more details.

The gardening overhaul has made this skill more lucrative and easier than ever before. So pick up the trowel all Sims apparently have in their pockets and get planting.

Next: The Sims 4 - A Complete Guide

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