Fertilizer
Fertilizer is used to produce different effects to support crop growth and improve farming in general (see table below). Some fertilizer is used by placing it on tilled soil before placing the respective seeds; other fertilizer can be used after planting a seed, as well as during plant growth. Fertilizer remains in the soil all season. When the season changes fertilizer normally disappears, however if a cross-season crop like Corn is fertilized the fertilizer will remain in the soil and continue to provide benefits. Removing a crop using the pickaxe does not remove the fertilizer. Fertilizers cannot be stacked (only one type may be used per soil tile). Fertilizer in the greenhouse will disappear after one season, even with crops that are normally cross-season like Corn.
Types of Fertilizer
| Image | Name | Description | Pierre's | Oasis | Sell Price | Crafting | Farming Lvl. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Basic Fertilizer | Improves soil quality a little, increasing your chance to grow quality crops. Mix into tilled soil before planting. (~33% Regular / ~33% Silver / ~33% Gold) |  100g
|
2g
|
 Sap (2)
|
Lvl. 1 | |
|
Quality Fertilizer | Improves soil quality, increasing your chance to grow quality crops. Mix into tilled soil before planting. (~10% Regular / ~30% Silver / ~60% Gold) | 150g
|
10g
|
Sap (2) Fish
|
Lvl. 9 | |
|
Basic Retaining Soil | This soil has a chance of staying watered overnight. Mix into tilled soil before or after planting. | 100g
|
4g
|
 Stone (2)
|
Lvl. 4 | |
|
Quality Retaining Soil | This soil has a good chance of staying watered overnight. Mix into tilled soil before or after planting. | 150g
|
200g
|
5g
|
Stone (3) Clay (1)
|
Lvl. 7 |
|
Speed-Gro | Stimulates leaf production. Guaranteed to increase growth rate by at least 10%. Mix into tilled soil before or after planting. Does not reduce time between harvests for multi-harvest crops. | 100g
|
20g
|
 Pine Tar (1) Clam (1)(Each craft produces 5 Speed-Gro) |
Lvl. 3 | |
|
Deluxe Speed-Gro | Stimulates leaf production. Guaranteed to increase growth rate by at least 25%. Mix into tilled soil before or after planting. Does not reduce time between harvests for multi-harvest crops. | 150g
|
80g
|
40g
|
 Oak Resin (1) Coral (1)(Each craft produces 5 Deluxe Speed-Gro) |
Lvl. 8 |
Appearance
Once used on tilled soil, each type of fertilizer has a unique appearance, allowing you to see what type of fertilizer has been used on a given tile.
| Name | Unwatered | Watered |
|---|---|---|
| Basic Fertilizer | 
|
|
| Quality Fertilizer | 
|
|
| Basic Retaining Soil | 
|
|
| Quality Retaining Soil | 
|
|
| Speed-Gro | 
|
|
| Deluxe Speed-Gro | 
|
|
Tips
Crafting Fertilizers is always a better option than buying them, and will save you a lot of money throughout the course of the game.
Sap is very easy to come by (from cutting Trees and killing Slime), so remember to craft Basic Fertilizer as soon as you hit Farming Level 1. It is well worth it.
When you reach Fishing Level 3, a good tip is to craft a number of Crab Pots and place them in the small lakes within your farm + a few by the ocean. Use the caught Perriwinkles, Snails, Shrimps, Mussels and Oysters (classified as Fish) to combine with Sap to make Quality Fertilizer. Easy and cheap.
The Speed-Gro and Deluxe Speed-Gro variants are also cheaper to craft than to buy (contrary to earlier suggestions on this wiki page). For each Pine Tar/Clam combo, you actually get five Speed-Gro packs (1 Pine Tar + 1 Clam = 5 Speed-Gro), which saves both money and resources. Same goes for Deluxe Speed-Gro (1 Oak Resin + 1 Coral = 5 Deluxe Speed-Gro), so get those Tappers up and running.
| Image | Name | Cost Item | Price | Saving |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
Speed-Gro x 5 |
Pierre's |
| |
|
|
Deluxe Speed-Gro x 5 |
Pierre's Oasis |
|