Crop Farming

Overview

Crop farming lets Zois grow vegetables, fruits, and special crops on farm plots. Farming is closely tied to the Gardening skill, which unlocks wider crop variety and improves harvest quality as it levels up. Crops can be sold for Meow, used as cooking ingredients, or contributed to the Collection Log. The farming system is available on both the mainland (Dowon and Bliss Bay) and on Cahaya, where the Island Getaway DLC adds a dedicated farming career.

Farming is available from the Teenager life stage onward. Even without the Cahaya DLC, Zois living on the mainland can purchase dirt plots and seed packets to start growing crops in their yard. The Gardening skill governs both outdoor crop farming and indoor plant cultivation, so experience earned from one activity benefits the other.

Getting Started

1. Purchase seedling pots from the Build Mode outdoor section or the Farm Store on Cahaya.

2. Place seed packets on dirt plots in your yard. One packet fills an entire plot with four crop variations.

3. Purchase a pitchfork and watering can from the agriculture shop.

4. Water and fertilize your crops daily.

5. Harvest when the crops are visually ripe by clicking the plant and selecting 'Harvest.'

On Cahaya, Zois who live on the island receive a free home farming kit to get started, which includes basic tools and an initial supply of seeds. On the mainland, you will need to buy all equipment separately from the agriculture shop.

Seeds and Costs

Seeds are purchased from the agriculture shop or Farm Store. Prices listed below are base values; on Cahaya, the actual price at the farming supply store may fluctuate based on availability and current events. Natural disasters can temporarily increase seed prices by making goods harder to acquire. As your Gardening skill levels up, new crop types become available for purchase.

Vegetables

Fruits

Special Crops

Gardening Skill Level Unlocks

The Gardening skill determines which crops, equipment, and bonsai styles a Zoi can access. The table below summarizes what unlocks at each milestone level.

Plot Mechanics

Dirt plots are found in the Build Mode outdoor section. Place them in your yard, then place seed packets on top to start planting. Each plot accommodates one seed type at a time. Plots can be repositioned or removed through Build Mode at any point.

Growth and Maintenance

Most crops take two or more in-game days to fully mature. Tree seedlings take longer for their initial growth but produce continuous harvests afterward. Crops require daily attention for the best results. You can check each crop's status by hovering over it to see moisture content, nutrient levels, and the time remaining until the next harvest.

Daily Maintenance Checklist

Each crop has three key metrics visible when you hover over it: moisture, nutrients, and growth progress. Keeping moisture and nutrients high ensures the best possible quality at harvest. Neglecting crops overnight is especially risky, as withering can happen quickly during nighttime hours.

Approximate Maintenance Durations

According to community testing, the approximate real-time durations for each farming task are:

Tools

To obtain diamonds for crafting the Jewel Can, you need to progress through the gem mining pickaxe tiers (Stone, Copper, Steel, Gold, then Diamond). Raw diamonds start appearing when using a Gold Pickaxe. The Jewel Can is a significant upgrade because it consistently produces higher-quality harvests compared to the standard Watering Can.

Day Length and Growth Speed

Crop growth is tied to in-game days, not real-world time. This means your Length of Day setting in the Simulation options directly affects how quickly crops mature in real time. inZOI offers four day length settings:

For players focused on farming, the 48-minute or 96-minute day length is strongly recommended. Setting the day length to 4 or 24 hours makes crop growth painfully slow, as each in-game day of growth translates to that many real hours of waiting. You can change the day length at any time through the game options menu under Simulation.

Tree Behavior

Mango and banana trees are special: they persist after harvest as long as fertilizer is maintained at 100%. This means they produce multiple harvests over time, unlike single-harvest crops like tomatoes, corn, or carrots that must be replanted after each harvest. Tree seedlings take up an entire plot and take longer to grow initially, but the continuous harvest makes them valuable long-term investments.

Apple and orange trees also occupy entire plots and benefit from consistent fertilization. When trees are not properly fertilized, they revert to a depleted state after a single harvest and will need to be replanted. Maintaining 100% fertilizer on all fruit trees is the key to sustained production without needing to repurchase seedlings.

Crop Quality

Each crop has six quality variants that can be harvested. Higher-quality variants have better visual appearance, higher sell prices, and produce better meals when used as cooking ingredients. The bigger and better-looking the crop, the more Meow it fetches at market. Quality is determined by:

• Consistent daily maintenance (watering, fertilizing, weeding)

• The Zoi's Gardening skill level

• Tool quality (the Jewel Can produces higher-quality crops than the standard Watering Can)

• The Zoi's mood during farming activities; happier Zois tend to produce better results

Harvested produce does not spoil, so you can stockpile crops in your inventory without worrying about expiration. This makes it practical to accumulate a large stock of high-quality produce and sell it all at once for maximum profit.

Bug-ridden or withered crops represent the lowest quality tier. These still count for the Collection Log but sell for minimal Meow and produce poor results when used in cooking.

Harvest Values and Selling

Each good-quality harvest yields approximately 500 Meow. Larger, better-looking crops generate higher market prices. There are several ways to sell your produce:

Pocket Market

Pocket Market is the quickest method. Open the Pocket Market app on your Zoi's Smartphone and list harvested items for sale. You will receive a notification when a buyer purchases your listing. The Pocket Market is available everywhere and does not require travel to a physical location.

Market Stalls

On Cahaya, you can set up a physical market stall to sell produce directly to visiting customers. Purchase a stall through Build Mode (search for 'Stall'). A Wider Sales Stall upgrade costs 330 Meow and lets you display more items at once. Place the stall outside near the street rather than on your home lot to avoid customers wandering through your rooms.

Once placed, click the stall and select 'Place items for sale' to stock it, then choose 'Start selling' to open for business. A full booth sale session takes roughly three hours. During selling, you can queue promotional actions (Greet Customers, Dance for Promotion, Promote) to attract more buyers. Watch customer reactions closely: if Zois show 'pricey' text or react negatively, lower your prices.

Thieves: Customers may occasionally pocket items without paying, causing a Meow loss instead of a gain. When this happens, select the thieving Zoi and choose 'Fight the thief' to recover lost currency and earn Karma points.

Local Vendor

In Cahaya, there is also an NPC vendor at the produce shop who accepts deliveries through a 'Deliver!' interaction. However, the vendor's prices change daily and are typically lower than what you can earn at a market stall or on the Pocket Market. This method is convenient but less profitable.

Cahaya Produce Shop Ownership

With enough farming progress and accumulated funds, it is possible to acquire ownership of the Cahaya produce shop itself. Owning the shop gives you direct access to a permanent sales venue on the island. See the business article for more details on property acquisition.

Farm Helper Service

If you do not have time for daily maintenance, you can hire a Farm Helper through the Pocket Market app on your Smartphone. The Farm Helper provides four hours of automated crop care, during which the helper waters and fertilizes all plants on your property. This is useful for busy Zois juggling careers, social obligations, or other skill-building activities. The service costs Meow per use but prevents your crops from withering while you are occupied elsewhere.

Cahaya Farming Career

The Island Getaway DLC adds a dedicated farming career on Cahaya. This is a single-rank rabbit hole career with no promotion path, paying 120 Meow per shift with a 7-day schedule and morning-only hours. The career provides a steady, modest income that supplements direct crop sales.

Crops on Cahaya are vulnerable to flood damage from weather events. Thunderstorms and torrential rain can occur at least once per season, and severe flooding can destroy entire harvests overnight. Purchasing insurance is strongly recommended to protect against crop loss from natural disasters. See the Cahaya Careers article for full details on the farming career path.

Bonsai and Gardening

While not a crop in the traditional sense, bonsai pruning is closely tied to the Gardening skill and shares the same skill progression track. Starting at Gardening Level 1, you can purchase a Bonsai Pot Stand for 100 Meow and begin pruning decorative bonsai trees. Pruning costs 15 Meow per session.

Bonsai styles unlock progressively as your Gardening level increases. At early levels, pruning takes roughly 17 minutes per session. By Level 5 it drops to about 9 minutes, and by Level 8 it takes approximately 5 minutes. Finished bonsai can be sold on the Pocket Market for profit. At Gardening Level 10, bonsai quality tiers and their approximate sell values are:

Low-quality bonsai can still be sold through Build Mode as furniture items, since the Pocket Market may reject inferior specimens. Perfect-quality bonsai are rare but extremely lucrative, often providing more income per session than multiple crop harvests combined. Bonsai pruning is widely considered one of the most profitable Gardening activities in the game.

Gardening Skill Progression

The Gardening skill levels up through planting, watering, fertilizing, harvesting, and pruning bonsai. Higher skill levels unlock new crop varieties, improve harvest quality, and grant access to advanced bonsai styles.

Leveling from 0 to 1 is very fast, typically taking under 10 minutes of active gardening. Subsequent levels require between 1 hour 20 minutes and 2 hours 10 minutes of real-time gardening activity to complete. Your Zoi's mood affects leveling speed; happier Zois gain experience noticeably faster.

Activities that contribute to Gardening skill experience include:

• Planting, watering, and fertilizing outdoor crops

• Harvesting ripe vegetables and fruits

• Pruning bonsai trees

• Tending to potted houseplants and indoor growing systems

• Caring for flowers and decorative plants

• Sharing feelings with plants (a special nurturing interaction)

Potted plants, bonsai trees, and flowers all contribute to Gardening skill experience, not just outdoor crops. Maintaining a diverse garden with multiple plant types is the fastest way to level up.

Tips

• Water and fertilize every single day. Skipping even one day reduces harvest quality and can cause withering, especially overnight.

• Invest in mango and banana tree seedlings early. Their persistent harvests (when fertilized at 100%) make them the most profitable crops long-term.

• Craft a Jewel Can using diamonds from gem mining for consistently higher-quality crops.

• Grow tomatoes to use as ingredients for Tomato Pasta, one of the cooking recipes that requires farm produce.

• Check plots for weeds regularly. They appear between maintenance sessions and degrade quality silently.

• On Cahaya, get insurance to protect against flood damage to your crops. Thunderstorms can strike at least once per season.

• Set your day length to 48 or 96 minutes for faster crop growth. A 4-hour or 24-hour day setting makes farming impractical due to extremely slow growth.

• Use the Farm Helper service from the Pocket Market app when your Zoi is busy with other activities. Four hours of automated care prevents withering.

• Place market stalls near the street on Cahaya, not inside your home lot, to keep customers from wandering through your house.

• Consider combining crop farming with bonsai pruning to maximize Gardening skill gains. Both activities use the same skill track, so experience from one benefits the other.

• At Gardening Level 6, purchase the Lettuce Hydroponic System for indoor growing. It is perfect for apartment Zois who lack outdoor plots.

• Keep your Zoi in a positive mood while gardening. Happier Zois gain Gardening experience faster and tend to produce better harvests.

• Stock up on harvested produce before selling, since it never spoils. Selling a large batch at once through a market stall or Pocket Market saves time compared to selling items one by one.