Project Zomboid: How to Farm in Build 42.20

Farming is one of the best ways to produce renewable food in Project Zomboid, but the system has changed significantly in Build 42.20. Crops now have proper growing seasons, take longer to mature and require more planning than they did in Build 41.

In this guide, we’ll explain how to prepare a farm, choose the correct planting season, care for your crops, save seeds and preserve your harvest for long term survival.

You should begin collecting farming equipment long before you actually need to grow food. Seeds, gardening tools and farming literature can commonly be found inside sheds, warehouses, farm buildings and gardening stores.

To begin farming, you will need:

• Seeds or another suitable planting material
• A tool capable of preparing the soil
• A container for watering crops
• A renewable water supply
• A safe outdoor area near your base

Fertilizer and compost are also useful once your farm begins expanding. Rotten food can be placed inside a composter and eventually turned into compost instead of being completely wasted.

Build your farm close enough to your base that you can inspect it regularly. However, avoid placing crops beside roads or areas with frequent zombie activity. Zombies and vehicles can trample crops, while blood and corpses will make maintaining the area much more dangerous.

One of the biggest farming changes in Build 42.20 is the introduction of proper growing seasons. Crops now have preferred planting months, and many take considerably longer to grow than they did in Build 41.

Planting during an optimal month can improve your eventual harvest, while planting at the wrong time can produce unhealthy crops or cause them to wither and die completely.

You can learn the correct growing seasons by reading seed packets and farming handbooks. Characters with suitable farming knowledge may already know the planting seasons for some or all crops.

Rather than relying on one crop, grow a mixture based on the current season, growth time, nutritional value and how easily each harvest can be stored. Always check the current month before using your limited supply of seeds.

Vegetables and Field Crops

Herbs, Flowers and Medicinal Plants

Once you have chosen a suitable location and confirmed that the crop is in season, use a gardening tool to prepare a furrow in the soil. You can then interact with the prepared tile and select the seeds you want to sow.

After planting, water the crop immediately. Rain will help keep outdoor crops watered, but you should still inspect them regularly during dry weather.

A nearby rain collector makes maintaining a large farm much easier after the water shuts off. You can also store filled watering cans, buckets and other containers near the field so you don’t have to carry water from your base every time.

Different plants can have different watering requirements, so avoid assuming that every crop needs exactly the same treatment. Inspect each plant and pay attention to any information your character can identify.

Planting seeds is only the beginning. Crops can become unhealthy due to a lack of water, disease, pests or being planted during the wrong season.

Check your farm regularly and look for visible changes in each plant. Build 42.20 includes different appearances for unhealthy, dying and trampled crops, making problems easier to notice before the plant dies completely.

Slugs and snails can also damage crops. Pest-control products can help deal with them, while plants such as Rosemary can provide some protection when grown nearby.

Keep compost or fertilizer available for crops that need additional care, and avoid planting every seed you own at once. If disease, bad weather or zombies destroy the field, you should still have enough seeds stored safely to try again.

Separating your crops into smaller patches also makes the farm easier to inspect and prevents one problem from ruining your entire harvest.

Harvest crops once they reach the correct stage, but remember that producing food and preserving planting material are not always the same thing.

Some crops have specific ways of providing the seeds needed for the following year. Potatoes can be planted using potatoes themselves, while crops such as Corn and Peas can be dried to create seeds.

Before eating or cooking your entire harvest, check what is required to grow that crop again. Always reserve enough suitable produce or seeds for your next planting season.

You should also stagger your planting instead of sowing the entire field on the same day. Planting several smaller groups at different times spreads out the harvest and prevents you from receiving more fresh food than you can use before it spoils.

Herbs can be particularly useful because many can be harvested without completely destroying the plant. They can continue growing and be harvested again later. Fresh herbs can also be used to propagate new patches, while some can be dried for longer storage.

Producing a large harvest is only useful if you can prevent it from spoiling. Refrigerators and freezers remain valuable while you have electricity, either from the power grid or a generator.

Build 42.20 also includes additional food preservation methods and equipment such as drying racks. These can help you preserve suitable food without relying entirely on electricity, although you may need to find the correct recipes, skills or equipment first.

Cook and preserve surplus food whenever possible, rotate older items to the front of your storage and avoid harvesting more crops than you can use. Keep non-perishable food as an emergency reserve rather than eating it while fresh alternatives are available.

A successful farm requires planning throughout the year. Crops can take months to mature in Build 42.20, so waiting until your cupboards are empty before planting may already be too late.

For a reliable long-term farm:

• Plant crops during the correct season
• Grow several different types of crops
• Stagger planting dates to spread out each harvest
• Maintain a renewable water supply
• Inspect crops regularly for pests or other problems
• Store seeds and planting materials for the following year
• Preserve surplus food before winter

Never use your entire seed supply on a single planting. Losing one harvest to disease, poor weather or zombies could leave you without a way to restart the farm.

Once you understand the growing seasons and begin saving part of every harvest for replanting, farming becomes a dependable source of food. With enough preparation, you can greatly reduce the number of dangerous supply runs needed to keep your survivor fed.