Starbound – Farming and Crop Growth Times

Call me silly, but I love farming in video games and was very excited that farming was implemented so early into Starbound‘s lifespan. Farming in-game has yet to disappoint, but there are some facet’s of the game’s crop system that are a bit of a mystery at first glance.

Before you set up a base on a planet and get excited to grow your own crops, know this:

Your crops will not grow if you leave the planet they are on, and they will not grow if you get too far away from them.

This is a bit of a downer for me personally, as well as for those looking to sprout up giant farms of their favorite crops. This makes planting some of the more time intensive crops, such as chili and currentcorn, impossible to do on a planet unless you sit yourself next to your farm and wander away from the keyboard.

A solution to this is to grow crops on your ship, which can be done quite easily and even en masse with the right dirt set up.

Just as a reminder: In order to grow crops you must use the stone hoe to till plots of dirt.

Crop growth times

This is information I pulled from the game’s files and compiled all neat-like for convenient scrolling.

The files for crops do not mention variable growth rates on particular planets (they do not exist, contrary to some theorycrafters’ ideas); but they do mention crop ‘deaths’, how long they take to grow, and what you can obtain from them. They are listed here in alphabetical order.

Each plant has three visible stages of growth, two of which being marked here as ‘Stage 0’ and ‘Stage 1’ as mentioned in Starbound‘s files. ‘Stage 2’ is fully ripened, and a mysterious ‘Stage 3’ is the plant’s death. Death can only happen in the first two stages and I have yet to see it myself.

‘Stage 0’ is the plant’s first phase, and ‘Stage 1’ is the second phase. The ‘Yields’ portion of each entry lists the items you can get per harvest, with the last stating it is possible to get all possibilities in one go.

Something to note: I’ve noticed on multiple occasions that crops will sometimes take much longer than the stated times to grow. I’ve planted 5 carrots all at once, only to have them ripen at entirely different times (in one instance, 20 minutes longer than the others). Keep this in mind as you look at the numbers below, as there is something at play here I currently cannot account for in timing crops.

Automato

State 0 time: 23 to 25 minutes
State 1 time: 23 to 25 minutes
Yields: Automato and seed; automato and plant fibre; automato; all of the above

Avesmingo

State 0 time: 47 to 49 minutes
State 1 time: 47 to 49 minutes
Yields: Avesmingo and avesmingo seed; avesmingo and plant fibre; avesmingo; all of the above

Banana

State 0 time: 5 to 7 minutes
State 1 time: 5 to 7 minutes
Yields: Banana and banana seed; banana and plant fibre; banana; all of the above

Beakseed

State 0 time: 23 to 25 minutes
State 1 time: 23 to 25 minutes
Yields: Beakseed and beakseed seed; beakseed and plant fibre; beakseed; all of the above

Boltbulb

State 0 time: 5 to 7 minutes
State 1 time: 5 to 7 minutes
Yields: Boltbulb and boltbulb seed; boltbulb and plant fibre; boltbulb; all of the above

Boneboo

State 0 time: 5 to 7 minutes
State 1 time: 5 to 7 minutes
Yields: Boneboo and boneboo seed; boneboo and plant fibre; boneboo; all of the above

Carrot

State 0 time: 23 to 25 minutes
State 1 time: 23 to 25 minutes
Yields: Carrot and carrot seed; carrot and plant fibre; carrot; all of the above

Chili

State 0 time: 47 to 49 minutes
State 1 time: 47 to 49 minutes
Yields: Chili and chili seed; chili and plant fibre; chili; all of the above

Coralcreep

State 0 time: 5 to 7 minutes
State 1 time: 5 to 7 minutes
Yields: Coralcreep and coralcreep seed; coralcreep and plant fibre; coralcreep; all of the above

Corn

State 0 time: 5 to 7 minutes
State 1 time: 5 to 7 minutes
Yields: Corn and corn seed; corn and plant fibre; corn; all of the above

Crystal Plant

State 0 time: 47 to 49 minutes
State 1 time: 47 to 49 minutes
Yields: Crystal plant and crystal plant seed; crystal plant and plant fibre; crystal plant; all of the above

Currentcorn

State 0 time: 47 to 49 minutes
State 1 time: 47 to 49 minutes
Yields: Currentcorn and currentcorn seed; currentcorn and plant fibre; currentcorn; all of the above

Diodia

State 0 time: 11 to 13 minutes
State 1 time: 11 to 13 minutes
Yields: Diodia and diodia seed; diodia and plant fibre; diodia; all of the above

Dirturchin

State 0 time: 5 to 7 minutes
State 1 time: 5 to 7 minutes
Yields: Dirturchin and dirturchin seed; dirturchin and plant fibre; dirturchin; all of the above

Eggshoot

State 0 time: 5 to 7 minutes
State 1 time: 5 to 7 minutes
Yields: Eggshoot and eggshoot seed; eggshoot and plant fibre; eggshoot; all of the above

Feathercrown

State 0 time: 5 to 7 minutes
State 1 time: 5 to 7 minutes
Yields: Feathercrown and feathercrown seed; feathercrown and plant fibre; feathercrown; all of the above

Grapes

State 0 time: 11 to 13 minutes
State 1 time: 11 to 13 minutes
Yields: Grapes and grape seed; grapes and plant fibre; grapes; all of the above

Kiwi

State 0 time: 5 to 7 minutes
State 1 time: 5 to 7 minutes
Yields: Kiwi and kiwi seed; kiwi and plant fibre; kiwi; all of the above

Neonmelon

State 0 time: 47 to 49 minutes
State 1 time: 47 to 49 minutes
Yields: Neonmelon and neonmelon seed; neonmelon and plant fibre; neonmelon; all of the above

Oculemon

State 0 time: 47 to 49 minutes
State 1 time: 47 to 49 minutes
Yields: Oculemon and oculemon seed; oculemon and plant fibre; oculemon; all of the above

Pearlpea

State 0 time: 23 to 25 minutes
State 1 time: 23 to 25 minutes
Yields: Pearlpea and pearlpea seed; pearlpea and plant fibre; pearlpea; all of the above

Pineapple

State 0 time: 23 to 25 minutes
State 1 time: 23 to 25 minutes
Yields: Pineapple and pineapple seed; pineapple and plant fibre; pineapple; all of the above

Potato

State 0 time: 11 to 13 minutes
State 1 time: 11 to 13 minutes
Yields: Potato and potato seed; potato and plant fibre; potato; all of the above

Pussplum

State 0 time: 11 to 13 minutes
State 1 time: 11 to 13 minutes
Yields: Pussplum and pussplum seed; pussplum and plant fibre; pussplum; all of the above

Reefpod

State 0 time: 11 to 13 minutes
State 1 time: 11 to 13 minutes
Yields: Reefpod and reefpod seed; reefpod and plant fibre; reefpod; all of the above

Rice

State 0 time: 5 to 7 minutes
State 1 time: 5 to 7 minutes
Yields: Rice and rice seed; rice and plant fibre; rice; all of the above

Sugarcane

State 0 time: 5 to 7 minutes
State 1 time: 5 to 7 minutes
Yields: Sugarcane and sugarcane seed; sugarcane and plant fibre; sugarcane; all of the above

Tomato

State 0 time: 5 to 7 minutes
State 1 time: 5 to 7 minutes
Yields: Tomato and tomato seed; tomato and plant fibre; tomato; all of the above

Toxictop

State 0 time: 47 to 49 minutes
State 1 time: 47 to 49 minutes
Yields: Toxictop and toxictop seed; toxictop and plant fibre; toxictop; all of the above

Wartweed

State 0 time: 5 to 7 minutes
State 1 time: 5 to 7 minutes
Yields: Wartweed and wartweed seed; wartweed and plant fibre; wartweed; all of the above

Wheat

State 0 time: 5 to 7 minutes
State 1 time: 5 to 7 minutes
Yields: Wheat and wheat seed; wheat and plant fibre; wheat; all of the above

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Hopefully this helps you get your farm up and running smoothly! Check out the rest of our Starbound guides for more tips and tricks to help you through this galactic game:

• Starbound: Some Helpful Tips for Beginners
• Starbound 1.0+: How to Craft Your First Set of Armor
• Quick n’ Dirty Starbound 1.0 Weapon Overview Guide
• Upgrade Your Starbound Ship Faster With These Tips
• How to Build a Space Station in Starbound Version 1.3
• Building and Using Mechs in Starbound 1.3