What version 1.0 changed
In its changelog from October 14, 2026, Keen Games adjusted several things related to farming:
- Plant growth times were lowered overall. The rule: small plants grow faster, large plants and trees take longer. Keen gave no new numbers.
- Farm animals now produce goods "significantly faster".
- Cooking: yields and production times of many recipes were made more generous. Skewer recipes were added for the Revelwood tier.
- Puke Potion: a new potion among the personal recipes that removes all ongoing food buffs.
- The Watering Can got a tutorial, and cooking was removed from the Iron Fireplace.
- Old, pre-made farmbeds were removed from several farms in Embervale.
What the changelog does not change: the number of food slots, the Dessert Stomach skill or fertilizer. Survivors also still do not look after your animals.
How to start a farm: steps
- Rescue the Farmer. Emily Fray waits in an Ancient Vault in the Springlands. The quest "Growing Stronger Together" unlocks her. Sources describe the order differently (our starter guide says the Hunter gives you the quest, P4wnyhof says you get it after unlocking the Blacksmith), so develop the Blacksmith and the Ancient Spire first.
- Summon her to your base with the Summoning Staff. Note that a base is defined by a Flame Altar, see where to build your base.
- Make Farm Soil at the Farmer: 7 Springlands Dirt + 3 Bonemeal gives 10 pieces. Bonemeal comes from bones ground in a grindstone (from the Alchemist).
- Place a Seedbed (10 Wood Logs, 2 Metal Scraps, 10 Farm Soil). This is where you turn gathered fruit and vegetables into seedlings, 3 minutes per batch, usually x5.
- Provide water to the Seedbed tank: a well in your base fills it with one button. Details in water and wells.
- Plant inside your own Flame Altar area. Players report that outside it the game refuses ("needs a building area"), even on the pre-made plots in farm ruins.
- Harvest and multiply. A mature plant gives its produce and new seeds.
You unlock a seedling by gathering that produce in the world (exception: the Shroud Flayer Seedling after defeating the Shroud Flayer). For where to find what, see also resources.
Farm soil and fertilizer
| Type | Recipe (at the Farmer) | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Farm Soil | 7 Springlands Dirt + 3 Bonemeal (10 pieces) | speeds up growth of most plants |
| Fertilised Farm Soil | 10 Farm Soil + 10 Any Sand + 3 Nitrate + 2 Fossilized Bone Dust (10 pieces) | speeds up growth more, required by e.g. Pumpkin, Banana, Rice, Saffron, Shiitake |
| Nitrate | Laboratory: 5 Shroud Sand, 1 Wood Acid, 1 Salt, 5 Any Sand (yields 5) | fertilizer ingredient |
| Flower Soil | 10 Farm Soil + 1 Honey | soil for decorative plants |
Plants also grow on plain dirt, soil only sets the pace. The bottleneck is Fossilized Bone Dust: after launch a player counted more than 9 hours of grinding for 300 pieces at maximum workshop timers. So it pays to:
- build several grindstones,
- dig ready-made soil in the farm ruins of the Springlands (players name Peaceful Acres and Harvest Homestead; these are existing places, not a 1.0 addition),
- rake out a single block of Farm Soil across the whole field, then dig it up with a pickaxe.
According to P4wnyhof, fertilizer gives up to "four times faster" growth, but that is the only source for this number.
Water: do plants need watering
Sources differ here. The wiki says seedlings need water, while players after launch say planted crops do not need watering (exception: rice and algae, which stand in water). The safest reading: water goes into the Seedbed, and the Watering Can is mostly for checking the growth stage and preferred soil. Test it in your own world.
Plants and growth times
The times below are wiki data from before the 1.0 changes. Treat them as an upper limit, since small plants now grow faster.
| Plant | Wiki time | Where from |
|---|---|---|
| Tomato | 15 min | Springlands |
| Strawberry | 25 min | Revelwood |
| Corn | 30 min | Springlands (Corncob) |
| Bell Pepper | 30 min | Nomad Highlands |
| Pumpkin, Banana | 1 h 10 min | Albaneve Summits, Veilwater Basin |
| Trees | 1 h | usually Farm Soil + Twigs |
Plants from Cinder's Cradle (Thyme, Prickle Pearl, Bloomheart Fruit, Aurora Beans) have no times on the wiki yet.
Farm animals
You tame them with bait from the Farmer, then pet them until the hearts fill up. An animal needs a bed (Farm Animal Pillow) and a feeder, and then it produces goods now and then: the Common Goat gives milk, the Flightless Redtail eggs, the Yak wool, and the Frizzy Goat Frizzy Goat Milk. To breed, you need two animals of the same species and a free bed. The cap is 128 animals per base, and fish in a pond count toward it. In 1.0 they produce faster.
Food: how buffs work
- You have 3 food slots from the start, and the Dessert Stomach skill (4 skill points) gives a fourth.
- Only one dish of a given type works at a time. You can refresh a slot when about 20% of its time is left.
- Raw food hurts (e.g. raw meat: -75 Stamina), so cook it.
- You can remove buffs with the Puke Potion.
| Type | What it boosts | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Meat | health | Grilled Game +80 Health |
| Grains | melee damage | Cooked Rice +21% Melee |
| Mushrooms | magic damage | Mushroom Omelette +12% Magic |
| Vegetables | ranged and dagger | Vegetable Soup +12% Ranged and Dagger |
| Herbs | mana | Sage Leaves +60 Mana |
| Fruits | health regeneration | Strawberry +9 Health Regeneration |
| Sweets, liquids | stamina regeneration | Honey +30 Stamina Regeneration |
| Fish | maximum oxygen | Sushi +40 Maximum Oxygen |
| Night plants | time in the Shroud | Glimmer Gentian Tea +5 min in the Shroud |
Stations: the fireplace cooks single dishes, while the Cooking Station, Oven, Seafood Grill and Almanac of Plants and Seedlings make batches of 5 (they need the Farmer and the Kitchen).
Best food for every stage of the game
This is our own compilation from wiki data (splitting it into stages by the biome of the ingredient is our interpretation).
| Role | Early game | Mid game | Late game |
|---|---|---|---|
| Health | Grilled Game +80 HP | Beef Stew +240 HP, +12 regeneration | Grandleaf Cabbage Rolls +320 HP |
| Melee | Flat Bread +12% | Cooked Rice +21% | Aurora Bean Rice +24% |
| Magic | Mushroom Omelette +12% | Yellow Glow Soup +18%, +100 Mana | Cabbage Mushroom Rice +24%, +140 Mana |
| Ranged and daggers | Vegetable Soup +12% | Pumpkin Soup +18% | Plantain Salad with Aurora Beans +24% |
| Mana | Sage Leaves +60 | Herbal Mountain Tea +100 Mana | Thyme +140 Mana |
The wiki does not track the 1.0 cooking changes, so ingredient amounts may have changed. The changelog did not touch buffs and durations.
Older guides (e.g. from 2024) describe food that gave +2 Constitution. Since Update 7 (November 2025), food gives damage bonuses, not stat boosts.
Frequently asked questions
How do I start farming in Enshrouded?
Rescue the Farmer, Emily Fray (quest "Growing Stronger Together"), make Farm Soil and a Seedbed, fill the Seedbed with water and plant inside your Flame Altar area.
Where do I get Farm Soil?
Make it at the Farmer from 7 Springlands Dirt and 3 Bonemeal, or dig it up in the farm ruins and rake it out.
How many food slots do I have and how do I get the fourth?
You have 3 slots, and Dessert Stomach gives the fourth for 4 skill points.
What is the best food?
It depends on your build: grains for melee, mushrooms for magic, vegetables for bow and daggers, meat for health. See the table above and the starter guide.
Do plants need watering?
Sources differ. The wiki mentions water for seedlings, while players say there is no watering after planting (except rice and algae).
